Slippery surface for enhancing surface robustness and chemical stability

Aluminum (Al) is often used for aircraft, shipbuilding, automobile and other related fields because of its low density, high strength, and low cost. However, the Al has the limitation in the practical application because of the easily corroded, poor chemical stability, and difficult to remove contaminants, which seriously affects the wider application of Al. To address these limitations, we develop a simple, non-fluorinated, and low-cost method to obtain the lubricant-impregnated aluminum surface (SLIPS-Al). We first put the cut Al sheet into the solution containing zinc, and then heating oxidation to obtain the micro/nano-scale rough structures. Next, the oxidized sample was modified with low surface energy to achieve the superhydrophobic Al, and then, silicone oil was uniformly dropped on the superhydrophobic surface to obtain the SLIPS-Al. The liquids could slide off SLIPS-Al surfaces and exhibited excellent self-cleaning performance. Next, the silicone oil shear force, abrasion, water impact, acid corrosion, alkali corrosion, simulated seawater corrosion, and natural environment placement tests showed that the SLIPS-Al had excellent surface robustness and chemical stability. Furthermore, the SLIPS-Al had an anti-icing ability and a lower de-icing power compared with the Origin Al. Anti-corrosion test showed that the SLIPS-Al had an excellent anti-corrosion than the Origin Al. The SLIPS-Al with the excellent performances has a good prospect for practical engineering application.