Boron: Inorganic Chemistry

Abstract

Boron is unique among the elements and displays remarkable chemistry in all of its compounds. It is widely distributed in low concentrations throughout the Earth's crust and is nearly always found bound to oxygen in its natural forms. Boron enters the life cycle of plants and animals and is important for the normal growth of plants, and possibly all living things. The vast majority of industrial uses of boron involve boron–oxygen compounds, including metal borates, boric oxide, boric acid, and boric acid esters. These have large‐scale applications in many industries, most notably in the manufacture of glasses, ceramics, and other vitreous materials. Boric acid is a weak Lewis acid that does not display Brønsted acidity in aqueous solution. Condensation of B(OH) 3 and its conjugate base B(OH) 4 − to form polyborate anions in aqueous solution has important implications for the solubilities and other solution properties of metal and nonmetal borate salts and provides the structural basis of numerous natural and synthetic borate compounds. Boric acid reacts with alcohols and other hydroxyl group‐bearing compounds to form esters, which have many industrial uses. Reversible borate ester formation with 1,2‐ and 1,3‐diols provides the basis for crosslinked polymers used in adhesives and oilfield applications as well as the essential biological roles of boron. Although much smaller in scale compared to boron oxides, nonoxide compounds of boron have many important industrial uses. These include refractory compounds, such as boron carbide, boron nitrides, boron phosphides, elemental boron, metal borides, and metal‐boron alloys, as well as nonrefractories such as the boron halides and boron hydrides. Although many nonrefractory compounds, such as boron–sulfur compounds, are yet to find significant industrial uses, they nonetheless exhibit fascinating chemistries.

In situ detection of boron by ChemCam on Mars

“…Nevertheless, the vein geological context points to emplacement of boron by water. Boron is very easily oxidized; boron is always a borate in conditions where water is stable and in past and present Mars surface oxygen fugacity conditions, which implies that the boron was a borate when emplaced and remains a borate at present [ Ingri , ; Schubert , ]. We suggest that the boron was at least partly emplaced by a late‐stage groundwater and was likely redistributed from a primary source [cf.…”

“…Both models considered suggest that boron (a) weathered out of primary igneous crust in the Gale crater watershed [ Ehlmann and Buz , ], (b) was dissolved in lake water, and (c) was dissolved in the late‐stage groundwater system. However, the different possible mechanisms of initial boron concentration from lake waters have important consequences for fluid pH and the resultant borate mineralogy, since possible borate mineral precipitates are dependent on fluid temperature, pH, and composition [ Hunt et al , ; Garrett , ; Schubert , ].…”

Self-Healing Amorphous Polymers with Room-Temperature Phosphorescence Enabled by Boron-Based Dative Bonds

“…Metal–ligand coordination affords charge transfer to promote ISC, mix singlet and triplet excitons, and improve the rate of phosphorescence decay. , Metals have also been coordinated onto polymers to generate phosphorescence. , However, since the metal-containing phosphors have the drawbacks of high cost, toxicity, and difficulty of preparation, it is highly desirable to develop non-metal-based dative bonds in RTP polymers. Boron, an electron-deficient element, exhibits a tendency to accept electron donor species to form dative bonds and Lewis pairs . B–N/B–O dative bonds have been widely used in self-healing materials, , organic cages, , crystals, , and so forth.…”

Potasyum Klorür Kullanılarak Sentezlenen Potasyum Borat Mineralinin Sentez ve Karakterizasyonuna Tepkime Koşullarının Etkisi

“…Each type of metal borate has unique features that are preferred in different areas of application [1,2]. Potassium borates are a specific type of boron compound, which have been used in the preparation of non-linear optical materials, antibiotics and high temperature fluxes [3,4].…”