Laser electrodeposition of hierarchical antireflection surfaces on aluminum alloy

High reflectivity of aluminum alloy surfaces tends to cause severe interfacial reflection and stray-light effect , constraining their deployment in photoelectric detection and aerospace systems. To overcome these limitations, a hybrid laser–electrodeposition fabrication strategy was proposed. Uniform microcone arrays were constructed on aluminum alloy substrates via nanosecond laser texturing, then MXene (Ti₃C₂T_x, two-dimensional transition metal carbide) nanosheets were electrodeposited to form micro/nano hierarchical structures. Results showed that broadband reflectance of the antireflective surface was significantly suppressed, average reflectance decreased from 42.24% to 5.7% in visible to near-infrared wavelength range (400~1100 nm. The enhanced in anti-reflection performance was attributed to two factors: on one hand, laser-fabricated micro-cone array enhanced multiple reflections, scattering, and light trapping effects; on the other hand, MXene coating introduced interfacial energy dissipation and broadband light absorption effects. This strategy provides a new route for antireflective functionalization of aluminum alloy surfaces and holds potential application value in aerospace optoelectronic detection, optical stealth, and functional surface engineering.