Decoding Source of Leather Odor A Quantitative Analysis with Heracles NEO

Abstract

Leather products are widely used in our daily life and in close contact with users, but the pleasant feeling during its usage is severely affected by the odor volatilized from the leather surface. In this study, a quantitative analysis method to investigate the differences in the odor profiles among four types of leather was proposed. The primary olfactory constituents of four leather types were examined by Heracles NEO ultra-fast gas-phase electronic nose, including Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Discriminant Factor Analysis (DFA). In chrome-tanned cattle hide leather, the substance with the highest content was 2,4-Dinitrotoluene, while methyl dodecanoate was the predominant compound in chromefree cattle hide leather. Notably, chrome-tanned sheepskin leather exhibited higher levels of dodecanal, clopyralid, n-octylbenzene, propyl cinnamate, and 3-methylhexadecane. Similarly, chrome-free sheepskin leather contained higher levels of dodecanal, clopyralid, n-octylbenzene, propyl cinnamate, 3-methylhexadecane, and tetradecanol. These findings indicate that each of the four types of leather possesses distinctive compounds, while also sharing common compounds. Furthermore, the results indicate that radar plots along with PCA and DFA analyses can effectively differentiate between the four types of leather.