Acid wet blasting method for fabricating superhydrophobic aluminum surface with micro-nano composite structures

A superhydrophobic surface is an ideal choice to enhance the corrosion resistance of aluminum (Al) and Al-based alloys which are widely used in various industrial fields. However, there are limitations in the complex fabrication process, high cost, and easy damage of micro-nano structures for processing superhydrophobic Al surface. To address the aforementioned limitations, we presented an efficient and facile method via acid wet blasting method to fabricate micro-nano composite structures on the Al substrate and subsequently low surface energy modification to obtain superhydrophobic Al surface (SHP-AWBM-Al), which had a water contact angle of 162° and rolling angle of 3°. The fabricated SHP-AWBM-Al had excellent self-cleaning performance, anti-fouling ability, and good fog collection ability. Tape peeling test, sandpaper friction test, acidic solution corrosion test, alkaline solution corrosion test, and natural environment corrosion test showed that the SHP-AWBM-Al had good mechanical stability and chemical stability compared with the superhydrophobic Al surface (SHP-H-Al) obtained by chemical etching. In addition, the electrochemical corrosion test showed that the SHP-AWBM-Al was more corrosion-resistant than the SHP-H-Al. This finding could enhance the technology for fabricating superhydrophobic Al surfaces.