Amorphous feather-like boron nanowires

Large-scale arrays of feather-like boron nanowires have been successfully prepared using magnetron sputtering with a target of highly pure boron and boron oxide mixture. The morphology, microstructure and composition of the feather-like boron nanowires are characterized in detail using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and electron energy-loss spectroscopy. Elemental mapping has been used to investigate the distribution of boron and oxygen in the boron nanowires. It is revealed that the feather-like boron nanowires possess the microstructure of outer oxidized coating layer and inner pure boron. The thickness of the outer oxidized layer is about 1–2 nm. Our results may provide opportunities to understand the fundamentals of boron chemistry and to fabricate new nanodevices.     

Rapid accurate isotopic measurements on boron in boric acid and boron carbide

A procedure is described whereby rapid and accurate isotopic measurements can be performed on boron in boric acid and boron carbide after fusion of these compounds with calcium carbonate. It allows the determination of the isotopic composition of boron in boric acid and boron carbide and the direct assay of boron or the (10)B isotope in boron carbide by isotope-dilution mass spectrometry.     

Determination of Phase Stability of Elemental Boron

Boron is an important element, used in applications from superhard materials to superconductors. Boron exists in several forms (allotropes) and, surprisingly, it was not known which form (α or β) is stable at ambient conditions. Through experiment, we quantify the relative stability of α‐boron and β‐boron as a function of temperature. The ground‐state energies of α‐boron and β‐boron are nearly identical. For all temperatures up to 2000 K, the complicated β‐boron structure is more stable than the simpler α‐boron structure at ambient pressure. Below 1000 K, β‐boron is entropically stabilized with respect to α‐boron owing to its partially occupied sites, whereas at higher temperatures β‐boron is enthalpically stabilized with respect to α‐boron. We show that α‐boron only becomes stable on application of pressure.     

HOMA parameters for the boron–boron bond: How the introduction of a BB bond influences the aromaticity of selected hydrocarbons

An extension of the harmonic oscillator model of aromaticity (HOMA) model for systems with boron–boron bonds is presented. For the first time, the parameters of the HOMA model are estimated using only theoretically calculated bond lengths. The HOMA parameters obtained make geometric aromaticity studies possible for a large number of compounds containing the boron–boron bond. The derived HOMA parameters have been used to investigate how the introduction of the boron–boron moiety in the structure of selected hydrocarbons modifies their aromaticity. The conclusion is that the insertion of a boron–boron bond usually strongly decreases the aromaticity of the boron-containing compounds in comparison to their parent hydrocarbons.     

Electrodeposition of composite Ni–B coatings in a stirred heterogeneous system

The formation of composite electrochemical coatings of a nickel matrix with boron microparticles was investigated. Electrolytical nickel–boron layers were deposited on a paraffin-impregnated graphite electrode in a stirred heterogeneous system formed by a Watts-type nickel plating bath and dispersed boron powder particles. The polarisation behaviour of the composite plating bath as a function of the boron particle loading was examined. The effect of deposition conditions, as well as of the amount of boron powder in the plating bath on the boron content in the composite Ni–B coatings, was examined. The composite coating structure was established using scanning electron microscopy and light optical microscopy. The distribution of boron particles in the composite deposits was investigated by dynamic secondary ion mass spectrometry. The boron particles content was determined gravimetrically. The obtained results suggest that the content of incorporated boron particles increases with an increasing amount of boron in the plating bath. The potentiodynamic deposition method is demonstrated to be more suitable for production of composite coatings with a high content of boron particles than the potentiostatic one. Homogeneous distribution of boron particles in the nickel matrix without coagulation or sedimentation was associated with the electrochemical fabrication method in stirred heterogeneous systems.     

Boron nanotubes.

A survey of novel classes of nanotubular materials based on boron is presented. Pure boron nanotubes are a consequence of a general Aufbau principle for boron clusters and solid boron phases, which postulates various novel boron materials besides the well-known bulk phases of boron based on boron icosahedra. Furthermore, several numerical studies suggest the existence of a large family of compound nanotubular materials derived from crystalline AlB2. We compare these novel boron-based nanotubular materials to standard nanotubular systems built from carbon, and point out a number of remarkable structural and electronic properties that make boron-based nanotubular materials an ideal component for composite nanodevices and extended nanotubular networks.     

