Stearic acid modified aluminum surfaces with controlled wetting properties and corrosion resistance

•Special Al surfaces are fabricated by modification in DMF/water mixture.•The modified Al surfaces with controlled wettabilities and corrosion resistance.•Corrosion rate of modified Al is much less than that of the as-received one.

A facile method is employed for the construction of special Al surfaces with controlled wetting properties and corrosion resistance. The Al sheets were chemically etched in HCl aqueous solution and modified with stearic acid (SA) in N,N′-dimethylformamide (DMF)/water mixture. The wetting properties and corrosion resistance of Al surfaces were controlled by the tunable volume ratio of DMF to water. The interfacial model for corrosion resistance mechanism of superhydrophoic Al surface in 0.6 M NaCl aqueous solution is also proposed.