Stability and corrosion resistance of superhydrophobic surface on oxidized aluminum in NaCl aqueous solution

•Superhydrophobic surface was achieved on aluminum via surface roughening by NaClO and subsequent passivation by hexadecyltrimethoxysilane.•Superhydrophobic state could be retained for at least 60 days for storing the sample in air.•Variation in surface chemistry, surface morphology, and surface wettability was small for the superhydrophobic sample immersed in NaCl solution for 7 days.•Corrosion current density for the superhydrophobic sample in NaCl solution was much smaller as compared with that of the hydrophilic and hydrophobic one. Superhydrophobic surface (SHS) was fabricated on aluminum via surface roughening by NaClO and surface passivation by hexadecyltrimethoxysilane. The long-term durability for storing the sample in air and the chemical stability for contacting the sample with NaCl solution were investigated. The short-term corrosion resistance for immersing the sample in NaCl solution for 1h was investigated by potentiodynamic polarization, and the long-term corrosion resistance for immersing the sample in NaCl solution for 7 days was investigated by variation analyses on surface wettability, surface morphology, and surface chemistry. All experimental results suggested that the so-obtained SHS possessed good stability and good corrosion resistance under the testing conditions.