Superhydrophobic Surface by Replication of Laser Micromachined Pattern in Epoxy/Alumina Nanoparticle Composite

Abstract

Superhydrophobic surfaces were obtained by superposition of microstructure—defined by replication of laser micromachined masters, with nanostructure—created by durable epoxy/γ-Al2O3nanoparticle composite, used for replication. Hierarchical surface topography thus obtained consisted of hexagonally spaced microcavities and nanoparticle agglomerates, exposed on the replica surface by radio frequency (RF) air plasma etching. Surface topography was further enhanced by rims around the microcavity edges, resulting from nanosecond laser micromachining defects in aluminum masters. Subsequent wet chemical hydrophobization with 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorotetradecyltriethoxysilane (PFTDTES) provided superhydrophobic behavior in replicas with a microcavity spacing of 30 μm, as indicated by a water contact angle of 160° and a sliding angle of 8°. The preparation method is relatively simple, inexpensive, and potentially scalable.

Synergistic Effect of Superhydrophobicity and Oxidized Layers on Corrosion Resistance of Aluminum Alloy Surface Textured by Nanosecond Laser Treatment

“…At the same time, there has been increasing interest in nanosecond laser systems as a tool for surface processing in recent years. [32][33][34][35][36] It is worth noting that laser surface texturing has an additional advantage compared to many other surface texturing methods. Namely, the interaction of high power radiation with condensed media may significantly affect the physicochemical properties of surface layers of the material, such as chemical and phase composition, microstructure, hardness, wear resistance, etc.…”

Nanosecond laser micro- and nanotexturing for the design of a superhydrophobic coating robust against long-term contact with water, cavitation, and abrasion

“…Most studies in the literature have been conducted using femtosecond single-pulse duration laser treatment. At the same time, there has been increasing interest in nanosecond laser systems as a tool for surface processing in recent years [21][22][23]. In this study, we have used an Argent-M laser system (Russia) with an IR ytterbium fiber laser (wavelength 1.064 μm), which provides a wide choice of laser parameters, and an MS10 2-axis laser beam deflection unit, RAYLASE (Germany).…”

Modification of wetting property of Inconel 718 surface by nanosecond laser texturing

“…Superhydrophobic surface is generally defined as a solid surface with water contact angle (WCA) exceeding 150° and rolling angle (RA) below 10° [18,35].…”