Table Of Elements

Boron has been around for thousands of years; however, it had only been found in compounds until Sir Humphry Davy, Gay-Lussac, and Thenard discovered pure boron in 1808. Their discovery led to a deduction of the atomic number, weight, and electronic configuration. The atomic number is 5, its atomic weight is 1 0.81, its electronic configuration is [He] and its symbol is B.

      Boron is not found free in nature, but it is found in volcanic sprin water and as orthoboric acid. It is also found as borates in boron and colemantie. Ulexite, also a boron mineral, is natures own version of fiber optics. Sources of boron are ore rasorite (kernite) and tincal (borax ore). These are both found in the Mojave Desert. Tincal is the most important boron source from the Mojave. Boron deposits can also be found in Turkey. Boron exists naturally as 19.78% 10B isotope and 80.22% 11B isotope High-purity crystalline boron may be prepared by the vapor phase reduction of boron trichloride or tribromide with hydrogen on electrically heated filaments. Heating the trioxide with magnesium powder can make impure boron, a brownish-black powder. Boron has an energy band gap of 1.5 to 1.56 eV, which is higher than that of germanium or silicon. Boron is a bad conductor of electricity at room temperature but a good conductor at a high temperature.

      Impure boron is used in pyrotechnic flares to make a distinctive green color, and in rockets as an igniter. This pentahydrate is used in very large quantities in the manufacture of insulation fiberglass and sodium perborate bleach.

      Boric acid is also an important boron compound with major markets in textile products. Use of borax as a mild antiseptic is minor in terms of dollars and tons. Boron compounds are also extensively used in the manufacture of borosilicate glasses. Other boron compounds are used in treating arthritis. The isotope boron-10 is used as a shield for nuclear radiation, as a control for nuclear reactors, and in instruments for detecting neutrons.

      Boron nitride has remarkable properties and can also be used to make a material as hard as a diamond. The nitride behaves like an electrical insulator but conducts heat like a metal. Boron also has properties similar to graphite like lubrication. The hydrides are easily oxidized with considerable energy liberation and have been studied for use as rocket fuels. Demand is also 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. Carbonates, metalloboranes, and other families comprise thousands of compounds containing boron.

      Crystalline boron (99%] costs about $5/g. Amorphous boron costs about $2/g. Elemental boron and the borates are not considered to be toxic, and they do not require special care in handling. However, some of the more exotic boron hydrogen compounds are definitely toxic and do require careful handling.

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