Roughness and wettability control of soda-lime silica glass surfaces by femtosecond laser texturing and curing environments

Abstract

The influence of laser texturing parameters and chemical curing environments on the wettability of flat soda-lime silica glass surfaces was studied by contact angle measurements. The surfaces were textured using femtosecond laser pulses with varying fluence, periodicity, and pulse number. By exposing these textured surfaces to different chemical curing environments, a range of hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity was observed. Experimental characterizations of the roughness produced by the texturing, using the optical profilometer, and contact angle hysteresis measurements showed a transition from a Wenzel regime to a Cassie–Baxter regime, induced by the chemical environment.