Evidence for fullerenes in solid bitumen from pillow lavas of Proterozoic age from Mítov (Bohemian Massif, Czech Republic)

Abstract Andesitic pillow lavas containing biogenic, solid bitumen (SB) are a constituent of a Neoproterozoic volcanosedimentary sequence (Tepla-Barrandian unit, Bohemian Massif) in the Mitov area of the Czech Republic. A black shale formation that is crosscut by these andesitic basalts is 565 Ma old. Carbon disulfide extracts of two powdered samples of SB contain 0.2 and 0.3 ppm of C 60 , respectively, as determined by high-pressure liquid chromatography. The peak assignment based on retention time is fully supported by high-resolution electron ionization mass spectrometry (EI-MS). No C 70 was detected, nor was C 60 found in two other SB samples from this locality. Other investigated carbonaceous samples from Bohemia (coals and anthracites of Upper Paleozoic age and anthraxolite, graphitoids, and graphite of Upper Proterozoic age) did not contain fullerenes at concentrations above the detection limit of 0.01 ppm. The absence of C 60 in these samples was confirmed by EI-MS. The proposed mechanism of fullerene formation involves a primary algal phase, generation of a hydrocarbonaceous mixture in the course of thermal evolution of the sedimentary series, and their high-temperature transformation related to the extrusion of basalt. An important feature for fullerene conservation was the enclosure of fullerenes in SB with a structure similar to glasslike carbon, where the fullerene was protected against oxidation.