不同基因型油菜苗期地上部硼分布及运转能力的差异探讨

通过大田试验，对低硼胁迫下不同基因型油菜地上部的硼分布和转动能力作了初步研究。结果表明：油菜苗期地上部各器官硼的分布以叶片最高，叶是硼胁迫反应敏感的器官。耐低硼迫品种间有差异。相对耐低硼胁迫的品种具有较强的硼吸收和转运能力。     

Novel architectures of boron

Structural Chemistry - The review presents results of the recent studies of non-typical forms of boron derivatives, including flat hexagonal boron, boron fullerenes, supertetrahedral boron, and...     

非金属元素的同素异形体(一)——氢和硼的同素异形体概述

进行了同素异形体概念的探讨。简要叙述了氢和硼2种典型非金属元素形成的各种同素异形体的存在、组成以及结构、制备和性质,首次将多种硼富勒烯、硼纳米管、硼单层平面等晶态硼的内容补充在硼的同素异形体中,并强调了计算化学对同素异形体的预测和现代科学技术发展对制备的作用及其在材料中的应用。     

Boron‐Double‐Ring Sheet,Fullerene, and Nanotubes: Potential Hydrogen Storage Materials

Similar to carbon‐based graphene, fullerenes and carbon nanotubes, boron atoms can form sheets, fullerenes, and nanotubes. Here we investigate several of these novel boron structures all based on the boron double ring within the framework of density functional theory. The boron sheet is found to be metallic and flat in its ground state. The spherical boron cage containing 180 atoms is also stable and has I symmetry. Stable nanotubes are obtained by rolling up the boron sheet, and all are metallic. The hydrogen storage capacity of boron nanostructures is also explored, and it is found that Li‐decorated boron sheets and nanotubes are potential candidates for hydrogen storage. For Li‐decorated boron sheets, each Li atom can adsorb a maximum of 4 H₂ molecules with g_d=7.892 wt %. The hydrogen gravimetric density increases to g_d=12.309 wt % for the Li‐decorated (0,6) boron nanotube.     

Boron complexes of porphyrins and related polypyrrole ligands: unexpected chemistry for both boron and the porphyrin

The coordination of boron to a range of polypyrrole-containing ligands is explored in this feature article. The boron dipyrromethenes are well-known as laser dyes and fluorescent labels in biology. Subphthalocyanine and subporphyrin macrocycles containing only three pyrrole rings can exist only when templated by a central boron atom. Boron complexes of expanded porphyrins (six or eight pyrroles) can complex boron in dipyrromethene (but not bipyrrole) sites. The primary focus of the article is on boron porphyrin and corrole complexes, where the tight fit of two boron atoms within the very constrained coordination site gives rise to unexpected chemistry at both boron and the porphyrin ligand. These unusual features are described and reasons for their occurrence postulated.     

Determination of boron in high-purity tantalum materials by on-line matrix separation/inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

A method for the determination of ultratrace amounts of boron in high-purity tantalum materials [tantalum metal, tantalum(v) oxide, tantalum pentachloride and tantalum pentaethoxide] is described. On-line anion-exchange matrix separation combined with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was employed for the determination of boron at the ng g(-1) level. Tantalum materials were dissolved using HF and/or HNO3 prior to analysis. The loss of boron in the sample preparation procedure was examined as the recovery of boron by adding a definite amount of boron to each tantalum material sample before decomposition, and it was almost negligible. In an anion-exchange method using 0.1 M HF carrier solution, tantalum and boron in the sample solution were first adsorbed on a strongly basic anion-exchange resin. Next, boron was eluted from the resin with 5 M HCl, whereas tantalum was retained strongly adsorbed. The eluted boron was introduced directly into the ICP-MS system for quantitative analysis at m/z 10 and 11. Because of the long elution time of boron, the transient signal was integrated in the time range 70-300 s on the chromatogram. Although the elution of boron in the time range was ca. 40% of total boron in the sample solution injected, the determination limits (10sigma) obtained by the present method were 30, 25, 15 and 13 ng g(-1) for tantalum metal, tantalum(v) oxide, tantalum pentachloride and tantalum pentaethoxide, respectively. The method was applied to the determination of boron in commercially available high-purity tantalum materials and it was found that the concentrations of boron were in the ng g(-1)-microg g(-1) range.     

Boron Separation by the Two—step Ion—Exchange for the Isotopic Measurement of Boron

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Reductive Insertion of Elemental Chalcogens into Boron–Boron Multiple Bonds

The syntheses of sulfur‐ and selenium‐bridged cyclic compounds containing boron stabilized by N‐heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) have been achieved by the reductive insertion of elemental chalcogens into boron–boron multiple bonds. The three pairs of bonding electrons between the boron atoms in the triply bonded diboryne enabled six‐electron reduction reactions, resulting in the formation of [2.2.1]‐bicyclic systems wherein bridgehead boron atoms are spanned by three chalcogen bridges. A similar reaction using a diborene (boron–boron double bond) resulted in the reductive transfer of both pairs of bonding electrons to three sulfur atoms, yielding a NHC‐stabilized trisulfidodiborolane. The demonstration of these six‐ and four‐electron reductions lends support to the presence of three and two pairs of bonding electrons between the boron atoms of the diboryne and diborene, respectively, a fact that may be useful in future discussions on bond order.     

