Discovery of Disulfane (H<sub>2</sub>S<sub>2</sub>) in Fluid Inclusions in Rubies from Yuanjiang, China, and Its Implications
Wenqing Huang,
Pei Ni,
Jungui Zhou,
Ting Shui,
Junying Ding,
Renzhi Zhu,
Yitao Cai,
Mingsen Fan
Affiliations
Wenqing Huang
National Center of Inspection and Testing on Quality of Gold and Silver Products, Nanjing Institute of Product Quality Inspection, Nanjing 210019, China
Pei Ni
State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, Institute of Geo-Fluids, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
Jungui Zhou
National Center of Inspection and Testing on Quality of Gold and Silver Products, Nanjing Institute of Product Quality Inspection, Nanjing 210019, China
Ting Shui
Nanjing Center, China Geological Survey, Nanjing 210016, China
Junying Ding
State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, Institute of Geo-Fluids, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
Renzhi Zhu
CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and Environments, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
Yitao Cai
Nanjing Center, China Geological Survey, Nanjing 210016, China
Mingsen Fan
State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, Institute of Geo-Fluids, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
Raman spectra of fluid inclusions in gem rubies from Yuanjiang deposit (China) within the Ailao Shan-Red River (ASRR) metamorphic belt showed the presence of compounds such as CO2, COS, CH4, H2S, and elemental sulfur (S8), accompanied by two bands at approximately 2499 and 2570 cm−1. These two frequencies could be assigned to the vibrations of disulfane (H2S2). This is the second case of the sulfane-bearing fluid inclusions in geological samples reported, followed by the first in quartzite from Bastar Craton of India. The H2S2 was likely in situ enclosed by the host rubies rather than a reaction product that formed during the cooling of H2S and S8, suggesting sulfanes are stable at elevated temperatures (e.g., >600 °C). By comparing the lithologies and metamorphic conditions of these two sulfane-bearing cases (Bastar and Yuanjiang), it is suggested that amphibolite facies metamorphism of sedimentary sequence that deposited in a continental platform setting might favor the generation of sulfanes. Sulfanes may play an important role in the mobilization of Cr that is essential for ruby crystallization.
