Nanotechnology: a great achievement in a small package

The term nano comes from the Greek and means tiny or miniscule. A nanometre is a millionth of a millimetre. The diameter of a human hair is fifty thousand times larger than this.

Nanotechnology produces the most minute parts and structural units. In the care of shoes and leather, these are specifically used to work on the surface characteristics of materials and to reinforce stain resistance.

Nanostructured surfaces align themselves to models and patterns from nature. For example, a characteristic of the lotus flower or an insect wing is that dirt and water simply roll off its surface. This happens because miniscule prongs on the upmost layer reduce the gravitational pull between the drops of water and the surface. The droplet rolls onto these prongs and cannot permeate or soak into the surface material.

For COLLONIL shoe and leather care, surface technology is the key application field. With the help of this technology, the resistance of leather to dirt, water and oil can be specifically enhanced and waterproofing efficiency can be improved by 25 - 30%. Leather stays breathable and soft, colours retain their freshness. Nano Complete Foam, for example, cleans and treats every kind of leather as well as synthetic materials.