Excellent Self-cleaning Properties Research Articles

Fabrication of durable and sustainable superhydrophobic‐superoleophilic paper for efficient oil/water separation

Traditional superhydrophobic materials for oil/water separation not only depend on non-renewable materials but also lead to secondary environmental pollution after use due to their non-biodegradation and introduction of toxic fluorochemicals. Herein, we reported a facile method to prepare durable and sustainable superhydrophobic-superoleophilic paper, which is combination of layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly of ZnO nanoparticles and carrageenan (CR) together with following polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) modification. The surface chemical composition, zeta potential, surface morphology, surface wettability and strength property of the modified paper were investigated. The PDMS/(ZnO/CR)7 multilayer-modified paper showed superhydrophobic-superoleophilic property and 2.6 % improvement in tensile strength compared with original paper. Meanwhile, this superhydrophobic paper exhibited excellent anti-bacterial adhesion ability and photodynamic bactericidal activity, which were more effective in preventing and eliminating bacterial contamination. Besides, the resultant paper had excellent self-cleaning, anti-fouling and water repellency properties, showed excellent separation performances for stratified oil-water mixture and water-in-oil emulsion as well as good recyclability. The obtained superhydrophobic paper also presented excellent mechanical robustness and environmental stability. We believed that superhydrophobic paper prepared in this study could have promising potential as an environmental-benign and effective oil/water separation material.

Preparation of durable superamphiphobic cotton fabrics with self-cleaning and liquid repellency

A durable superamphiphobic cotton fabric was obtained by coating SiO2 aerogel particles, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), and 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane (PFTES) on a cotton fabric via the dip-pad-dry process. The surface morphology, chemical composition, and thermal degradation behavior characterization of the as-prepared cotton fabric (PFTES/PDMS/SiO2@Cotton fabric) were performed, respectively. It was proved that the coated cotton fabric was successfully covered with PFTES/PDMS/SiO2. The porous rough surface topology structure due to the SiO2 aerogel particles along with low surface energy because of the fluorinated chains and PDMS adhesive layer on the as-obtained PFTES/PDMS/SiO2@Cotton fabric can trap a layer of air, endowing the coated fabric durable superamphiphobicity. The prepared superamphiphobic cotton fabric with a water contact angle (WCA) of 159.0 ± 0.8° and an oil contact angle (OCA) of 154.5 ± 0.7° showed good liquid repellence for common liquids in daily life like orange juice, cola, coffee, and milk, exhibiting excellent self-cleaning and stain-resistance property. Moreover, the superamphiphobic cotton fabric possessed good durability and still maintained superamphiphobicity after mechanical abrasion for 1500 cycles or ultraviolet (UV) irradiation for 96 h. This superamphiphobic cotton fabric exhibited potential applications in various fields due to the high repellency to various liquids.

A Facile and Cost-Effective Method to Prepare a Robust Superhydrophobic RTV Silicone Coating

A facile and cost-effective layer-by-layer assembly method is reported for the fabrication of a superhydrophobic coating using room temperature vulcanized silicone rubber and silica particles of different diameters. The superhydrophobic coating shows a contact angle of 154.6° and a rolling angle of 9°. The coating exhibits excellent self-cleaning properties and corrosion resistance with good softness and mechanical durability. The sample maintains its good superhydrophobicity, even after a series of tests by knife scratching, cutting, and hammering. The fabrication method has great advantages in terms of efficiency, cost, simple procedure and conditions. Its wide application in different substrates and the use of environment-friendly materials are also beneficial to the large-scale production of the coating.

Synthesis of a novel superamphiphobic coating with a hierarchical three-dimensional structure inspired by bird's nest

Based on the stability of bird's nest multi scaffold structure, a hierarchical three-dimensional bionic structure (Wax-PFDMS-Pal-TiOx coating) with superamphiphobic (SAP) properties, high stiffness and good stability was designed with carnauba wax as barrier and binder, palygorskite (Pal) as structural framework, TiOx as nano filler and 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-Perfluorodecyltrimethoxysilane (PFDMS) as modifier. In addition, the morphology, structure and chemical composition of the coating were proved by scanning electron microscope (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FI-TR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and other characterization methods. Studies have demonstrated that the nano-rough structure of Pal and TiOx can form submicron-nano composite hierarchical structure with carnauba wax, and hydrolyze and condense with PFDMS respectively to obtain the three-dimensional structure with high roughness and low surface energy. Under optimal conditions, the contact angles of water and oil on the coating surface are both over 160°. Meanwhile, the results of friction resistance test, salt resistance and pH resistance test show that the coating has excellent mechanical stability. The coating also has excellent self-cleaning property to resist the pollution of particles and mixture of water and oil. The current research is based on natural raw materials and provides a new idea for a stable bionic structure with SAP properties.

