Boron information, including Technical Data, Safety Data and its High Purity properties, research, applications and other useful facts are discussed below. Scientific facts such as the atomic structure, ionization energy, abundance on Earth, conductivity and thermal properties are included.
 Boron has an energy band gap of 1.50 to 1.56 eV, which is higher than that of either silicon or germanium. Optical characteristics include transmitting portions of the infrared. Boron is a poor conductor of electricity at room temperature but a good conductor at high temperature. Boron in its elemental form is not toxic. Amorphous boron is used in pyrotechnic flares to provide a distinctive green color, and in rockets as an igniter Boric acid is also an important boron compound with major markets in textile products. Boron compounds are also extensively used in the manufacture of borosilicate glasses. The isotope Boron-10 is used as a control for nuclear reactors, as a shield for nuclear radiation, and in instruments used for detecting neutrons. Boron nitride has remarkable properties and can be used to make a material as hard as diamond. The nitride also behaves like an electrical insulator but conducts heat like a metal. Boron also has lubricating properties similar to graphite. The hydrides are easily oxidized with considerable energy liberation, and have been studied for use as rocket fuels. Demand is increasing for boron filaments, a high-strength, lightweight material chiefly employed for advanced aerospace structures Boron is similar to carbon in that it has a capacity to form stable covalently bonded molecular networks. Boron is available as compounds with purities from 99% to 99.9999% (ACS grade to ultra-high purity).
Boron facts, including appearance, CAS #, and molecular formula and safety data, research and properties are
available for many specific states, forms and shapes on the product pages listed to the left. Elemental or metallic forms include pellets, rod, wire and granules for evaporation source material purposes. Nanoparticles and nanopowders provide ultra high surface area which nanotechnology research and recent experiments demonstrate function to create new and unique properties and benefits.
Oxides are available in forms including powders and dense  pellets for such uses as optical coating and thin film applications. Oxides tend to be insoluble. Fluorides are another insoluble form for uses in which oxygen is undesirable such as metallurgy, chemical and physical vapor deposition and in some optical coatings. Boron is available in soluble forms including chlorides, nitrates and acetates. These compounds are also manufactured as solutions at specified stoichiometries.
Boron is a Block P, Group 13, Period 2 element. The number of electrons in each of Boron's shells is 2, 3 and its electronic configuration is [He] 2s2 2p1. In its elemental form boron's CAS number is 7440-42-8. The boron atom has a radius of 79.5.pm and it's Van der Waals radius is 200.pm. Boron is not toxic.
 All elemental metals, compounds and solutions may be synthesized in ultra high purity (e.g. 99.999%) for laboratory standards, advanced electronic, thin fillm deposition using sputtering targets and evaporation materials, metallurgy and optical materials and other high technology applications. Information is provided for stable (non-radioactive) isotopes. Organo-Metallic Boron compounds are soluble in organic or non-aqueous solvents. See Analytical Services for information on available certified chemical and physical analysis techniques including MS-ICP, X-Ray Diffraction, PSD and Surface Area (BET) analysis.
Boron was first discovered by Sir Humphry Davy and J.L Gay-Lussac in 1808.
The name Boron originates from a combination of carbon and the Arabic word 'buraqu meaning borax.
 Bore |
 Bor |
 Boro |
 Boro |
 Boro |
 Bor |
Abundance. The following table shows the abundance of boron and each of its naturally occurring isotopes on Earth along with the atomic mass for each isotope.
| Isotope |
Atomic Mass |
% Abundance on Earth |
| B-10 |
10.0129370 |
19.9 |
| B-11 |
11.0093055 |
80.1 |
The following table shows the abundance of Boron present in the human body and in the universe scaled to parts per billion (ppb) by weight and by atom:
| |
Typical Human Body |
Universe |
| by Weight |
700 ppb |
1 ppb |
| by Atom |
410 ppb |
0.1 ppb |
Safety Data and Biological Role. The safety data for boron metal, nanoparticles and its compounds can vary widely depending on the form. For potential hazard information, toxicity, and road, sea and air transportation limitations, such as DOT Hazard Class, DOT Number, EU Number, NFPA Health rating and RTECS Class, please see the specific material or compound referenced in the left margin. Boron compounds are required by green algae and higher plants.
Ionization Energy. The ionization energy for boron (the least required energy to release a single electron from the atom in it's ground state in the gas phase) is stated in the following table:
| 1st Ionization Energy |
800.64 kJ mol-1 |
| 2nd Ionization Energy |
2427.09 kJ mol-1 |
| 3rd Ionization Energy |
3659.78 kJ mol-1 |
Conductivity. As to boron's electrical and thermal conductivity, the electrical conductivity measured as to electrical resistivity @ 20 ºC is 1.8E+12 μΩcm and its electronegativities (or its ability to draw electrons relative to other elements) is 2.04. The thermal conductivity of boron is 27 W m-1 K-1.
Thermal Properties. The melting point and boiling point for boron are stated below. The following chart sets forth the heat of fusion, heat of vaporization and heat of atomization.
| Heat of Fusion |
22.2 kJ mol-1 |
| Heat of Vaporization |
504.5 kJ mol-1 |
| Heat of Atomization |
557.64 kJ mol-1 |
Recent Research & Development for BoronHydrogen Peroxide Induced Activation of Gene Expression in Mammalian Cells using Boronate Estrone Derivatives.
Govan JM, McIver AL, Riggsbee C, Deiters A.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2012 Jul 31. doi: 10.1002/anie.201203222. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22855386
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Hydrogen Activation by an Intramolecular Boron Lewis Acid/Zirconocene Pair.
