Rapid laser fabrication of long-term stable superhydrophilic aluminum surface

A simple method for fabricating stable superhydrophilic aluminum surface is reported in this paper. Controllable micro-nanostructures were prepared on the surface of aluminum plate by nanosecond laser and then soaked in boiled 45% ethanol solution for 2 h as the post-treatment. It is demonstrated that the laser-ablated aluminum plate surface is hydrophilic and then switch to superhydrophilic after a 45% ethanol solution post-treatment. The treated superhydrophilic structure has good hydrophilic stability in a certain period of time. The mechanism of superhydrophilic behavior of aluminum surface treated with laser and ethanol solution was discussed. A new method for preparing stable superhydrophilic surface is proposed in this paper, which is of great significance for the preparation of superhydrophilic surface and the application of superhydrophilic surface in industrial production.