Recently, a study led by Dr. Yilin Chen, Prof. Yong Qin, Dr. Jiuqing Li, Associate Prof. Zhuangfu Li, Tianyu Yang (China University of Mining and Technology) and Dr. Ergang Lian (Tongji University) was published in Science China Earth Sciences. The research team identified natural carbon onions (onion-like fullerenes) in intrusion-affected coal samples collected from Permian coal-bearing strata in the Yongan Coalfield, Fujian Province, South China. They found the largest natural carbon onions (with an outer diameter of ~55 nm) ever recorded on Earth.