旧书店里弥漫着一种怀旧的气息,旧书散发着一种特殊的香气,但很难说清这种气味的确切成因。日前,一位英国化学教授做实验来解释旧书和新书的气味有何不同以及为何不同。新书闻上去是造纸所用的化学品的气味,而旧书散发出一种略带香草和杏仁气味的芬芳,这是由于纸张中的化合物发生分解所产生的气味。纸张中含有纤维素,还有少量的木质素,它是芳香醇的一种聚合物。木质素让纸张年久泛黄,因为氧化反应令木质素分解为酸,进而导致纤维素分解。化学降解后,生成的若干化合物,苯甲醛散发出杏仁味,香草醛散发出香草味,乙基己醇则散发出一种“略带花香”的气味。此外 Old bookstore filled with a nostalgic atmosphere, the old book exudes a special aroma, but it is hard to say the exact cause of this smell. Recently, a British chemistry professor experimented to explain the difference between the old book and the new book smell and why. The new book smells like the smell of chemicals used in papermaking, while the old book emits a slightly fragrant smell of vanilla and almonds due to the decomposition of the compounds in the paper. The paper contains cellulose, but also a small amount of lignin, which is a polymer of aromatic alcohols. Lignin leaves the paper yellow for years as the oxidation decomposes lignin into acids, which in turn leads to the breakdown of the cellulose. After chemical degradation, a number of compounds were formed. Benzaldehyde emitted almonds, vanillin emitted vanilla, and ethylhexanol emitted a “slightly floral” odor. In addition