Sustainable self-cleaning evaporator for long-term solar desalination using gradient structure tailored hydrogel

Interfacial solar evaporation has been demonstrated as a promising strategy to mitigate water scarcity. However, for practical application in marine environment, the accumulation of salt and growth of microorganisms such as bacteria will cause scarring and fouling of the evaporators, depressing the potential for long-term sustainable use. Here, we report a hydrogel evaporator (chitosan/PAAm/PPy) with integrated three-layer structure containing individual functions for heat localization to improve solar evaporation efficiency, salt redissolution and antibacterial growth for sustainable long-term use, as well as management of thermal energy loss, respectively. The as-fabricated hydrogel evaporator presented a high-water evaporation rate of 2.41 kg m-2h−1 under 1-sun illumination, and excellent self-cleaning property against the salt accumulation and bacteria growth. During a two-week continuous evaporation experiment in simulated marine water with 3.5 wt% salinity and mixture of bacteria, the evaporator generated vapor stably in a range of 2.30 ~ 2.41 kg m-2h−1, without noticeable performance decay. Additionally, the hydrogel evaporator shows a stable vapor generation rate during cycled dehydration-hydration processes, as well as against repeated weight loading–unloading tests, indicating its convenience for long-term use and storage.

Fabrication of durable corrosion-resistant polyurethane/SiO2 nanoparticle composite coating on aluminium

In this work, SiO2 nanoparticle–embedded polyurethane superhydrophobic coating on aluminium substrate was fabricated using spin coating technique. By embedding SiO2 nanoparticles into the polyurethane matrix, superhydrophobicity is successfully achieved with water static contact angle of 156 ± 3° and tilt angle of 6 ± 1°. Coating exhibits excellent self-cleaning and antifouling properties. Wetting stability of coating was further evaluated by performing water jet, bending, sand falling, tape peeling, floating, annealing, and chemical stability tests. It is found that coating is mechanically, thermally, and chemically stable. Water droplet impact test shows the bouncing, pinning, and splashing behaviour of water droplets at different impact velocities. The electrochemical experiment has demonstrated that the corrosion potential of aluminium after coating increases and the corrosion current density decreases, revealing the corrosion resistance property of coating. We envision that the self-cleaning, antifouling, and anticorrosive superhydrophobic coating of the polyurethane/SiO2 nanoparticle composite can effectively prevent the corrosion of aluminium and the aforesaid coating has great industrial applications.

Durable superhydrophobic PVDF/FEVE/GO@TiO2 composite coating with excellent anti-scaling and UV resistance properties

Biomimetic superhydrophobic surfaces with excellent self-cleaning, antifouling and anticorrosion properties often suffer from mechanical damage and stop functioning when exposed to corrosive solutions or UV light in practical applications. In this study, a robust superhydrophobic PVDF/FEVE/GO@TiO2 composite coating with a high water contact angle of 158 ± 1.6° and low sliding angle of 6 ± 0.5° has been successfully fabricated via the combination of hydrothermal synthesis and spraying techniques. The GO@TiO2 composite particles were synthesized by in-situ growth of TiO2 on the GO surface through chemical condensation with the active sites of GO under hydrothermal conditions. Owing to the interfacial enhancement of GO@TiO2 and the adhesion enhancement of FEVE, the prepared superhydrophobic coating demonstrated excellent mechanical durability and retained its superhydrophobicity after 1000 abrasion cycles. Moreover, due to the orientation of lamellar GO, TiO2 was evenly distributed on the coating surface to construct uniform micro-/nanostructures, which can capture stable air film to prevent the permeation of H+, Cl−, OH− from water and simultaneously absorb more UV irradiation. Thus, the prepared coating demonstrated outstanding chemical stability under strong acidic and alkaline conditions for 7 days and after exposure to UV radiation (300 W) for 20 days. Furthermore, under the cooperative effect of the air film and hierarchical structures, the prepared superhydrophobic coating can inhibit the nucleation of CaCO3 scale and induce the formation of unstable needle-like CaCO3 on the coating surface. Therefore, it is anticipated that this durable superhydrophobic coating will be an excellent candidate for technological applications, such as anti-scaling, antifouling, and self-cleaning materials.

