Magnetron sputtering is used to prepare thin (down to 7 μm) Pd-Cu and Pd-Ru membrane foils deposited on the surface of a SiO₂/Si heterostructure at 300 and 700 K. Condensed foils (CFs) of an ordered Pd-Cu solid solution (β phase with a CsCl-type structure) and a Pd-Ru solid solution (fcc lattice) are synthesized for the first time. The foils of both alloys are characterized by a gradient granular structure due to selective development of 〈110〉 and 〈112〉 textures and a 〈111〉 texture in the Pd-Cu and Pd-Ru foils during their deposition, respectively. The hardness of the free surface of both foils removed from the substrate is determined by nanoindentation. The hardness is 3.0–3.6 GPa and is 20–50% lower than that of the contact surface (at the interface with the substrate) owing to the gradient structure. The hydrogen permeability of the Pd-Cu CF (β phase) is higher than that of the Pd CF by almost an order of magnitude (effect of a less dense crystal lattice) and is 5–7 times higher than those of the Pd-Ru CF and the Pd-Cu foil prepared by rolling.

Thin samples (about 4 μm in thickness) of membrane foil of a Pd–Cu solid solution have been grown on the surface of a SiO₂/Si heterostructure by magnetron sputtering. The key features of \(\beta \rightleftharpoons \alpha \) phase transformations have been identified using X-ray diffraction, Auger electron spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis, and resistivity measurements during a heating–cooling cycle. The results demonstrate that the phase transformations are reversible only in solid solutions containing an excess of copper in the concentration range corresponding to limiting temperatures near the temperature stability limit of the β-phase. Thermal conditions of membrane element operation have been found that ensure stability of the ordered atomic structure of the foil and, accordingly, its high performance. The \(\beta \rightleftharpoons \alpha \) phase transformation has been shown to be reversible after holding the foil at t = 830°C, in a state with a disordered atomic structure, which ensures restoration of its high hydrogen permeability after diffusion bonding to the case of a membrane element.

The evolution of the surface morphology and composition during the thermal oxidation of InP in the presence of V₂O₅ nanoislands has been studied by scanning tunneling microscopy and Auger electron spectroscopy. The results demonstrate that the effect of the islands is strongest in the initial stage of the process and persists in later stages. Auger electron spectroscopy and kinetic data strongly suggest that the oxidation of InP in the presence of vanadium oxide nanoislands follows a catalytic mechanism.