Boron trioxide

Boron oxide is one of the oxides of boron. It is white, glassy, and solid, also known as diboron trioxide, formula B2O3. It is almost always found as the vitreose (amorphic) form; however, it can be crystallized after extensive annealing. It is one of the most difficult compounds known to crystallize.

Glassy boron oxide (α-B2O3) is thought to be composed of boroxol rings which are six-membered rings composed of alternating 3-coordinate boron and 2-coordinate oxygen. The rings make a few BO3 triangles, but mostly link (polymerize) into ribbons and sheets. (1,2) The crystalline form (B2O3) is exclusively composed of BO3 triangles and is almost half as hard as quartz, 4 GPa Vickers. This trigonal, quartz-like network undergoes a monoclinic, coesite-like transformation of BO4 tetrahedra at several gigapascals and is 9.5 GPa (3).

Applications

 * Fluxing agent for glass and enamels
 * Starting material for synthesizing other boron compounds such as boron carbide
 * An additive used in glass fibres (optical fibres)
 * It is used in the production of borosilicate glass