Pure and activated (doped) nanocrystalline WO3 films, produced by advanced reactive gas deposition, were investigated for gas sensing applications. Activation took place by co-evaporation of Al or Au with tungsten oxide as the particles were produced. Structural characterization of the films was performed by electron microscopy and X-ray diffractometry. Sensitivity, response time, and recovery time of the sensors were systematically investigated as a function of annealing and operating temperature, using H2S, CO, and NO2 as test gases. The sensitivity was found to lie below and around the ppm level for H2S and NO2, respectively. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.