Balancing heat and pulse width in laser texturing of Al-Mg alloy: Superhydrophobicity with wear, icing, and corrosion control

Superhydrophobic coatings are sought for outdoor components that must repel water while enduring abrasion, icing, and corrosive media; however, the role of substrate temperature and laser fluence during laser texturing in balancing these properties is insufficiently mapped. The key challenge is to raise wear robustness without sacrificing anti-icing performance or triggering crack formation and corrosion. Here we processed Al-Mg alloy by nanosecond laser using pulse widths of 30–200 ns on substrates held at room temperature or preheated to 85, 240, or 360 °C, followed by deposition of a covalently bound fluorosilane monolayer. The correlation between morphology and chemistry of the fabricated superhydrophobic coatings and functional properties was shown with respect to wettability, prolonged abrasive and corrosion resistance and ice adhesion with cyclic ice formation/ice detachment. The impact of pulse width and the substrate preheating is experimentally studied and analyzed with discussion of the mechanisms, responsible for the improvement/deterioration of functional properties. Overall, wider pulses promote wear and general corrosion resistance, whereas excessive preheating compromises corrosion tolerance; moderate preheating offers a practical trade-off and a pathway to process maps for application-specific optimization.