Bioinspired transparent underwater superoleophobic and anti-oil surfaces

Reported here is a bioinspired fabrication of transparent underwater superoleophobic and anti-oil surfaces using a femtosecond laser treatment. Rough nanoscale structures were readily created on silica glass surfaces by femtosecond laser-induced ablation. Underwater superoleophobicity and ultralow oil-adhesion were obtained by the rough nanostructures with a wide variation of processing parameters, and the as-prepared surfaces exhibited a high transparency in water. This phenomenon is attributed to the presence of the water environment because scattering and refraction are effectively weakened. As a maskless and cost-effective method, the femtosecond laser processing of transparent materials (glass) may provide a new method to create biomimetic transparent underwater surfaces, allowing for the development of novel underwater anti-oil optical devices.