Boron and Refractory Borides, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1977

V. I. MATKOVICH During the meeting of the International Symposium on Boron held in October, 1972 in Tbilisi, U.S.S.R., the idea was proposed to assemble a review of boron and refractory borides by the specialists present. The advantages of such a work were immediately apparent. Such diverse applications of borides as in protective armor, nuclear reactors, coat­ ings, reinforcement, etc. can hardly all be presented in sufficient detail by a single author. On the other hand it was also recognized that with so much specialization, some areas of interest may not be covered. Within the last decade or two a number of areas have been developed in which the use of refractory borides is growing and improvements are being actively explored. Thus, a number of borides have considerable potential as reinforcing material for plastics or light metals, though only boron fibers have been firmly established up to the present. Ap­ plication of flakes and films for two-dimensional reinforcement appears attractive, although the high cost of materials and development repre­ sents a considerable barrier. A number of borides have been used to manufacture lightweight protec­ tive armor. In this area relatively fast changes seem to be taking place as improvements in performance and weight are made. Boron carbide has found considerable use in this application and new developments exploit the light weight of beryllium borides.

A. Introduction.- B. Considerations of Theoretical Interest.- I. The Electronic Structure of Boron Compounds.- II. The Nature of the Chemical Bond in Borides.- III. The Electronic Structures of the Hexaborides and the Diborides.- IV. Boron and Aluminum Dodecaboride as the Specific Type of Hopping Conduction Materials.- V. Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) in Boron Nitride, Boron and Boron Carbide.- VI. Structural Determinants in the Higher Borides.- VII. Crystal Chemistry of Higher Borides.- VIII. Tetragonal Boron-I and Its Derivatives.- IX. Compounds Based on Octahedral B6 Units: Hexaborides and Tetraborides.- X. Crystal Chemistry of Boron and of Some Boron-Rich Phases; Preparation of Boron Modifications.- C. Preparations and Properties.- I. Chemical Properties of Boron.- II. Methods of Preparation of Amorphous Boron.- III. Methods of Preparation of ?-Rhombohedral Boron.- IV. Characterization of Localized States in ?-Rhombohedral Boron.- V. Alkali Metal Borides.- VI. Ib and IIb Subgroup Borides.- VII. Borides of the IVb Group.- VIII. Borides of Group VIb Elements.- IX. Transition Metal Borides.- X. Single-Crystal Refractory Borides of Transition Metals.- XI. Properties and Uses of Diborides.- XII. Ternary Metal Borides.- XIII. Rare Earth-Boron Phase Equilibria.- XIV. Metallic Borides: Preparation of Solid Bodies-Sintering Methods and Properties of Solid Bodies.- XV. Magnetic Properties of Borides.- D. Special Applications.- I. Chemical Vapor Deposition of Boron Filament.- II. Boron Carbide Fibers from Carbon Fibers.- III. Boron Nitride Fibers.- IV. Reinforcing Properties of ALB2 Flakes.- V. Amorphous Boron Films.- VI. Boride Coatings.- VII. Nuclear Applications of Boron and the Borides.- VIII. Use of Boron Compounds in Lightweight Armor.