General chemistry
Boron (B) is the fifth element of the Periodic Table and has a relative atomic mass of 10.81. The element has six isotopes ranging in mass from 8 to 13, but only 11B and 10B are stable. 10B has a large nuclear capture cross-section which makes it an excellent neutron absorber.
In nature boron has an oxidation state of +3, which arises from the sharing of the three electrons in the 2s and 2p orbital. Its strong electronegativity of 4.29 eV is due to its small size and high charge and causes boron to form covalent rather than ionic bonds. Boron has a high affinity for oxygen, forming strong covalent boron–oxygen bonds in both trigonal and tetrahedral co-ordination [BO3− 3 and BO5− 4]. Tetrahedrally coordinated groups are the most common in silicate minerals.
Boron is a black solid with a melting point of 2573 K and boiling point of 3931 K. It has several allotropes: the most common is amorphous boron, which is a dark powder that is unreactive to oxygen, water, acids and...
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Aggarwal, J. (1998). Boron . In: Geochemistry. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4496-8_35
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