One-Step Methods to Fabricate Durable Superhydrophobic Coatings for Flexible Electronic Sensors

Inspired by lotus leaves in nature, superhydrophobic surfaces have attracted extensive attention in many fields. However, their complex preparation process, poor durability and high cost seriously restrict their large-scale application in industrial production. Based on the good flexibility and durability of carbon nanofibers, several simple modifier-free one-step approaches were adopted to fabricate a durable CNF/PVDF/PDMS conductive superhydrophobic coating. The fabricated coating not only possesses good superhydrophobicity to many kinds of liquids, but also has excellent self-cleaning and anti-fouling properties. In addition, the superhydrophobicity of the obtained multifunctional coating is stable even after harsh bending fatigue deformation, long immersion times and high-temperature treatment. Due to its strong adhesion and excellent conductivity, the CNF/PVDF/PDMS coating displays reliable mechanical stability and superior sensitivity. These distinct features make the obtained conductive superhydrophobic coating a good candidate for multifunctional smart sensors, with great application prospects in gesture detectors, waterproof wearable electronics and health monitors.

Rapid Fabrication of Superhydrophobic Surface on Magnesium Alloy with Excellent Corrosion-Resistant and Self-Cleaning Properties

Abstract A bilayer coating superhydrophobic surface was developed by a simple one-step solvothermal method. This strategy can realize the introduction of low surface energy myristic acid/n-dodecyltrimethoxysilane and the fabrication of complex bionic micro/nano structure in one step, thereby further simplifying the manufacturing process. The as-obtained superhydrophobic surface has a CA of 157.6° and a SA of 2.0°. The bionic micro/nano structures are like the common herb sowthistle. The bilayer coating superhydrophobic surface has excellent self-cleaning properties, chemical stability and corrosion resistance. In addition, this strategy can effectively broaden the application of magnesium alloys and extend to other conductive metal materials.

Fabrication of superhydrophillic and graded index antireflective double layer coating for solar photovoltaics module using aerosol impact deposition assembly

In the study presented, a double layer graded refractive indices silicon dioxide nano-porous coating was deposited on glass substrates to reduce the optical losses in solar photovoltaics using the technique referred as Aerosol Impact Deposition Assembly (AIDA). The proposed system consists of the gaseous precursors namely Silane, Oxygen and Helium that ionize in the plasma reaction chamber of AIDA to form silica nanoparticles. The nanoparticles size and shape can be controlled by the flow rates of each precursor gas, pressure difference in reaction and deposition chamber, and the proportion of helium gas. The assembly accelerates the silica nanoparticles towards deposition chamber with high impact speed using a small slit nozzle where they are coated on a glass/silicon substrate placed on a moving stage. Using this technique, thin film silica nanoparticle double layer was coated and characterized using Transmission electron microscope (TEM), Scanning Electron Microscope and Atomic Force Microscope to determine the particle shape, size, and morphology respectively. The average nanoparticle size determined from TEM image was 12.5 nm while the porosity of the top and bottom thin films was 60% and 42%, respectively. The UV-Spectroscopy results showed that reflection losses were decreased from 9% to 2% in a broad range of solar spectrum i.e., wavelength 300-1200 nm. In addition, due to high porosity and sufficient roughness, the coated thin film showed excellent self-cleaning and antifogging properties with water contact angle less than 5o. Moreover, short current density of the cell was increased by 1.4 mA/cm2, from 39.1 mA/cm2 to 40.5 mA/cm2, which shows enhancement in the electrical performance of the solar cell.

Reversible Thermochromic Superhydrophobic BiVO4 Hybrid Pigments Coatings with Self-Cleaning Performance and Environmental Stability Based on Kaolinite.

