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Nanomaterials
Volume 16
Issue 12
10.3390/nano16120740
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Ultrafast Laser-Induced Surface Texturing to Enhance Stainless Steel Gliding on Snow

by
Guglielmo Marchesa
1,
Lorenzo Puppo
2,
Matteo Verdi
3,*,
Giorgia Dassiè
2,
Federico Bassi
3,
Etienne Negri
2,
Enza Fazio
4,
Enrico Gallus
3 and
Paolo Maria Ossi
2
1
Dipartimento Ingegneria, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze Ed.8, 90128 Palermo, Italy
2
Dipartimento Energia, Politecnico di Milano, via Lambruschini 4a, 20156 Milano, Italy
3
Kirana S.r.l., Via Fortunato Zeni 8, Polo Meccatronica, 38068 Rovereto, Italy
4
Dipartimento Scienze Matematiche e Informatiche, Scienze Fisiche e Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Messina, Viale Ferdinando Stagno d’Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Nanomaterials 2026, 16(12), 740; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano16120740 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 16 April 2026 / Revised: 4 June 2026 / Accepted: 5 June 2026 / Published: 13 June 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Femtosecond Laser Fabrication of Micro/Nanostructures and Applications (Second Edition))
Versions Notes

Abstract

Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE), the standard base material in ski manufacturing, offers excellent gliding performance but exhibits limited mechanical and scratch resistance on hard and icy snow conditions. In this work, stainless steel is proposed as a mechanically robust alternative, and its inherently higher friction against snow is addressed through surface engineering. The snow friction behavior of 301H stainless steel surfaces decorated with fishbone-like microstructures combined with Laser-Induced Periodic Surface Structures (LIPSSs) was investigated using a custom-built snow tribometer. Several pattern designs, with different pitch distances and depths, were engraved using femtosecond laser pulse irradiation. We conducted morphological, physical, and chemical investigations through microscopy, static contact angle measurements, and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy analyses. Results indicate that the gliding performance is not directly related to the modifications in surface chemistry and wetting behavior of the samples but is affected by the geometry and orientation with respect to the sliding direction of the specific micro- and nano-features. Overall, we achieved friction coefficient values comparable to those found in UHMWPE with a fast and economically sustainable single-step laser-texturing process. This approach allows the industrial up-scaling of the fishbone-texture design to real-size alpine ski prototypes.
Keywords: AISI 301H SS; snow; friction; surface properties; hydrophobicity; laser texturing; LIPSS AISI 301H SS; snow; friction; surface properties; hydrophobicity; laser texturing; LIPSS

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MDPI and ACS Style

Marchesa, G.; Puppo, L.; Verdi, M.; Dassiè, G.; Bassi, F.; Negri, E.; Fazio, E.; Gallus, E.; Ossi, P.M. Ultrafast Laser-Induced Surface Texturing to Enhance Stainless Steel Gliding on Snow. Nanomaterials 2026, 16, 740. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano16120740

AMA Style

Marchesa G, Puppo L, Verdi M, Dassiè G, Bassi F, Negri E, Fazio E, Gallus E, Ossi PM. Ultrafast Laser-Induced Surface Texturing to Enhance Stainless Steel Gliding on Snow. Nanomaterials. 2026; 16(12):740. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano16120740

Chicago/Turabian Style

Marchesa, Guglielmo, Lorenzo Puppo, Matteo Verdi, Giorgia Dassiè, Federico Bassi, Etienne Negri, Enza Fazio, Enrico Gallus, and Paolo Maria Ossi. 2026. "Ultrafast Laser-Induced Surface Texturing to Enhance Stainless Steel Gliding on Snow" Nanomaterials 16, no. 12: 740. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano16120740

APA Style

Marchesa, G., Puppo, L., Verdi, M., Dassiè, G., Bassi, F., Negri, E., Fazio, E., Gallus, E., & Ossi, P. M. (2026). Ultrafast Laser-Induced Surface Texturing to Enhance Stainless Steel Gliding on Snow. Nanomaterials, 16(12), 740. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano16120740

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