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Abstract
Three rocks with different organic carbon content, graptolitic shale, metamorphosed black schist and bituminous coal, have been subjected to high‐energy electric impulses of current amplitudes comparable to lightnings that form fulgurites. Search for fullerenes has been done directly on altered surfaces using infrared spectroscopy. Toluene extractable material from altered samples has been investigated by means of high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and electron‐impact ionization mass spectroscopy (EI‐MS) for the presence of fullerenes. Two peaks characteristic for fullerenes can be observed in infrared spectrum of one sample of metamorphosed black schist, but no C60 fullerene has been detected using HPLC and EI‐MS either in this sample or in bituminous coal and graptolitic shale.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank J. Bolech, I. Totev, and J. Novotny in Laboratory for Very High Voltages in Prague—Běchovice, who assisted during the experiments.
The work was partly supported by Grant Agency of the Charles University project No. 212/1999 B GEO, ZVZ 313 005, and Ministry of Education of Czech Republic project Nr. 2307/2002.