


Boron compounds find numerous applications in various industries:.Boron has a hardness similar to that of carbon, making it one of the hardest known elements.It is a poor conductor of electricity in its pure form, but it becomes a good conductor when doped with small amounts of other elements.Boron is a relatively light element, with a density of 2.34 grams per cubic centimeter.Boron compounds exhibit a range of unique chemical properties, such as high thermal stability, strong covalent bonding, and a tendency to form complex structures.It is relatively chemically inert at room temperature and does not react with air, water, acids, or alkalis.It has a relatively low density and a crystalline structure.Boron is an element that forms compounds with a variety of oxidation states, including +1, +2, +3, and +4.Here’s some information about boron: Chemical Properties It is a metalloid and is known for its diverse range of properties. Boric acid is an important compound used in textile products.Boron is a chemical element with the symbol B and atomic number 5. Small amounts of boron compounds play a role in strengthening the cell walls of all plants, thus making boron necessary in soils. A small amount of boron is used as a dopant in semiconductors, and reagent intermediates in the synthesis of organic fine chemicals.īoron is essential to life, although its exact physiological role in animals is not well-established.

Some pesticides used for cockroach control and some wood preservatives also contain borates. Boron as sodium perborate is used as a bleach. They are also used in fire retardants, leather tanning industries, cosmetics, photographic materials, soaps and cleaners, and high-energy fuel.īorosilicate glass is desired for its greater strength and thermal shock resistance than ordinary soda-lime glass. The next leading use is in polymers and ceramics in high-strength, lightweight structural and refractory materials. Industrially, very pure boron can be produced, but this is difficult because boron tends to form refractory materials that contain small amounts of carbon or other elements. About half of all boron consumed globally is an additive in fiberglass for insulation and structural materials. Several allotropes of boron exist: amorphous boron is a brown powder crystalline boron is silvery to black, extremely hard (about 9.5 on the Mohs scale), and a poor electrical conductor at room temperature.īoron is primarily used in chemical compounds. Industrially, very pure boron is produced with difficulty because of refractory contamination by carbon or other elements. Elemental boron is a metalloid that is found in small amounts in meteoroids but chemically uncombined boron is not otherwise found naturally on Earth. The borides are usually harder, chemically less reactive, and electrically less resistive and have a higher melting point than the corresponding pure metallic elements. Boron combines with various metals to form a class of compounds called borides. The most important compounds of boron are boric (or boracic) acid, borax (sodium borate), and boric oxide. It was first isolated (1808) by French chemists Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac and Louis-Jacques Thenard and independently by British chemist Sir Humphry Davy by heating boron oxide (B2O3) with potassium metal. On Earth, boron is concentrated by the water-solubility of its more common naturally-occurring compounds, the borate minerals. Boron is concentrated on Earth by the water-solubility of its more common naturally occurring compounds, the borate minerals. Produced entirely by cosmic ray spallation and supernovae and not by stellar nucleosynthesis, it is a low-abundance element in the Solar System and in the Earth’s crust. It is a chemical element with the symbol B and atomic number 5. Boron (B) is a chemical element, semimetal of main Group 13 of the periodic table, essential to plant growth and of wide industrial application.
