The mechanisms of thermal decomposition of evaporated material during Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) process depend on the kind of evaporated material. Such parameters of PVD process as deposition rate, source temperature and deposition time should be carefully selected taking into account the properties of material. Deposited films can span the range of chemical compositions based on the source materials. The nanostructural carbon films in form of palladium nanograins embedded in various carbonaceous matrixes were obtained by thermal evaporation during PVD process from two separated sources containing C₆₀fullerite and palladium acetate, both in a form of powder. The evaporation was realized by resistive heating of sources under a dynamic vacuum of 10^-3Pa. The influence of decomposition path of evaporated materials on the film structure has been discussed. Prepared C-Pd films were characterized using thermo-gravimetric method, differential thermal analysis, infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The influence of decomposition of Pd acetate and fullerite on the final film structure was also shown.

The rising levels of water pollution and climate change contribute to water shortages. These factors influence the loss of the environment’s biodiversity and threaten human health. Toxic dye pigments from industries are a significant source of pollution. In this article, we present the synthesis method, characteristics, and photocatalytic properties of the CuO-ZnO nanocomposite, which may affect the degree of decomposition of dyes found in water. The nanocomposite consisting of copper oxide nanowires with zinc oxide nanostructures (CuO-ZnO nanocomposite) was prepared by physical vapor deposition and thermal oxidation methods. The crystalline structure, surface topographies and morphologies, elemental composition, and optical properties of the obtained samples were studied with various techniques such as x-ray diffraction analysis, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive x-ray analysis, and UV-vis spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity of the nanocomposite was measured by testing the degradation of methylene blue under visible irradiation. An increase in the photocatalytic activity of the nanocomposite was observed compared to pure CuO and ZnO. The CuO-ZnO nanocomposite demonstrated a high dye degradation of about 94% during 120 min.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) topographical studies and results of nanoindentation experiment for several palladium-carbon films (Pd-C film) deposited on various substrates and with varying palladium content are presented. Pd-C films were prepared by a physical vapor decomposition (PVD) process and next were modified by a chemical vapor decomposition (CVD) method to obtain carbonaceous porous structure with dispersed palladium nanograins and a variation in roughness. The dependence of film topography on the kind of substrate such as Al₂O₃, Mo polycrystalline foil and fused silica was studied by AFM. Nanomechanical properties such as hardness and the reduced indentation modulus were determined by nanoindentation. A comparison of these values for films with different Pd content deposited on various substrates is presented.

The results of studies on innovative high content palladium nanocomposite carbonaceous-palladium films (C-Pd film) obtained by Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) method are presented. The influence of hydrogenation on these films' structure, morphology and electric properties were investigated. The studies of structure and morphology of such films by SEM, EDS, TEM, XRD, and FTIR methods are presented. Decrease of resistance of these films due to hydrogenation was found.