The inferior acid resistance and high cost of BiVO4 pigments seriously hinder their wide applications in some fields. Inspired by the superhydrophobic properties of some plants and insects in nature, the reversible thermochromic superhydrophobic coatings with self-cleaning performance and environmental stability were successfully designed by combining with the surface roughness of kaolinite/BiVO4 hybrid pigments (Kaol/BiVO4-HP) and the modification with hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (HDTMS). When the concentration of HDTMS was 4.58 mmol/L, the yellow superhydrophobic coatings exhibited excellent self-cleaning properties and chemical and environmental stability. Furthermore, the superhydrophobic Kaol/BiVO4-HP coatings exhibited the reversible thermochromic behavior with the change of the external temperatures from room temperature to 270 °C. Interestingly, this facile strategy also can be used to fabricate a series of superhydrophobic clay mineral/BiVO4-HP coatings based on the different clay minerals, and there was no relationship between the superhydrophobic properties of the coatings and the morphologies of clay minerals, which was different from the reported color superhydrophobic coatings prepared with Maya-like blue pigments. Thus, the low-cost and thermochromic superhydrophobic clay mineral/BiVO4-HP coatings presented a promising application in temperature sensors and switches with the excellent weather resistance to record and monitor the temperature changes.

Fabrication of self-cleaning photocatalytic durable building coating based on WO3-TNs/PDMS and NO degradation performance

Practical significance in terms of the long-term effective application of photocatalytic coatings is greatly challenged by its easy pollution and poor self-cleaning performance. In this paper, a self-cleaning photocatalytic WO3-TiO2 nanorod (MWT) /PDMS building coating (MWT coating) was prepared by spraying methods. The surface hierarchical structure fabricated by MWT and PDMS was a crux to construct a superhydrophobic surface, which endowed MWT coating with self-cleaning performance. Besides, the MWT coating exhibited prominent durability and antifouling property after 450 d practical application of the external wall. The excellent self-cleaning property of the coating was confirmed by the removal and resistance to the adhesion of powder particles. Meanwhile, the photocatalytic properties of MWT endowed MWT coating with the ability to degrade organic pollutants on the surface. The color difference of the coating polluted by methyl red was only 1.18 and 4.77 after 24 h UV and visible irradiation, respectively. This mutual benefit effect of self-cleaning and photocatalysis was also reflected in the degradation of NO. In the first five cycles, the degradation efficiency of NO decreased by 4.74% gradually under visible light due to the adhesion of oxidation products, and most of the MWT on the coating surface was regenerated after flushing, the PCD efficiency increased by 3.71%. Furthermore, after 30 days of outdoor weathering test, the PCD efficiency of MWT coating decreased by 11.74% and 12.05% under UV and visible light, respectively, which lays a foundation for the long-term effectiveness of the MWT coating in the process of use.

Super-adsorptive and photo-regenerable carbon nanotube based membrane for highly efficient water purification

Carbon nanotube (CNT) based adsorbents have attracted extensive research interest for aqueous pollutants removal. However, such adsorbents face the problems of limited adsorption capacities and costly regeneration. Here, we report a highly adsorptive photo-regenerable CNT based multifunctional membrane with excellent self-cleaning properties via the facile vacuum filtration method, followed by FeOOH in-situ anchoring and silver-amino reaction. Various dyes (Rhodamine B, methylene blue, eosin Y and acid orange 7) and emerging contaminants (bisphenol A, amoxicillin and p-nitrophenol) were tested with the CNT based membrane. Our membrane exhibited superior adsorption performance to dyes among CNT based adsorbents reported in literature. In particular, the CNT based composite membrane displayed even better adsorption performance to cationic dyes. The adsorption capacities of the membrane for Rhodamine B and methylene blue were up to 181 and 247 mg/g, respectively. The membrane also had excellent self-cleaning and photo-regenerable properties after severe organic fouling. Our multifunctional CNT based membrane combined the features of adsorption, membrane separation, and catalytic degradation into one system, showing great promise for dye polluted wastewater purification. This study also offers a new strategy to engineer robust adsorptive, self-cleaning and regenerable membranes for wastewater treatment.

