Boron | Overview, Properties, Uses

Quick intro of Boron group or group no III A (13)

We know that the Periodic table is of 18 groups and 7 periods. Boron is from group no 13, also known as group 3A and Boron group. Group no 13 is six members group, and all the members of group 13 are natural except Nihonium, which is synthetic or made by chemists in the laboratory. All the members of the group no 13 are metals, but Boron is not metal. It shows the properties of both metal and non-metal in short; Boron is a semi-metal. From group no 13 most prevalent member of earth’s crust is Aluminium.

All members of group 13 are with three valance shell electrons. All members of the group no 13 are solid-phase with shiny laster except boron. Aluminum forms an oxide layer in water, and the rest of the group members are not reactive to water. Group 13 members form compounds with other elements by losing their valance shell electrons.

Group 13 is also named as Boron group. You are going to know each and everything about the first member of this group which is Boron. Let’s start

Over View of Boron

Introduction

Boron is a member of the group no 13. It is semi-metal or metalloid because of having in-between properties of metal and non-metal. Boron is essential because of its uses and applications in many fields. It is a solid and hard member of group 13.

Some Interesting Facts

Pure Boron is dark and greyish in look. One amazing thing about Boron is it’s very hard, and one of its compounds is second to diamond in hardness. In the entire periodic table, only eleven elements are with a higher melting point than ci. Pare to Boron. The rest of the periodic table elements have a lower melting point in contrast to Boron. Boron is so important for green plants due to its various important functions.

It is unavoidable in NIB magnets as the name represents Neodymium Iron Boron magnets. This magnet was made in 1980 and used in cellphones, audio devices, and many more as Boron can not exist in free form in nature. Boron in pure and isolated form is only a mixture of positive and negative ions of Boron.

Boron is placed in the metalloids group. Only hard element of his group with metallic shine and brittleness. It is a semiconductor and reacts with metals to form borides.

Address of Boron in Periodic table

Boron is a member of Group no 13, which is also known as the Boron group. The complete address of Boron in the periodic table is Period no 2 and Group no 13. It is the first member of its group.

Latin Name( Borium )
Symbol( B )
Atomic No( 5 )
Atomic Mass( 10.811 )
Electrons in every shell( k2, P3)
CAS ID ( 7440-42-8 )

Discovery

Boron was discovered in 1808 by three scientists who worked independently. Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac, Louis-Jacques Thenard, and Humphry Davy.

Boron was discovered fr Borax when heated with potassium. But pure Boron was firstly extracted in 1892 by Henri Moissan. Pure isolation boron was done in 1909 by American chemists Ezekiel Weintraub. He uses BCl sparkling with BCl₃ and hydrogen.

Jiuhua Chen and Vladimir L. Solozhenko form with structural uncertainty of Boron. Later in 2009, Artem Oganov presented two forms of Boron, one if-then B12 and the B₂ pair.

Derivation of Name Boron

As a name of an element derived from Borax, Boron is from the Arabic word buraq. In other words, the name for Borax is in Arabic. Sir Humphrey Davy suggests the name Boracium as it obtains from Boracic acid. It is also said that the Boron name is derived from the Borax and Carbon as it was firstly extracted from Borax and similar in structure to carbon, respectively.

Isolation of Pure Boron

After the discovery of Boron in 1808, it took almost 100 years to produce pure Boron. To isolate the pure Boron. Boron oxide is heat reduced with the flux of Aluminum and Magnesium. This produces 92% pure Boron. Pure Boron is further produced by reducing the Halide of Boron and Hydrogen at a very high temperature of 1500°c ( 2732k ).

Boron with high purity is most commonly used in the production of semiconductors.

Some Anomalous Properties of Boron

Boron show deviation in the property as compared to the rest of the group. This deviation is because of the tiny size of Boron and high electronegativity. This is the only element of its group, which is a nonmetal, and the rest of the group is metal. It is the only nonmetal With less than four valance electrons. Oxides of Boron are acidic, while the rest of the group have oxides basic or amphoteric. Boron has allotropy forms while the rest of the members never have. Boron is hard, and the rest of the members are soft. Boron has high melting and boiling point as compared to the rest of the group.