Synthesis of Atomically Thin Boron Films on Copper Foils

Two‐dimensional boron materials have recently attracted extensive theoretical interest because of their exceptional structural complexity and remarkable physical and chemical properties. However, such 2D boron monolayers have still not been synthesized. In this report, the synthesis of atomically thin 2D γ‐boron films on copper foils is achieved by chemical vapor deposition using a mixture of pure boron and boron oxide powders as the boron source and hydrogen gas as the carrier gas. Strikingly, the optical band gap of the boron film was measured to be around 2.25 eV, which is close to the value (2.07 eV) determined by first‐principles calculations, suggesting that the γ‐B₂₈ monolayer is a fascinating direct band gap semiconductor. Furthermore, a strong photoluminescence emission band was observed at approximately 626 nm, which is again due to the direct band gap. This study could pave the way for applications of two‐dimensional boron materials in electronic and photonic devices.     

Air handling in clean laboratory environments: the reason for anomalously high boron background levels

The isotopic analysis of boron from material that carries only trace amounts of boron requires low boron blank levels. Large efforts are taken to keep blank levels low by purifying reagents. We performed exposure experiments and determined procedure blanks before and after the air-handling system was modified from silicate glass filters to polyethylene/polystyrole and active carbon filters. Our investigations demonstrate that the air-handling system may be the major source of boron blank in many laboratories, as the widely used silicate glass filters, which contain boron as a major component, in the form of borax and boric acid, release significant amounts of boron to the air.     

Sample Preparation for Emission Spectrographic Determination of Impurities in Elemental Boron

Abstract

Accurate spectrographic determination of impurities in high-purity elemental boron requires that impurity elements be concentrated and collected in a suitable matrix while boron is separated from the sample. A method of acid dissolution followed by boron volatilization through an acetic anhydride and methanol treatment has been developed. This procedure is considerably faster and leaves lower residual boron concentrations than other methods. The mild conditions used to volatilize boron avoid the loss of any impurity elements from the sample.     

Boron‐Based Drug Design

The use of the element boron, which is not generally observed in a living body, possesses a high potential for the discovery of new biological activity in pharmaceutical drug design. In this account, we describe our recent developments in boron‐based drug design, including boronic acid containing protein tyrosine kinase inhibitors, proteasome inhibitors, and tubulin polymerization inhibitors, and ortho‐carborane‐containing proteasome activators, hypoxia‐inducible factor 1 inhibitors, and topoisomerase inhibitors. Furthermore, we applied a closo‐dodecaborate as a water‐soluble moiety as well as a boron‐10 source for the design of boron carriers in boron neutron capture therapy, such as boronated porphyrins and boron lipids for a liposomal boron delivery system.     

Determination of boron and nitrogen in boron nitride

Improved techniques are described for the determination of boron and nitrogen in pure boron nitride. Controlled fusion of boron nitride with sodium carbonate in a muffle furnace is followed by a potentiometric titration of the boric acid. A special quartz vessel is described for the determination of nitrogen. The boron nitride is fused with sodium hydroxide and the resulting ammonia is swept into a receiver and titrated with standard hydrochloric acid. Boron and nitrogen values with their standard deviation are given for a typical pure boron nitride.     

An Examination of the Scope and Stereochemistry of the Ireland–Claisen Rearrangement of Boron Ketene Acetals

The Ireland–Claisen rearrangement of boron ketene acetals is described. The boron ketene acetal intermediates are formed through a soft enolization that obviates the use of strong bases and the intermediacy of alkali metal enolates. Yields and diastereoselectivities of these rearrangements are very sensitive to the choice of boron reagent, even among those that have been shown to effect quantitative formation of boron ketene acetals from esters. The rearrangement occurs at room temperature for all substrates with generally high levels of stereoselectivity. In contrast to previous reports using boron triflates, the use of a commercially available boron iodide reagent allows for a wider substrate scope that extends to propionates and arylacetates, as well as the previously described α‐oxygenated esters. This work also provides insight into the dynamic nature of boron ketene acetals and the ramifications of this behavior for reactions in which they are intermediates.