A fluorine-free superhydrophobic silicone rubber surface has excellent self-cleaning and bouncing properties

Superhydrophobic materials have been widely applied in self-cleaning, anti-fouling, anti-corrosion, anti-freezing. However, simple, efficient, environmentally friendly and large-area preparation is still a great challenge in the field of fabrication of superhydrophobic surfaces. In this paper, a simple physical deposition method is adopted to deposit a layer of alumina oxide (Al2O3) particles on the surface of the room temperature vulcanized (RTV) silicone rubber, and remove the excess Al2O3 particles on the surface to obtain the superhydrophobic surface of Al2O3/RTV silicone rubber. The contact angle and rolling angle of the superhydrophobic surface are 156.6° ± 1.1° and 5.1° ± 0.7°, respectively. It is found that the surface roughness of RTV silicone rubber is significantly increased via Al2O3 particles. The analysis of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) demonstrate that the superhydrophobic surface is obtained via constructing rough structure of Al2O3 particles on the RTV silicone rubber surface. In addition, the self-cleaning and droplet bounce tests under different conditions show that the as-prepared superhydrophobic surface has remarkable self-cleaning and droplet bounce properties. Therefore, this method can be employed to simply and effectively fabricate superhydrophobic surfaces in large scale.

“Soapy water” transformation of the “condenser” with self-cleaning ability and antibacterial activity

Superhydrophobic materials exhibit diverse application potential in various fields due to their excellent self-cleaning properties. However, it is still challenging to prepare bionic superhydrophobic materials employing the green methods. In this study, the “condenser” (simulated by a red copper spiral tube) with excellent self-cleaning properties and antibacterial activity has been prepared by a simple one-step “soapy water” immersion process without introducing any other reagents. The results demonstrate that the Cu[CH3(CH2)10COO]2 lamellar nanostructures are formed on the surface of “condenser” owing to the oxidation of copper upon immersion in the sodium laurate aqueous solution. The as-formed nanostructures exhibit excellent self-cleaning performance and can significantly inhibit the growth and proliferation of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, which is significant for the upgradation of the safety and comfort features of the new generation air-conditioners. Moreover, the ruptured superhydrophobic coating on the copper tube can be effectively restored by a facile re-soaking process. Therefore, the present approach, with simple one-step solution-immersion process, low cost, short immersion period, environmental friendliness and optimal applicability to a variety of metal structures of different shapes, represents a promising strategy for fabricating the low-cost superhydrophobic surfaces applicable to the condenser and heat transfer systems, thereby, promoting the development of the self-cleaning and antibacterial smart devices.

Wettability behavior and anti-icing property of superhydrophobic coating on HTV silicone rubber

Composite insulators, which use high temperature vulcanized (HTV) silicone rubber as shed material, are widely applied in transmission lines. Ice accumulation on their surfaces may inflict flashover accident and even massive power outage. In this study, a superhydrophobic (SH) coating on HTV silicone rubber was fabricated by the sol–gel process combined with the plasma jet treatment method. It was found that the as-prepared SH coating exhibited prominent superhydrophobicity and an excellent self-cleaning property with a water contact angle of 160.15°, a contact angle hysteresis of 0.60°, a sliding angle of 1.8°, and a surface free energy of 0.1421 mN/m. The anti-icing behavior of water droplets on the as-prepared SH coating surface was investigated at a low temperature of −30 °C and compared with that of the HTV silicone rubber surface. The results indicated that the freezing time on the SH coating was postponed obviously and was as long as 150 s. The SH coating surface exhibited about 5.6 times delay in freezing at −30 °C compared with the HTV silicone rubber surface. Furthermore, heterogeneous nucleation theory and heat transfer theory were introduced to explain the difference in freezing time between the as-prepared SH coating and HTV silicone rubber. It could be concluded that the SH coating had a large nucleation free energy barrier and a low heat transfer rate between the droplet and the surface and, thus, was able to effectively delay the freezing time.

Fabrication of a superhydrophobic fabric with a uniform hierarchical structure via a bottom-blown stirring method for highly efficient oil–water separation

Highly efficient and multifunctional superhydrophobic fabrics have attracted widespread attention because of the urgent need for oil–water separation technologies. A superhydrophobic polyester fabric with a uniform surface roughness was fabricated via a novel bottom-blown stirring method. The water contact angle increased from 95.3° ± 1.1° of pure polyester fabric to 152.5° ± 0.7°, and the improved uniform roughness led to superhydrophobic fabric with a high separation efficiency (>99.5%) and oil flux (29443 L m−2 h−1), even after 10 cycles of oil–water separation. As the control group, the fabric prepared via traditional magnetic stirring methods could not separate the oil from the water after two cycles. Furthermore, the superhydrophobic fabric showed high mechanical abrasion resistance, even after 100 abrasion cycles on sandpaper (1000 mesh). In addition, the superhydrophobic fabric showed excellent self-cleaning properties and chemical stability. This work provides a new method for fabricating superhydrophobic fabrics with uniform roughness properties that lead to high separation efficiencies and abrasiveness for practical applications in oil–water separation.

