Interaction of 3D mesostructures composed of Pd-Ni alloy nanowires with low-temperature oxygen plasma

[Display omitted] •3D samples composed of Pd-Ni nanowires react with low temperature oxygen plasma.•Hierarchical 3D mesostructures react actively leading to light-red incandescence.•The treatment result is a porous material of Pd-Ni nanowires covered by thin NiO layer. We report that volumetric mesoporous structures obtained via self-organization of Pd-Ni nanowires interact actively with low temperature non-equilibrium oxygen plasma. This interaction leads to strong red incandescence of the composite nanostrucutures. After the plasma-chemical treatment, the X-ray diffraction pattern reveals presence of nanocrystalline nickel (II) oxide phase on surface of the samples. Measurements of electromagnetic response indicate that the samples exposed to oxygen plasma retain metallic type conductivity which is similar to the pristine Pd-Ni samples. Thus our studies indicate that the plasma-chemical treatment yields novel composite 3D hierarchical structures with a highly conductive skeleton of Pd-Ni nanowires covered by a thin nickel (II) oxide semiconducting layer of large surface area. These structures are attractive for applications.