Durable anti-fog micro-nano structures fabricated by laser ablation of aluminum film on resin/glass

Abstract

This study presents a technique for processing transparent glass and resin substrates using a low-cost laser marker to create a micro-nano-structured surface with exceptional anti-fog properties. The approach involved depositing an aluminum (Al) film on the transparent substrates as an absorbing layer, followed by rapid laser marker ablation. This ablation process effectively removed the majority of the Al film, resulting in the formation of hierarchical hillock-hollow micro-structures and the dispersion of Al-based nano-particles throughout the surface. The resulting structure on resin glasses demonstrated anti-fog performance even after 629 days storage in the laboratory, which marked the longest antifog record. It exhibited impressive antifog property without visible degradation for the first 9 months, which though degraded substantially afterwards. Furthermore, the micro-nano structure played a key role in reducing the contact angle of the surface. The contact angle experienced a significant reduction from a value of 64° for the control resin to 6.9° for the treated resin, while it was reduced from 44° for the control glass to 0° for the treated glass, indicating superhydrophilicity. This 0° superhydrophilic state persisted for a period of 25 days.