Higher fullerenes in the Allende meteorite

Fullerenes (C60and C70) were discovered during investigations of the mechanism by which carbon molecules form in interstellar and circumstellar shells1. Unlike diamond and graphite, the other pure forms of carbon, fullerenes are extractable in an organic solvent such as toluene, which led to the detection of the higher fullerenes (C100to C250) in carbon-arc-evaporated soot material2. We have applied a similar solvent extraction procedure to an acid residue of the carbonaceous chondrite from the Allende meteorite to search for higher fullerenes. We found C60and C70, as well as a unique distribution of remarkably stable clusters of C100to C400. These large extraterrestrial carbon clusters are either the first indication of higher fullerenes or are an entirely new range of aromatic carbon-rich molecules.