Mechanical performance of laser-textured metallic surface

The fabrication of micro-nano hybrid structures via laser texturing has been promising for functional surfaces, and most current studies focus on surface properties including wettability, reflection, and adhesion. It is worthy to investigate mechanical performance of laser-textured metallic surface due to the effect of laser-induced defects. This work utilizes femtosecond laser texturing to fabricate typical micro-nano hybrid structures on surfaces of titanium alloy with the aim to enhance hydrophobic and anti-reflective performance while maintaining mechanical integrity. Results indicate that both coefficient of friction (COF) and frictional force (Ft) increase with the depth-to-width ratio (D/W) of laser-textured surfaces. Moreover, the reduction of ultimate tensile strength (UTS) is able to achieve a minimum decrease of 0.16% and a maximum decrease of 3.27%, showing better stability compared to that of existing reports. Furthermore, both hydrophobicity and anti-reflective properties have been mainly affected by the combination of D/W and nano features of these structures. The current findings provide critical insights into the reliability of laser-textured structures for practical applications.