Laser-Textured Hybrid Brass Pattern Array Surface for High-Efficiency Fog Collection

Fog collection holds promise for addressing water shortage. However, the conventional fabrication of fog collection devices, normally chemical methods, suffers many challenges, such as complicated preparation and environmental issues. Herein, we proposed a green fabrication strategy to construct superhydrophobic/hydrophilic surfaces on the brass substrate via the combination of laser fabrication and heat treatment. The wettability of brass is directly dictated by the laser process parameters. The different superhydrophobic/hydrophilic hybrid pattern surface with a rectangular/triangular array was designed for an optimal fog collection performance. The maximum water collection efficiency of the prepared surface is measured up to 427.36 mg h–1 cm–2, which is 97% higher than that of the control sample. Furthermore, the surface can be folded into different forms to realize a flexible collector. We envision that our work provides a green fabrication strategy to construct a superwetting surface for highly efficient fog collection.