Abstract
The modification of surface wettability of stainless steel is essential for many biological applications and industrial implementations. Having a hydrophobic or hydrophilic surface is ideal depending on its application. In this study, the wettability tuning of stainless steel was carried out by producing LIPSS at different laser peak energies. Results showed non-significant changes in the periodicity of the ripples, however hydrophilicity increased with greater laser energies. Raman spectroscopy and SED analysis demonstrated the presence of iron oxide peaks and increased oxygen concentration, demonstrating a chemical surface modification governed by oxidation. Transitions from hydrophilic to hydrophobic surfaces were accomplished by ethanolic triethoxyoctylsilane coated LIPSS. Hydrophobicity enhancement was achieved by the adsorption of organic species promoted by the oxide layer at the ripples. The dynamics of cavitation bubbles close to the coated LIPPS were analyzed. A reduction of the main bubble lifetime with hydrophobicity, whereas a delay of collapse time and deformation of the rebound bubble were found. This led to an experiment for erosion testing producing multiple cavitation events. An increment of surface damage area with increased hydrophobicity was observed. This was attributed to longer collapse times of the rebound bubble which led to stronger shockwaves at the samples surface. This work demonstrates a simple method to tune the surface wettability of stainless steel by laser oxidation, which is a crucial factor for applications related to cavitation phenomena.
Published Version
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