This study was a preliminary study to investigate the influence of surface morphology and characteristics on the self-cleaning of substrates. PI film was treated by $O_2$ plasma to modify the surface; in addition, AFM and Fe-SEM were employed to examine the morphological changes induced on a PI film treated by $O_2$ plasma and surface energies calculated from measured contact angles between several solutions and PI film based on the geometric mean and a Lewis acid base method. The surface roughness of PI film treated by $O_2$ plasma increased with the duration of the $O_2$ plasma on PI film due to the increased surface etching. The contact angle of film treated by $O_2$ plasma decreased with the increased treatment time in water and surfactant solution; in addition, the surface energy increased with the increased treatment times largely attributed to the increased portion on the polar surface energy of PI film. The coefficient of the correlation between surface roughness and surface polarity such as contact angle and surface energy was below 0.35; however, it was over 0.99 for the contact angle and surface energy.