Fabrication of uniform hierarchical porous microstructures for robust slippery surfaces via temporally shaped femtosecond laser

Metal corrosion poses a significant challenge in industrial applications. Slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPS) have garnered considerable attention for corrosion protection due to their low adhesion and liquid-repellent characteristics. In this work, we constructed SLIPS on aluminum (Al) substrates by fabricating hierarchical porous micro/nanostructures via temporally shaped femtosecond laser, followed by fluorination and lubricant infusion. The surface wettability, mechanical durability, and corrosion resistance of the fabricated surfaces were systematically investigated. Two-temperature model (TTM) simulations indicate that double-pulse irradiation suppresses the peak electron temperature by 16.92% and leads to more uniform energy deposition. The SLIPS exhibits effective self-cleaning behavior, stable slippery performance under acidic and alkaline environments, and enhanced mechanical durability. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements show that the low-frequency impedance modulus |Z| of the SLIPS reaches 2.06 × 10⁶ Ω·cm² initially and remains 1.07 × 10⁵ Ω·cm² after 28 days of NaCl immersion. As a result, the laser-induced SLIPS significantly improves corrosion resistance relative to bare Al surface and maintains its protective capability after mechanical damage through spontaneous self-healing. Overall, this work presents a facile and effective laser-based strategy for constructing self-healing and corrosion-resistant SLIPS on Al substrates, offering promising potential for corrosion protection in harsh environments.