Review of Silicon-Based Nanomaterials Fabricated via Laser Microstructuring, Electrochemical Etching, and Hybrid Microstructures: Exploring Functional Integration and Future Applications
5 affiliations
- 1Instituto Tecnológico de Oaxaca, Tecnológico Nacional de México, Calz. Tecnológico No. 125, Oaxaca C.P. 68030, Mexico
- 2CIIDIR Unidad Oaxaca, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Hornos No. 1003, Col. Noche Buena, Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán, Oaxaca C.P. 71230, Mexico
- 3Laboratorio de Ingeniería Térmica, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, ESIME-Culhuacán, Av. Sta. Ana #1 000, Col. San Francisco Culhuacán, Coyoacán, Mexico City C.P. 04440, Mexico
- 4Departamento de Ingeniería Química, CUCEI, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara C.P. 44430, Mexico
- 5Instituto de Física, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, 14 Sur y Av., San Claudio C.P. 72570, Mexico
Abstract
This review examines silicon surfaces produced by femtosecond laser microstructuring and electrochemical etching, as well as their sequential integration. Laser processing creates multiscale topographies, including laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS), conical features, and craters, whereas electrochemical etching generates porous silicon with tunable pore dimensions and high surface area. The central focus is the process coupling between these techniques: how laser-generated topography, defects, and modified surface chemistry may influence subsequent electrochemical dissolution, and how etching, in turn, may alter the stability and wetting of the laser-defined architecture. Available studies demonstrate substantial changes in morphology, roughness, and contact angle after sequential processing, but do not yet establish universal synergistic enhancement or self-cleaning performance. Accordingly, this review distinguishes experimentally demonstrated process-integration effects from mechanistic hypotheses and future design targets. It also evaluates evidence limitations related to durability, mechanical stability, scalability, reference accuracy, and application-specific validation, with particular attention to conceptual sensing platforms based on hierarchical silicon surfaces.
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BibTeX
@article{robledotaboada2026review,
title = {{Review of Silicon-Based Nanomaterials Fabricated via Laser Microstructuring, Electrochemical Etching, and Hybrid Microstructures: Exploring Functional Integration and Future Applications}},
author = {Luis Humberto Robledo-Taboada and Fernando Chiñas-Castillo and Magdaleno Caballero-Caballero and Rafael Alavez-Ramírez and Jesica Ariadna Jiménez-Mendoza and José Raúl Pérez-Higareda and Irving Néstor Sierra-Sánchez and Reynier Suárez Martínez and Laura Elvira Serrano de la Rosa},
journal = {Nanomaterials},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.3390/nano16211431},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/16/21/1431},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Review of Silicon-Based Nanomaterials Fabricated via Laser Microstructuring, Electrochemical Etching, and Hybrid Microstructures: Exploring Functional Integration and Future Applications
AU - Luis Humberto Robledo-Taboada
AU - Fernando Chiñas-Castillo
AU - Magdaleno Caballero-Caballero
AU - Rafael Alavez-Ramírez
AU - Jesica Ariadna Jiménez-Mendoza
AU - José Raúl Pérez-Higareda
AU - Irving Néstor Sierra-Sánchez
AU - Reynier Suárez Martínez
AU - Laura Elvira Serrano de la Rosa
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/05
JO - Nanomaterials
DO - 10.3390/nano16211431
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/16/21/1431
AB - This review examines silicon surfaces produced by femtosecond laser microstructuring and electrochemical etching, as well as their sequential integration. Laser processing creates multiscale topographies, including laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS), conical features, and craters, whereas electrochemical etching generates porous silicon with tunable pore dimensions and high surface area. The central focus is the process coupling between these techniques: how laser-generated topography, defects, and modified surface chemistry may influence subsequent electrochemical dissolution, and how etching, in turn, may alter the stability and wetting of the laser-defined architecture. Available studies demonstrate substantial changes in morphology, roughness, and contact angle after sequential processing, but do not yet establish universal synergistic enhancement or self-cleaning performance. Accordingly, this review distinguishes experimentally demonstrated process-integration effects from mechanistic hypotheses and future design targets. It also evaluates evidence limitations related to durability, mechanical stability, scalability, reference accuracy, and application-specific validation, with particular attention to conceptual sensing platforms based on hierarchical silicon surfaces.
SN - 2079-4991
ER -