Wrapped
by periodically
wrinkled skin, soft earthworm shows excellent robustness against sticky
soil. Mimicking this deformation adaptability, here, we report an
ultradurable superhydrophobic fabric by exploiting the formation of
adaptive, soft wrinkled poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) skins. Uniform
wrinkles are created on woven fabric fibers due to the surface instability
of PDMS coating with a cross-linking gradient induced by Ar plasma
treatment. Both the surface topography of wrinkles and the viscoelasticity
of the underlying compliant layer to release stress endow the treated
superhydrophobic fabrics with extraordinary durability, withstanding
800 standard laundries or 1000 rubbing cycles under 44.8 kPa. Additionally,
superhydrophobic fabrics are self-healable after heating or plasma
treatment. This insight of engineering soft skins with periodic submicron
surface topography and gradient modulus provides a pathway for the
design of ultradurable, multifunctional wearables.