Fabrication of superhydrophobic titanium surfaces: impact of different micropatterns

Offshore and nuclear power plants use titanium condensers to cool exhaust steam from turbines. Preparation of robust superhydrophobic Titanium surfaces is necessary to protect these condensers from fouling and pitting phenomena. This study investigates the impact of various laser-textured Titanium grade 2 surface configurations followed by silicone oil heat treatment on enhancing its wettability and tribological properties. Seven distinct micropatterns were fabricated using a fiber laser with a laser power of 7.5 W, a scanning speed of 300 mm/s, a scan loop of 10, and a pulse frequency of 20 kHz. Patterned surfaces were characterized using different techniques, namely, micro-hardness, surface morphology, wettability, elemental analysis and wear. Improvement in wetting property was observed in laser textured samples after heating with silicone oil due to the adsorption of nonpolar groups (C=O, –CH3) resulting in a low energy surface. The grid pattern surface exhibited the highest water contact angle (WCA) of 151.01° due to a dense microstructure.