Application of Femtosecond Laser Processing Method in the Sustainable Conservation of Stone Cultural Relics: An Example of Green Schist in Wudang Mountain, China

Researchers achieved significant breakthroughs in the sustainable conservation of stone cultural relics using femtosecond laser processing. By creating hierarchical micro-nano structures on green schist, a key material in Wudang Mountain's ancient building complex, they successfully modulated its wettability to achieve a water contact angle of up to 147°. This was accomplished by preparing grooves with an optimal spacing of 400 μm using femtosecond laser irradiation (238 fs, 100 kHz, 40 μJ, 33 μm, 500–40,000 pulses). The study systematically investigated the processing mechanism and performance, revealing that different compositions—quartz, chlorite, and muscovite—exhibit distinct responses to laser irradiation. These findings provide a novel approach for the sustainable conservation of ancient buildings and cultural relics, addressing challenges posed by environmental factors such as rain.

Chen, M., Wang, C., Li, K., Jia, X., Wang, C., & Wang, Y. (2024). Application of Femtosecond Laser Processing Method in the Sustainable Conservation of Stone Cultural Relics: An Example of Green Schist in Wudang Mountain, China. Sustainability, 16(8), 3169. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16083169