Fabrication of Anti-Reflective Surface with Superhydrophobicity/High Oleophobicity and Enhanced Mechanical Durability via Nanosecond Laser Surface Texturing

In this work, anti-reflective surface with superhydrophobicity/oleophobicity and enhanced abrasion resistance was fabricated on steel alloy surface. Two different surface patterns (i.e., parallel microgrooves and spot arrays) were created by nanosecond laser ablation and chemical immersion. The surface micro/nanostructure, spectral reflectance, wettability, and abrasion resistance of all the samples were determined. The experimental results showed that the laser-chemical treated surfaces exhibited much lower spectral reflectance and significantly enhanced surface integrities compared with the untreated surface. Firstly, the contact angles of water, glycerol, and engine oil on the laser-chemical treated surfaces were increased up to 158.9°, 157.2°, and 130.0° respectively, meaning the laser-chemical treated surfaces achieved both superhydrophobicity and high oleophobicity. Secondly, the laser-chemical treated surface showed enhanced abrasion resistance. The experimental results indicated that the spectral reflectance of the laser-chemical treated surfaces remained almost unchanged, while the laser-chemical treated surface patterned with parallel microgrooves sustained superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 150.2° even after more than one hundred abrasion cycles, demonstrating the superior mechanical durability. Overall, this fabrication method has shown its effectiveness for fabrication of multifunctional metal surface integrating the surface functionalities of anti-reflectivity, superhydrophobicity/high oleophobicity, and enhanced abrasion resistance.