Occurrence

Boron is not so abundant an element on Earth, and it is in the trace form in the soil. Boron is found mostly in mineral form. In nature. Some important mineral forms of Boron are Borax ( Na2B4O7. 10H2O ) and orthoboric acid. Boron is present in combined form like Oxygen is an Oxyborate ion and polymeric acid as a salt. Boron is 0.001 percent in the combined form present in the earth’s crust ( by weight ). In short, it is a trace element.

Isotopes of Boron

In total, Boron has 11 isotopes from B7 to B17. Boron has two stable isotopes B10 and B11. Their atomic mass is 10.013 and 11.009, respectively. The natural abundance of B10 is 19.9%, and B11 is 80.1%. These are very important as B10 used in the nuclear reactor due to the ability to absorb neutrons. These two are only stable isotopes of the element Boron.

Some physical and atomic properties

Density	2.34 gcm^-3
Melting Point	2077°c / 3771°F / 2350k
Boiling Point	4000°c / 7232°F / 4273k
Phase at room temperature	Solid at 20°c
Block	P block 1S² 2S² 2P^I
Oxidation State	Most Common 3
Atomic radius	1.92 Å
Ionic radius	0.23 Å
Covalent radius	0.84 Å
Ionization energy	1^st=800.637 Kjmol-1 2^nd=2427.06 Kjmol^-1 3^rd=3659.75 Kjmol^-1
Electronegativity	2.04 Pauling Scale
Electron Affinity	26.989 Kjmol^-1
Specific heat capacity	1026 JKg^-1K^-1

Atomic information of Boron

Physical Properties

Physical properties are those which are measurable and countable. And also those properties which can we see as like color and. Phase. Some kicking properties of Boron are listed here,

Boron is the element with the Allotropes. Some allotropic forms of boron are given next as such Alpha rhombohedral B, and Beta-rhombohedral B.
Mainly Boron has a powder form which is dark black to a silvery grey.
Due to its small size Boron have a high value of Ionization energy.
Boron is an element with a very high melting point.
At standard temperature, boron is a very bad conductor of electricity even an insulator. But at high temperatures, Boron is an excellent conducting element.

Chemical properties

chemical properties are those in which we discuss atomic interaction with another one. Some important chemical properties of boron based on reaction with other elements are given below.

The reaction of Boron in Air

With oxygen molecules, Boron reacts, and the product of this reaction is an oxide of Boron.

4B + 3O₂ ^{____(973k)____}> 2B₂O₃

NaOH and Boron

When Boron reacts with the base like sodium hydroxide, they produce sodium orthoborate with the emission of Hydrogen gas.

2B + 6NaOH_(aq) ^________> 2Na₃BO₃ + 3H₂ ¦^

Boron action with Nitrogen

Nitrides are formed when Boron reacts with Nitrogen.

2B + N₂ ^________> 2BN

Reaction of Boron with Carbon

Reaction of Boron with the Carbon produces Carbide products.

4B + C ^________> B₄C

Halogen and Boron interaction

when halogens like Chlorine and Fluorine react with Boron they formed Boron tri halides.

2B + 3X₂ ^________> 2BX₃

Mineral Acids and Boron

Boron also has a chemical reactivity with Mineral Acids.

B + 3HNO₃ ^________> H₃BO₃ + 3NO₂

2B + 3H₂SO₄^________> 2H₃BO₃ + 3SO₂

Boron as Reducing Agent

In the given examples, boron is a strong reducing agent as it oxidizes itself by reducing others as Carbon dioxide and Silicon dioxide.

