Physicists use laser to create 'supermaterials'
20 Jan 2015
A team of physicists from New York’s University of Rochester has used laser-patterning technology to transform sheets of platinum, titanium and brass into multifunctional materials.
Using this technique, hierarchical nanostructures were generated on the materials’ surface, increasing the efficiency by which they absorb light, repel water and clean themselves.
Once the nanostructures had been created, the optical and wetting properties of the three metals were essentially altered, turning the surfaces velvet black and water repellent.
“During its short burst the peak power of the laser pulse is equivalent to that of the entire power grid of North America
Lead researcher Chunlei Guo
“This is the first time that a multifunctional metal surface is created by lasers that is superhydrophobic, self-cleaning, and highly absorptive,” said Chunlei Guo, a physicist at the Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester who engineered the surfaces with his colleague Anatoliy Vorobyev.
According to Guo, enhanced light absorption will benefit technologies that require light collection, such as sensors and solar power devices, while superhydrophobicity will make a surface rust-resistant, anti-icing and anti-biofouling.
To create the ’supermaterial’ surfaces, Guo and Vorobyev used short femtosecond laser pulses that lasted on the order of a millionth of a billionth of a second.
“During its short burst the peak power of the laser pulse is equivalent to that of the entire power grid of North America,” Guo said.
Prior to this research, Guo used lasers to create a superhydrophilic (water attracting) surface that had the ability to run uphill against gravity.
“After that, we were motivated to create the counterpart technology, making a surface to repel water,” Guo said.
A full account of the research has been published in the Journal of Applied Physics.
