Molding Wetting by Laser-Induced Nanostructures

Abstract

The influence of material characteristics—i.e., type or surface texture—to wetting properties is nowadays increased by the implementation of ultrafast lasers for nanostructuring. In this account, we exposed multilayer thin metal film samples of different materials to a femtosecond laser beam at a 1030 nm wavelength. The interaction generated high-quality laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) of spatial periods between 740 and 790 nm and with maximal average corrugation height below 100 nm. The contact angle (CA) values of the water droplets on the surface were estimated and the values between unmodified and modified samples were compared. Even though the laser interaction changed both the surface morphology and the chemical composition, the wetting properties were predominantly influenced by the small change in morphology causing the increase in the contact angle of ~80%, which could not be explained classically. The influence of both surface corrugation and chemical composition to the wetting properties has been thoroughly investigated, discussed and explained. The presented results clearly confirm that femtosecond patterning can be used to mold wetting properties.

Revealing the Wonder of Natural Photonics by Nonlinear Optics

“…The presence of different multiscale groove-like structures presented the possibility of developing smart surfaces for controlling optical response and wetting properties [ 113 ]. Structuring materials have a significant effect on the latter, as was demonstrated both theoretically and experimentally, specifically at different length scales [ 114 , 115 , 116 ].…”

Cell Response on Laser-Patterned Ti/Zr/Ti and Ti/Cu/Ti Multilayer Systems

“…Consequent to that is the fabrication of a smoother cavity wall with negligible thermal damage [31,32]. Recently, ultrafast laser surface modification has evolved into a unique method that enables the fabrication of a bioactive surface with the formation of the desired oxide and alloy, the generation of nano/microtextures, and the modification of the wettability of the surface [33][34][35][36]. The optimal surface structure can be achieved through different surface patterns (physical shape and size, roughness, regular or irregular series of patterns, wettability, surface energy, etc.…”