Boron

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Boron
(Photo Credit: Periodic Table)
Group: 13
Period: 2
Block: P
Atomic Number: 5
Relative Mass: 10.8

Boron was discovered in the year 1808 and like some many of the elements which I have written about, this element was found twice in two independent times. One of the times as by a pair of chemist named Louis-Josef Gay-Lussac and Louis-Jacques Thenard within Paris, France as well as another chemist - Humphry Davy in London. This element was discovered by heating borax with potassium metal which actually didn't actually produce the pure form. The only happened by the work of Henri Moissan in 1892 and E. Weintraub in 1913. It was E. Weintraub who made the purest form by sparking a mixture which includes boron chloride - BCl3, vapour and hydrogen.


If you haven guessed yet, the name for Boron comes from the mineral which it comes from - Borax. Borax is normal seen as the soft white crystallised powered with is dissolvable in water. It has the complicated chemical formula of Na2B4O7. It's used in detergents, cosmetics - or if you have children or work in STEM like me - it's most commonly used, in really small amounts, in the making of DIY slime.

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The Science of Slime

 I don't think that I can mention boron without going into it's use in slime. Especially as it is very popular now. To make slime, a borax solution and a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) glue/water mix are combined together. A chemical reaction occurs. The protein molecules of the pair create cross-links.
You can use it to demonstrate Non-Newtonian fluid. Or what we do at work and demonstrate microbiology techniques.

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In biology, boron is essential to plants. It is within the cell wall of them. Despite it being considered as not poisonous to animals, it can upset the metabolism if taken in too higher quantities. Averagely, humans consume around 2mg daily from food which adds up to 60g in a lifetime.
Though these boron compounds are being researched into - to see if they can treat brain tumours.

Uses
  • Used as rocket fuel igniter as well as pyrotechnical flares - it gives a distinctive green colour
  • Used in Borax - Boric acid. It's in everything from eye drops, mild antiseptic to bleach. 
  • Boric Oxide is used in the manufacturing of borosilicate glass otherwise known as Pyrex. The addition of boric oxide makes the glass heat resistant. 
  • It is used as a fire retardant in the form: sodium octaborate

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