Wearable Superhydrophobic Elastomer Skin with Switchable Wettability

Flexible smart surfaces with tunable wettability are promising for emerging wearable uses. However, currently, wearable superhydrophobic surfaces with dynamic wetting behaviors are rarely reported. Here, a skin-like superhydrophobic elastomer surface with switchable lotus leaf and rose petal states is reported. Direct laser writing technique is employed for one-step, programmable, large-scale fabrication of monolithic and hierarchical micro-nanostructures on elastomer, leading to strong water repellence. The surface topography can be finely regulated in a rapid and reversible manner by simple stretching, providing the feasibility of controlling the surface wettability by simple body motions. The ability to switch wetting states enables the surface to capture and release multiple droplets in parallel. Furthermore, the active surface can be applied to the joints of fingers and operate as a droplet manipulator under finger motions without requiring energy supply or external appliance. In this work, dynamic tuning of wetting properties is integrated into the design of skin-like wearable surfaces, revealing great potential in versatile applications such as wearable droplet manipulator, portable actuator, adaptive adhesion control, liquid repellent skin, and smart clothing.