Chromium(III) boride, also known as chromium monoboride (CrB), is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula CrB.[2] It is one of the six stable binary borides of chromium, which also include Cr2B, Cr5B3, Cr3B4, CrB2, and CrB4.[3] Like many other transition metal borides, it is extremely hard (21-23 GPa),[4][5] has high strength (690 MPa bending strength),[5] conducts heat and electricity as well as many metallic alloys,[4][6][7] and has a high melting point (~2100 °C).[8][3] Unlike pure chromium, CrB is known to be a paramagnetic, with a magnetic susceptibility that is only weakly dependent on temperature.[9][10] Due to these properties, among others, CrB has been considered as a candidate material for wear resistant coatings and high-temperature diffusion barriers.[citation needed]
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IUPAC name
boranylidynechromium
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Other names
Chromium monoboride
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Identifiers | |
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3D model (JSmol)
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ChemSpider |
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ECHA InfoCard | 100.031.339 |
EC Number |
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PubChem CID
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Properties | |
CrB | |
Molar mass | 62.81 g/mol |
Appearance | silver, ceramic material |
Density | 6.17 g/cm3 |
Melting point | 1,950 to 2,050 °C (3,540 to 3,720 °F; 2,220 to 2,320 K) |
insoluble | |
Structure | |
orthorhombic (space group Cmcm) | |
Hazards | |
NFPA 704 (fire diamond) | |
NIOSH (US health exposure limits): | |
PEL (Permissible)
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TWA 1 mg/m3[1] |
REL (Recommended)
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TWA 0.5 mg/m3[1] |
IDLH (Immediate danger)
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250 mg/m3[1] |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
Infobox references
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It can be synthesized as powders by many methods including direct reaction of the constituent elemental powders,[11] self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS),[5] borothermic reduction,[12][13] and molten salt growth.[14] Slow-cooling of molten aluminum solutions from high-temperatures has been used to grow large single crystals, with a maximum size of 0.6 mm x 0.6 mm x 8.3 mm.[4]
CrB has an orthorhombic crystal structure (space group Cmcm) that was first discovered in 1951,[15] and subsequently confirmed by later work using single crystals.[16] The crystal structure can be visualized as slabs face-sharing BCr6 trigonal prisms, in the ac-plane, that are stacked parallel to the <010> crystallographic direction. Similar to Cr3B4 and Cr2B3, the B atoms in the structure form covalent bonds with each other and are characterized by unidirectional B-B- chains parallel to the <001> crystallographic direction. The transition metal monoborides VB, NbB, TaB, and NiB have the same crystal structure. [citation needed]