After drying the quilt, why does it smell like the sun?

After drying the quilt, why does it smell like the sun? Whenever it is sunny, everyone will take out the quilt to dry. When the quilt is covered and brought back, they can always smell a warm and delicious sunshine. Many people are curious about where this smell comes from. I remember hearing a saying a few years ago that it was the smell of protein after the mites were burnt. The smell I like very much suddenly becomes unlovable. Fortunately, this view simply does not hold water.

First, the temperature is not enough. In the hottest summer, the quilt surface temperature is only over 40 degrees, which is not enough to denature most protein, let alone give off a burnt smell. Moreover, even if it is burnt, the smell is not the smell of the sun we smell, but the smell of burnt feathers that is a bit choking. Finally, there are not enough mites. What if all the mites on the whole quilt are collected? He weighs only a few milligrams, not to mention. The content of protein only accounts for about 20% of mites, so even if it smells, it is unpleasant for us.

On February 25th, 2020, a chemical research report told us the answer. In order to eliminate the influence of irrelevant factors, the researchers bought several new cotton towels, washed them with ultra-pure water for three times, and then hung them in the outdoor sun, outdoor shade and indoor environment to dry. After drying the towel, put it in a special sealed bag.

Through the analysis of color images and gas chromatography, the research team found that there are indeed some unique aroma molecules on towels dried in the outdoor sun. Most of them are small molecular weight Yutong with 5-9 carbon atoms, including dimethyl propylene with fruit baking taste and dimethyl propylene with peanut taste.

These gas molecules are so thin and small that we can smell them with a little bit, and the sensitive small molecules can also form a light opinion with cotton fibers. Xiang Liu needs more time. As for the cause of odor, researchers speculate that it is related to the photochemical reaction of textiles in the sun, that is, under the catalysis of ultraviolet rays, the substances on the surface of towels undergo a series of oxidation reactions and become some volatile organic compounds with unique odors. Together, they taste like the sun.