М.Р. Zhaldak’s dissertation is dedicated to the commodity science of the formation of indicators of quality of leather for children's footwear. The state, tendencies, problems of development of the market of children's footwear and natural leather for its production in Ukraine and the world are analyzed. The components of the formation of quality of children's footwear are determined. It is advisable to pay attention to the lack of guidelines that would take into account the specifics of children's footwear and the lack of scientifically sound approaches to the choice of leather shoes according to their quality. Сhrome tanning is the traditional option. The basic chromium sulfate is used in the production of 80% of leather in use. Considering the disadvantages of using chromium compounds, scientific research on the replacement and use of rather eco-friendlier substances has been conducted for a long time. In recent years, a large number of studies have focused on the implementation of environmentally-oriented technologies, aimed at the use of the compositions based on bentonite clays for the production of leather for different purposes. An innovative direction of effective tanning of leather is the use of tanning montmorillonite the formation of indicators of quality of leather materials for children's footwear. The solution of the tasks set in the dissertation to evaluate the properties of montmorillonite dispersions were solved using standard and modern research methods: rheological, spectrophotocolorimetric, potentiometric titration and infrared spectroscopy. Studies of the quality of natural leather for children's footwear were solved using physico-chemical and physico-mechanical methods. In addition, standard, general scientific methods of theoretical generalization (analysis, synthesis, etc.), methods of commodity research (expert, organoleptic, measuring, calculation, etc.) are used. The paper proposes the that modification of montmorillonite dispersions with sodium carbonate the consumption of 6,0% by weight of dry mineral and рotassium aluminum sulfate the consumption within 5,0% of Al2O3 by weight of mineral. The gradual modification contributes to obtaining the most stable positively charged montmorillonite dispersions and confirmed by rheological properties. The obtained dispersions are characterized by a stable pH level in the range of 3,5–4,0, which is predicted to allow effective tanning process. It was substantiated that the introduction of modified montmorillonite at the stage of tanning ensures creation of additional bonds in the structure of derma, which will cause more effective interaction of compounds of chromium and aluminum with collagen and, respectively, will contribute to more effective derma structuring. In this regard, it is possible to predict more rational use of chromium compounds for tanning due to the introduction of the composition based of montmorillonite modified by aluminum compounds. This will solve the task of making production ecologically friendly and enhancing the quality of leather for children’s footwear. Conducted studies on the chemical interactions between collagen of derma and modified montmorillonite dispersions have revealed the formation of chemical bonds involving aluminum between the collagen side chains and the hydroxyl groups of molecules of already bound peptides of pre-chromed gelatin. A combination of chemical interactions enables the formation of hydrogen, ionic and covalent bonds, which increases the efficiency of collagen structuring. At the same time, 0,75 % of Сr2O3 and 3,0 % of modified montmorillonite dispersion of the weight of the pelts in conversion for mineral weight are considered the optimal consumption of chromium tanning agents. The use of modified aluminum compounds of montmorillonite for tanning contributes to the effective structuring of the dermis with a level of hydrothermal resistance of 102 oC, increasing the tensile strength by 8,7%, reducing elongation under load and rupture by 11,5 % and 9,7 %, respectively. According to the results of industrial implementation of the chrome-less tanning leather with the use of modified aluminum compounds montmorillonite, the effective formation of quality indicators of leather for children's footwear has been established. Key words: leather, children's footwear, quality, structure formation, modification, montmorillonite, chrome-less tanning, causal analysis.
