Strontium hexaboride explained

Strontium boride (SrB6) is an inorganic compound. At room temperature, it appears as a crystalline black powder.[1] Closer examination reveals slightly translucent dark red crystals capable of scratching quartz.[2] It is very stable and has a high melting point and density. Although not thought to be toxic, it is an irritant to the skin, eyes, and respiratory tract.[1]

Magnetism

Strontium boride, along with other alkali-earth metal borides, has been shown to exhibit weak ferromagnetism at low temperatures.[3] This is thought by some to be caused by slight impurities or aberrations in the crystal lattice,[4] [5] while others suggest different explanations are needed.[6] Strontium boride has also been examined for semiconducting properties at lower temperatures.[7]

Preparation

In his book The Electric Furnace, Henri Moissan describes an early synthesis of strontium boride by mixing strontium borate, aluminum, and carbon in an electric furnace.[2] Alternatively, a solid-phase synthesis of strontium boride can be carried out by reacting two moles of strontium carbonate with three moles of boron carbide and one mole of carbon inside a vacuum furnace.[8]

Uses

Strontium boride is used in insulation and nuclear control rods.[8] A recent patent filed for aircraft windows uses SrB6 nanoparticles in a transparent acrylic sheet. The IR-absorbing properties of these nanoparticles prevents the transmittance of infrared wavelengths while still allowing the transmittance of visible light.[9]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Archived copy . 2009-05-01 . 2006-02-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060209075029/http://www.espimetals.com/msds%27s/strontiumboride.pdf . dead .
  2. Moissan, Henri. The Electric Furnace.
  3. Young . D. P. . Hall . D. . Torelli . M. E. . Fisk . Z. . John Sarrao. Sarrao . J. L. . Thompson . J. D. . Ott . H. R. . Oseroff . S. B. . Goodrich . R. G. . Zysler . R. . 1999 . High-temperature weak ferromagnetism in a low-density free-electron gas . Nature . 397 . 6718. 412–414 . 10.1038/17081 . 29667965 . 1999Natur.397..412Y . 204991033 .
  4. Shang . S. . Liu . Z. . 2007 . Thermodynamics of the B–Ca, B–Sr, and B–Ba systems: Applications for the fabrications of CaB6, SrB6, and BaB6 thin films . Applied Physics Letters . 90 . 9. 091914 . 10.1063/1.2710081 . 2007ApPhL..90i1914S .
  5. Gavilano . J. L. . Ambrosini . B. . Ott . H. R. . Young . D. P. . Fisk . Z. . 2000 . Low-temperature NMR studies of SrB6 . Physica B: Condensed Matter . 281 . 428–429 . 10.1016/S0921-4526(99)01197-7 . 2000PhyB..281..428G . 120195543 .
  6. Dorneles . L. . Venkatesan . M. . Moliner . M. . Lunney . J. . Coey . J. . 2004 . Magnetism in thin films of CaB6 and SrB6 . Applied Physics Letters . 85 . 26. 6377–6379 . 10.1063/1.1840113 . 2004ApPhL..85.6377D . 2262/31468 . free .
  7. Ott . H. R. . Chernikov . M. . Felder . E. . Degiorgi . L. . Moshopoulou . E. G. . Sarrao . J. L. . Fisk . Z. . 1997 . Structure and low temperature properties of SrB6 . Z. Phys. B . 102 . 3. 337–345 . 10.1007/s002570050297 . 1997ZPhyB.102..337O . 123679160 .
  8. Zheng . Shu-Qi . Zou . Zeng-Da . Min . Guang-Hui . Yu . Hua-Shun . Han . Jian-De . Wang . Wei-Ti . Synthesis of strontium hexaboride powder by the reaction of strontium carbonate with boron carbide and carbon . Journal of Materials Science Letters . 2002 . 21. 313–315 .
  9. Web site: United States Patent Application 20090093578. 2009-05-05. 2019-09-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20190912180345/http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=%2720090093578%27.PGNR.&OS=DN%2F20090093578&RS=DN%2F20090093578. dead.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Strontium hexaboride".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.