Podiyanachari SK, Fröhlich R, Daniliuc CG, Petersen JL, Mück-Lichtenfeld C, Kehr G, Erker G.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2012 Jul 31. doi: 10.1002/anie.201202218. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22855369
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Electronic structure and quantum transport properties of trilayers formed from graphene and boron nitride.
Zhong X, Amorim RG, Scheicher RH, Pandey R, Karna SP.
Nanoscale. 2012 Aug 2. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22854975
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Electrochemical mineralization of the azo dye Acid Red 29 (Chromotrope 2R) by photoelectro-Fenton process.
Almeida LC, Garcia-Segura S, Arias C, Bocchi N, Brillas E.
Chemosphere. 2012 Jul 31. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22854020
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Theoretical Study of the Regioselectivity of the Interaction of 3-Methyl-4-Pyrimidone and 1-Methyl-2-Pyrimidone with Lewis Acids.
Okuma EK, Muya JT, Broeckaert L, Maes G, Geerlings P.
J Phys Chem A. 2012 Aug 1. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22853776
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Incorporation of the stress concentration slots into the flexures for a high-performance microaccelerometer.
Zhao Y, Sun L, Liu Y, Wang W, Tian B.
Rev Sci Instrum. 2012 Jul;83(7):075002.
PMID:
22852717
[PubMed - in process]
Theoretical characterization of the BN and BP coronenes by IR, Raman, and UV-VIS spectra.
de Abreu L, Lo´pez-Castillo A.
J Chem Phys. 2012 Jul 28;137(4):044309.
PMID:
22852620
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Probing the structures and chemical bonding of boron-boronyl clusters using photoelectron spectroscopy and computational chemistry: B(4)(BO)(n) (-) (n = 1-3).
Chen Q, Zhai HJ, Li SD, Wang LS.
J Chem Phys. 2012 Jul 28;137(4):044307.
PMID:
22852618
[PubMed - in process]
Direct electrochemistry of Shewanella loihica PV-4 on gold nanoparticles-modified boron-doped diamond electrodes fabricated by layer-by-layer technique.
Wu W, Xie R, Bai L, Tang Z, Gu Z.
J Nanosci Nanotechnol. 2012 May;12(5):3903-8.
PMID:
22852323
[PubMed - in process]
Effect of MoO3 on the synthesis of boron nitride nanotubes over Fe and Ni catalysts.
Nithya JS, Pandurangan A.
J Nanosci Nanotechnol. 2012 May;12(5):3831-7.
PMID:
22852313
[PubMed - in process]
KCo(H(2)O)(2)BP(2)O(8)·0.48H(2)O and K(0.17)Ca(0.42)Co(H(2)O)(2)BP(2)O(8)·H(2)O: two cobalt borophosphates with helical ribbons and disordered (K,Ca)/H(2)O schemes.
Guesmi A, Driss A.
Acta Crystallogr C. 2012 Aug;68(Pt 8):i55-i59. Epub 2012 Jul 25.
PMID:
22850840
[PubMed - in process]
Elongation of Planar Boron Clusters by Hydrogenation: Boron Analogues of Polyenes.
Li WL, Romanescu C, Jian T, Wang LS.
J Am Chem Soc. 2012 Jul 31. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22849590
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
High incidence of implantable cardioverter defibrillator malfunctions during radiation therapy: neutrons as a probable cause of soft errors.
Elders J, Kunze-Busch M, Jan Smeenk R, Smeets JL.
Europace. 2012 Jul 29. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22848077
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Cross-sectional imaging of individual layers and buried interfaces of graphene-based heterostructures and superlattices.
Haigh SJ, Gholinia A, Jalil R, Romani S, Britnell L, Elias DC, Novoselov KS, Ponomarenko LA, Geim AK, Gorbachev R.
Nat Mater. 2012 Jul 29. doi: 10.1038/nmat3386. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22842512
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Boron-based Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors Show Novel Binding of Boron to PDE4 Bimetal Center.
Freund YR, Akama T, Alley MR, Antunes J, Dong C, Jarnagin K, Kimura R, Nieman JA, Maples KR, Plattner JJ, Rock F, Sharma R, Singh R, Sanders V, Zhou Y.
FEBS Lett. 2012 Jul 25. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22841723
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Simultaneous voltammetric determination of synthetic colorants in food using a cathodically pretreated boron-doped diamond electrode.
Medeiros RA, Lourencao BC, Rocha-Filho RC, Fatibello-Filho O.
Talanta. 2012 Aug 15;97:291-7. Epub 2012 Apr 26.
PMID:
22841082
[PubMed - in process]
Evaluating the complexation behavior and regeneration of boron selective glucaminium-based ionic liquids when used as extraction solvents.
Joshi MD, Steyer DJ, Anderson JL.
Anal Chim Acta. 2012 Aug 31;740:66-73. Epub 2012 Jun 28.
PMID:
22840652
[PubMed - in process]
Computation of the infrared active modes in single-walled boron nitride nanotube bundles.
Fakrach B, Rahmani A, Chadli H, Sbai K, Benhamou M, Bentaleb M, Bantignies JL, Sauvajol JL.
J Phys Condens Matter. 2012 Aug 22;24(33):335304. Epub 2012 Jul 27.
PMID:
22836107
[PubMed - in process]
Influence of impregnation method on metal retention of CCB-treated wood in slow pyrolysis process.
Kinata SE, Loubar K, Bouslamti A, Belloncle C, Tazerout M.
J Hazard Mater. 2012 Jul 11. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22835770
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Design strategy for a near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence probe for matrix metalloproteinase utilizing highly cell-permeable boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY).
Myochin T, Hanaoka K, Komatsu T, Terai T, Nagano T.
J Am Chem Soc. 2012 Jul 25. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID:
22830429
[PubMed - as supplied by publisher] |
