Dafa Jiang

Superhydrophobic Surfaces Fabricated by Femtosecond Laser with Tunable Water Adhesion: From Lotus Leaf to Rose Petal

Superhydrophobic surfaces with tunable water adhesion have attracted much interest in fundamental research and practical applications. In this paper, we used a simple method to fabricate superhydrophobic surfaces with tunable water adhesion. Periodic microstructures with different topographies were fabricated on copper surface via femtosecond (fs) laser irradiation. The topography of these microstructures can be controlled by simply changing the scanning speed of the laser beam. After surface chemical modification, these as-prepared surfaces showed superhydrophobicity combined with different adhesion to water. Surfaces with deep microstructures showed self-cleaning properties with extremely low water adhesion, and the water adhesion increased when the surface microstructures became flat. The changes in surface water adhesion are attributed to the transition from Cassie state to Wenzel state. We also demonstrated that these superhydrophobic surfaces with different adhesion can be used for transferring small water droplets without any loss. We demonstrate that our approach provides a novel but simple way to tune the surface adhesion of superhydrophobic metallic surfaces for good potential applications in related areas.

Cassie-State Stability of Metallic Superhydrophobic Surfaces with Various Micro/Nanostructures Produced by a Femtosecond Laser

The Cassie-state stability plays a vital role in the applications of metallic superhydrophobic surfaces. Although a large number of papers have reported the superhydrophobic performance of various surface micro/nanostructures, the knowledge of which kind of micro/nanostructure contributes significantly to the Cassie-state stability especially under low temperature and pressure is still very limited. In this article, we fabricated six kinds of typical micro/nanostructures with different topography features on metal surfaces by a femtosecond laser, and these surfaces were modified by fluoroalkylsilane to generate superhydrophobicity. We then systematically studied the Cassie-state stability of these surfaces by means of condensation and evaporation experiments. The results show that some superhydrophobic surfaces, even with high contact angles and low sliding angles under normal conditions, are unstable under low temperature or external pressure. The Cassie state readily transits to a metastable state or even a Wenzel state under these conditions, which deteriorates their superhydrophobicity. Among the six micro/nanostructures, the densely distributed nanoscale structure is important for a stable Cassie state, and the closely packed micrometer-scale structure can further improve the stability. The dependence of the Cassie-state stability on the fabricated micro/nanostructures and the laser-processing parameters is also discussed. This article clarifies optimized micro/nanostructures for stable and thus more practical metallic superhydrophobic surfaces.

Robust and Stable Transparent Superhydrophobic Polydimethylsiloxane Films by Duplicating via a Femtosecond Laser-Ablated Template

Realizing superhydrophobicity, high transparency on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surface enlarges its application fields. We applied a femtosecond laser to fabricate well-designed structures combining microgrooves with microholes array on mirror finished stainless steel to form a template. Then liquid PDMS was charged for the duplicating process to introduce a particular structure composed of a microwalls array with a certain distance between each other and a microprotrusion positioned at the center of a plate surrounded by microwalls. The parameters such as the side length of microwalls and the height of a microcone were optimized to achieve required superhydrophobicity at the same time as high-transparency properties. The PDMS surfaces show superhydrophobicity with a static contact angle of up to 154.5 ± 1.7° and sliding angle lower to 6 ± 0.5°, also with a transparency over 91%, a loss less than 1% compared with plat PDMS by the measured light wavelength in the visible light scale. The friction robust over 100 cycles by sandpaper, strong light stability by 8 times density treatment, and thermal stability up to 325 °C of superhydrophobic PDMS surface was investigated. We report here a convenient and efficient duplicating method, being capable to form a transparent PDMS surface with superhydrophobicity in mass production, which shows extensive application potentials.

Broadband High-Performance Infrared Antireflection Nanowires Facilely Grown on Ultrafast Laser Structured Cu Surface.

Infrared antireflection is an essential issue in many fields such as thermal imaging, sensors, thermoelectrics, and stealth. However, a limited antireflection capability, narrow effective band, and complexity as well as high cost in implementation represent the main unconquered problems, especially on metal surfaces. By introducing precursor micro/nano structures via ultrafast laser beforehand, we present a novel approach for facile and uniform growth of high-quality oxide semiconductor nanowires on a Cu surface via thermal oxidation. Through the enhanced optical phonon dissipation of the nanowires, assisted by light trapping in the micro structures, ultralow total reflectance of 0.6% is achieved at the infrared wavelength around 17 μm and keeps steadily below 3% over a broad band of 14-18 μm. The precursor structures and the nanowires can be flexibly tuned by controlling the laser processing procedure to achieve desired antireflection performance. The presented approach possesses the advantages of material simplicity, structure reconfigurability, and cost-effectiveness for mass production. It opens a new path to realize unique functions by integrating semiconductor nanowires onto metal surface structures.

Fabrication of nanoparticulate reinforced metal matrix composites by laser cladding

The nanoparticulate reinforced metal matrix composites (nPRMMCs) can further improve the ductility and fracture toughness of conventional microscale PRMMCs. The uniform dispersion of nanosized hard particles in the matrix is vital due to their strong tendency to agglomerate. This paper summarizes the state-of-the-art fabrication process of nPRMMCs by laser cladding via both ex-situ route and in-situ route. Concerns have been focused on the uniform dispersion of nanoparticles and their interface bonding with the matrix. The current challenges and future developments are discussed. This summarization will be helpful for the further research on the fabrication and applications of nPRMMCs.

W/Cu joining strengthened by femtosecond laser-induced micron-scale interface structure

W/Cu joining is key for the fabrication of high heat load components for fusion reactors, which however suffers from the low W/Cu bonding strength due to the immiscible nature of W-Cu system. In this study, we proposed a method for strengthened W/Cu joining based on femtosecond (fs) laser induced micron-scale W/Cu interface structure. W surfaces were irradiated by fs laser to form micron-scale cubes array, and then joined to Cu by hot pressing at 1000 °C, 80 MPa for 2.5 hours. The tensile strength of the W/Cu joining samples was investigated. The results show that micron-scale cubes array was successfully introduced into W/Cu interface without any cracks or pores. The interface structure helps to increase the W/Cu bonding strength to as high as 59.61 MPa, increased by about 50% as compared to W/Cu joining with a flat interface (bonding strength 40.11 MPa). The W/Cu bonding strength shows positive correlation with the W/Cu interface area, indicating the possibility to control the W/Cu bonding strength by simply adjusting the fs laser ablation parameters for the fabrication of cubes array on W surface. Our research provides a method for strengthened joining between intrinsically immiscible materials, including but not limited to W and Cu.