Boron

: This article is about the chemical element. See Boron, Territoire de Belfort for the commune of the Territoire de Belfort département in France. See Robert de Boron for the medieval poet.

Occurrence

The United States and Turkey are the world's largest producers of boron. Boron does not appear in nature in elemental form but is found combined in borax, boric acid, colemanite, kernite, ulexite and borates. Boric acid is sometimes found in volcanic spring waters. Ulexite is a borate mineral that naturally has properties of fiber optics.

Related Topics:
United States - Turkey - Borax - Boric acid - Colemanite - Kernite - Ulexite - Borate - Volcanic - Mineral - Fiber optics

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Economically important sources are from the ore rasorite (kernite) and tincal (borax ore) which are both found in the Mojave Desert of California (with borax being the most important source there). Turkey is another place where extensive borax deposits are found.

Related Topics:
Ore - Mojave Desert - California - Turkey

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pure elemental boron is not easy to prepare. The earliest methods used involve reduction of boric oxide with metals such as magnesium or aluminium. However the product is almost always contaminated with metal borides. (The reaction is quite spectacular though.) Pure boron can be prepared reducing volatile boron halogenides with hydrogen at high temperatures.

Related Topics:
Boric oxide - Magnesium - Aluminium - Boride - Hydrogen

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1997 crystalline boron (99% pure) cost about US$5 per gram and amorphous boron cost about US$2 per gram.

Related Topics:
Crystalline - US$ - Gram - Amorphous

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~