Employing micro pyramidal holes and porous nanostructures for enhancing the durability of lubricant-infused surfaces in anti-icing

Slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPSs) have drawn tremendous attentions due to their excellent self-cleaning and anti-icing properties, where durability becomes one of most concerned issues. Here, we demonstrate a robust lubricant-infused surface with enhanced durability by introducing micro pyramidal holes and porous nanostructures. The porous nanostructures serve to retain the lubricant whilst the robust micro pyramidal holes provide protection for the nanostructures. SLIPSs with micro pyramidal holes (P-SLIPSs) are achieved via anisotropic etching and spraying superhydrophobic coatings. The sliding angle of P-SLIPS is as low as 1.5°, enabling liquid droplets including ink, milk and glycerol to slide easily on the surface. The ice adhesion strength of the P-SLIPS is about 11.5 kPa, similar to that of the nanostructured SLIPS without micro pyramidal holes but much lower than that of glass, Al alloy, silicon and superhydrophobic surfaces. After 20 icing/deicing cycles, the ice adhesion strength of the P-SLIPS is significantly lower than that of the nanostructured SLIPS. This is mainly attributed to the introduction of the robust micro pyramidal holes, which can protect the nanostructures from damaging during the icing/deicing process. Our work provides a feasible approach to fabricate robust lubricant-infused surfaces with excellent durability for anti-icing and self-cleaning.

Bio-inspired self-cleaning carbon cloth based on flower-like Ag nanoparticles and leaf-like MOF: A high-performance and reusable substrate for SERS detection of azo dyes in soft drinks

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) enables azo dye monitoring become rapid and efficient. However, the high cost, low efficiency and poor recyclability of SERS substrate limit its practical application. Herein, we propose a facile strategy to develop self-cleaning carbon cloth as a high-performance and reusable SERS substrate through in-situ growth of leaf-like metal-organic framework (L-MOF) and one-step electro-deposition of flower-like Ag nanoparticles (CC-L-MOF@F-Ag) followed by chemical modification for SERS detection of congo red (CR), chrysoidine (CYD) and acid orange II (AO II) in soft drinks. Taking advantages of superhydrophobicity and SERS-active F-Ag, the prepared self-cleaning CC-L-MOF@F-Ag not only avoids the diffusion-random problem and further boosts sensitivity, but also yields excellent self-cleaning property through facile washing with water, endowing its good reusability and stability. Furthermore, this substrate can realize quantitative detection of CR, CYD and AO II with low limits of detection (0.013 μM for CR, 0.017 μM for CYD and 0.0067 μM for AO II) and wide linear detection range (0.1 – 1000 μM for CR, 0.1 – 1000 μM for CYD and 0.01 – 100 μM for AO II). Meanwhile, CR, CYD and AO II in six soft drinks were also successfully detected with satisfactory recoveries. This method provides a potential and cost-effective strategy to develop advanced SERS sensing device for effective monitoring azo dyes in soft drinks.

Study on dynamics and freezing behaviors of water droplet on superhydrophobic aluminum surface

In this work, a kind of superhydrophobic aluminum surface (treated-Al-SA) is fabricated by chemical etching using hydrochloric acid and hydrogen peroxide, and then treated by stearic acid. The surface of treated-Al-SA has typical hierarchical structure, which hold its durable superhydrophobicity under water droplet impact test, bending test, temperature test, humidity test and corrosive liquids test. Moreover, treated-Al-SA show excellent self-cleaning property at the different tilt angle under room temperature. Results on the dynamic behavior of water droplet is indicated the good anti-adhesion and superhydrophobicity of the treated-Al-SA. The whole freezing process of the water droplets on the surface of untreated-Al and treated-Al-SA is observed. The freezing time of treated-Al-SA is 59 s, which is longer than that of untreated-Al. It is estimated that the different anti-freezing behavior is caused by the thermal conductivity between the water droplet and plate, which is provided an insight into freezing characteristics of water droplet. This study is offered the novel opinion of the superhydrophobic aluminum surface produced by chemical etching, which may help the application of structured aluminum surface.