CO2 reduction on a catalytic surface is a very attractive research for energy and environments. In the present study, CO2 with H2O was found to be reduced to CO on an aluminum foil surface with evolution of H-2, which resulted in the growth of stalagmite Al(OH)(3) on this surface. The reduction was found to be highly temperature dependent. The crystal growth and the changes in the crystal structure were confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction crystallography, FT-IR, and Raman spectroscopy. The surface chemical oxidation states were examined by Auger elemental mapping and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The reaction mechanism was proposed to 2Al + CO2 + 5H(2)O -> 2Al(OH)(3) + CO + 2H(2). The evolution of CO and H-2 was confirmed by gas-chromatography and gas sensors. These new findings highlight the potential of performing the reduction of CO2 on a metal surface by understanding its surface reactions. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.