4B + 3CO₂^________> 2B₂O₃ + 3C

4B + 3SiO₂ ^________> 2B2O3 + 3Si

Reactivity of Boron

Boron does not form an ionic bond. Why does Boron not form an ionic bond reason behind this is. The cation of Boron is very unstable, and its size is tiny. Any ionic bond with a smaller cation and larger anion is weak, or bonding will never occur. Boron form only a covalent bond as the reason bond is present on the top of the table and has a small size due to which its ionization energies are very high.

Moreover, the reactivity of Boron is dependent upon its form structure. The amorphous or Powdery form of Boron is relatively more reactive as compared to the crystalline form. Powdery form ignites at once under high temperatures and produces oxides. While crystalline form shows no or less reactivity, either temperature is low or high.

Compounds of Boron

As Boron is small in size and forms only a covalent bond. Boron can not exist freely in nature. We will find Boron in a combined state. When Boron is combined with other elements, then product this combination compounds. Boron forms Compounds with many other elements like Oxygen, hydrogen, Halogens, Phosphorous, and carbon.

Some most important compounds of Boron are Boric Acid, Boric Oxide, and Borax. Compounds of the Boron are essential due to their various uses and important application.

Uses of Boron compounds

Some important uses and applications in the daily life of compounds of Boron are listed here.

In food preservatives and bleach making borax is used
some Boron compounds hold the application in eye drops and washing powder.
Pyrex is made with the help of boric acids. Pyrex is the hardest and temperature resistant also named as borosilicate class.
Flames-resistant fiberglass textiles are sodium octaborate.
Filaments of Boron due to their lightweight and strength used in aerospace structures.
Boron compounds hold their application in the formation of wood preservatives and period glass.
One of the compounds of Boron acts as a laundry product for washing purposes like Borates.
As lubrication in nanotubes nitrides of Boron are in use.
Some Boron compounds are meant for explosion based on carbon.

Boron Uses are applications

The importance of elements is based on their uses, their functions, and their occurrence. There are many important elements like oxygen. Boron is a very important element of significance due to its various important uses and applications in various places. Here are some kicking Uses of Boron listed down.

Alloys are the combination of two different metals. The main aim to made alloys is to increase the strength of metal and make it as resistant to rust as possible. Boron is also used in alloy formation like steel alloys by melting the boron and mixing it with steel. This will increase the strength and resistance against corrosion.
In the formation of the world’s strongest magnet Boron alloys are in use.
Flux are metal joining and cleaning substances. Boron also acts as a flux due to its functionality of glazes and strengthening.
As Boron in powder form shows reaction even sparks in contact with air at high temperature. This finds its application in rocket fuel.
As Boron 10 is a neutron absorber it is used in the nuclear industry and gadgets for neutron detection.
Due to the hardness and durability of Boron Steel alloy in the 1990s automotive industry use the strength of safety structures as safety bars.

Metallurgical importance of Boron

As Boron is important for its property of being flux. It removes the impurities from the metal surface ( iron). An alloy of steel with Boron increases the power of steel 4 times. As Boron mixes and decomposes the welding film, it holds important application in welding also. Trichloride is in use to remove the carbides and nitrides from the surface of the molten metal.

Carbide of Boron is the third st substance ever known thus;, it is used to make armors bulletproof clothing.

Biological Role of Boron

Biologically Boron is critical as it is essential for cell walls in plants. The daily requirement of Boron is 2 mm per day. Some Boron has a key role in cancer treatment. One stable isotope of Boron named B10 holds an important role in the treatment of cancerous cells. A technique that helps in the treatment of cancer cells is Boron Neutron capture therapy.

A cancer cell is an uncommon and abnormally grown cell that causes organ function to stop. They have a faster growth rate as compared to normal body cells.

Health and Boron

Our body gets Boron from daily life products such as vegetables, fruits, water, etc. Boron concentration in the body is of high importance. A high concentration of Boron cause problem in organs and leads to death. If the body is low on Boron amount, then cause breathing problem by producing irritation in the nose.

It is said that just 5 grams of boric acid, which is a compound of Boron, is enough to make a person ill. If the concentration increases to 20 grams, that’s enough for putting life in danger of death.

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