Tag Archive for 'Boron'

$The structure of boron monoxide was a longstanding problem, dating back to 1940. Solving it required developing new NMR methods as well as applying x-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), x-ray photo electron spectroscopy (XPS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Image credit: U.S. Department of Energy Ames National Laboratory.$

Chemists Finally Determine Structure of Boron Monoxide

Jul 19, 2023 by News Staff

Boron monoxide, a binary compound of boron and oxygen, was first reported in the 1940s. However, scientists were unable to determine the structure of the...

The oxidation of ferrocenyl-substituted boranes and boronic esters allows for the straightforward synthesis of strong boron-centered Lewis superacids. Image credit: Köring et al., doi: 10.1002/anie.202216959.

Chemists Develop New Technique to Synthesize Lewis Superacids

Feb 27, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Lewis superacids are very special catalysts that can be used to break strong chemical bonds in non-biodegradable fluorinated hydrocarbons and climate-damaging...

Schematic and applications of the liquid-solid phase transition of MPTM. Image credit: Wang et al., doi: 10.1016/j.matt.2022.12.003.

Shape-Shifting Robot Can Turn into Liquid and Escape Cage

Jan 26, 2023 by News Staff

Researchers from the Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, Carnegie Mellon University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Zhejiang University...

Hexagonal boron nitride-based deep-ultraviolet LED. Image credit: Pohang University of Science and Technology.

Researchers Create Deep-Ultraviolet Light-Emitting Diode

Jan 20, 2022 by News Staff

A team of researchers from the Pohang University of Science and Technology and the Korean Institute for Basic Science has demonstrated deep-ultraviolet...

An illustration depicting the onset of the end-Permian mass extinction. Image credit: Dawid Adam Iurino / PaleoFactory, Sapienza University of Rome / Jurikova et al, doi: 10.1038/s41561-020-00646-4.

New Research Provides Comprehensive Reconstruction of End-Permian Mass Extinction

Oct 20, 2020 by News Staff

The end-Permian mass extinction, also known as the Permian-Triassic extinction event and the Great Dying, is the largest mass extinction event in Earth’s...

This painting depicts an asteroid slamming into tropical, shallow seas of the sulfur-rich Yucatan Peninsula in what is today southeast Mexico. The aftermath of this immense asteroid collision, which occurred approximately 65 million years ago, is believed to have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs and many other species on Earth. Shown in this painting are pterodactyls, flying reptiles with wingspans of up to 50 feet, gliding above low tropical clouds. Image credit: Donald E. Davis / NASA.

Study: Asteroid Impact, Not Volcanism, was Key in Driving End-Cretaceous Mass Extinction

Oct 23, 2019 by News Staff

The end-Cretaceous mass extinction 66 million years ago eradicated roughly 75% of the animal and plant species on Earth, including whole groups like non-avian...

A blue, boron-bearing diamond with dark inclusions of a mineral called ferropericlase, which were examined as part of this study. This gem weighs 0.03 carats. Image credit: Evan Smith / Gemological Institute of America.

Blue Boron-Bearing Diamonds Form in Earth’s Lower Mantle, Study Says

Aug 8, 2018 by News Staff

Blue (type IIb) diamonds owe their color to boron, an element abundant in the Earth’s continental and oceanic crust. According to new research led by...

This low-angle self-portrait of NASA’s Curiosity rover shows the vehicle at the site from which it reached down to drill into a rock target called ‘Buckskin’ on lower Mount Sharp. The selfie combines several component images taken by Curiosity’s Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on Aug. 5, 2015, during 1065 Sol (Martian day) of the rover’s work on Mars. For scale, the rover’s wheels are 20 inches (50 cm) in diameter and about 16 inches (40 cm) wide. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS.

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Finds Boron on Martian Surface

Dec 14, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Boron, a metalloid chemical element with properties intermediate between those of carbon and aluminum, has been identified for the first time on the Martian...