Discovery Information
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Who: H. Davy, J.L. Gay-Lussac, L.J. Thenard |
When: 1828 |
Where: England/France |
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Name Origin
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From borax and carbon. |
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Sources
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Obtained from kernite, a kind of borax. |
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Uses
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Used with titanium and tungsten to make light weight heat resistant alloys. Also tennis rackets, regulators in nuclear plants, heat resistant glass and eye
disinfectant. Boric acid (H3BO3) is used an insectiside, mostly against ants or cockroaches.
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Sodium tetraborate decahydrate (Na2B4O7 - 10H2O) or borax, used in the production of adhesives, in anti-corrosion systems and many other uses.
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Sodium tetraborate pentahydrate (Na2B4O7 - 5H2O), which is used in large amounts in making insulating fiberglass and sodium perborate bleach.
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Notes
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At standard temperatures boron is a poor electrical conductor but is a good conductor at high temperatures. |
Boron nitride can be used to make materials that are almost as hard as diamond. The nitride also acts as an electrical insulator
but conducts heat similar to a metal. This element also has lubricating qualities that are similar to graphite.
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Boron is never found in the elemental form in nature. It was first obtained by Moissan in 1895 by reduction of boric anhydride with magnesium in a thermite-type reaction (Moissan, Ann. Chim Phys 7:6, 296, 1895). This is still used for obtaining large quantities of
impure boron. Highly purified crystalline boron is obtained by vapour phase reduction of the compound boron trichloride with
hydrogen on electrically heated filaments in a flow system.
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Elemental boron and borates are not toxic and therefore do not require special precautions while handling. Some of the more
exotic boron hydrogen compounds, however, are toxic as well as highly flammable and do require special handling care.
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The United States and Turkey are the world's largest producers of boron. |