tldr: piranha solution.
I wanted to remove the filter paper from the boron powder.
Some B is stuck on the paper. Time for some fun.
To my surprise the solution didn't dissolve the B. Just the paper.
[Edited on 190619 by fusso]Tsjerk - 18-6-2019 at 16:02
You would think that someone with over 1400 posts would know a post with no references and with trivial knowledge, especially one with a clickbait
title, belongs in beginnings.mayko - 18-6-2019 at 17:00
You would think that someone with over 1400 posts would know a post with no references and with trivial knowledge, especially one with a clickbait
title, belongs in beginnings.
You might think that, but you would apparently be wrong.SWIM - 18-6-2019 at 18:32
Cripes. I remember reading Van Vogt's The World of Ā in that edition.
Anyways, that's good to know boron survives piranha solution. I guess elemental boron is more expensive than filter paper, am I right? :p j_sum1 - 19-6-2019 at 00:28
Well, I did not know that, but I am certainly not surprised.
I know that B is impervious to acids in general and I would be surprised if it oxidised easily, so I guess it all makes sense.
Boron chemistry is not a particularly popular field and many boron compounds are relatively unuseful. (Probably those two statements are correlated.)
I certainly have minimal experience except for preparing elemental boron. It is good to add bits to the knowledge bank.
But, yeah, this does belong in Beginnings.
Fusso, do keep working on the Boron and tell us anything interesting you find. It is a neglected element. Even if some information is only a quick
Google search away, it is nice to have discussion to raise awareness.
According to the Boron page on Wikipedia ...
Sulaiman - 19-6-2019 at 04:05
The chemical behavior of boron resembles that of silicon more than aluminium. Crystalline boron is chemically inert and resistant to attack by boiling
hydrofluoric or hydrochloric acid. When finely divided, it is attacked slowly by hot concentrated hydrogen peroxide, hot concentrated nitric acid, hot
sulfuric acid or hot mixture of sulfuric and chromic acidsfusso - 19-6-2019 at 07:25
What actually surprises me is boron resists oxidation by hot piranha, not H2O2 or H2SO4 individually. And I'm referring to the
amorphous(?) form which is extracted from Nd magnets.Tsjerk - 19-6-2019 at 07:58
I guess given enough time boron is not inert to piranha. lordcookies24 - 19-6-2019 at 13:39
In all honesty it’s an interesting story. The man only took revenge on property, he did not take another life. Mabus - 4-9-2019 at 09:35
Well, boron oxide is quite resistant to most acids, especially the oxidizing variety, so I assume there's a thin protective oxide layer forming on the
surface of the boron that protects the element.woelen - 5-9-2019 at 05:49
Boron oxide is quite inert in terms of redox reactions, but it is not inert in terms of reactions where its oxidation state does not change. It is
quite hygroscopic and dissolves in water, producing even some heat. B2O3 reacts to form H3BO3 by absorbing water. It also reacts very easily with
alcohols, producing esters. E.g. with methanol it produces a trimethyl ester, B(OCH3)3, quickly and nearly quantitatively.
Elemental boron indeed has some similarity with elemental silicon, but the oxides of the two elements behave quite differently.
