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]
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 groupCmcm) 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]
^Peshev, P.; Bliznakov, G.; Leyarovska, L. (1967). "On the preparation of some chromium, molybdenum and tungsten borides". Journal of the Less Common Metals. 13 (2): 241. doi:10.1016/0022-5088(67)90188-9.
^ abLiao, P. K.; Spear, K. E. (June 1986). "The B−Cr (Boron-Chromium) system". Bulletin of Alloy Phase Diagrams. 7 (3): 232–237. doi:10.1007/BF02868996. ISSN0197-0216.
^ abcOkada, Shigeru; Kudou, Kunio; Iizumi, Kiyokata; Kudaka, Katsuya; Higashi, Iwami; Lundström, Torsten (September 1996). "Single-crystal growth and properties of CrB, Cr3B4, Cr2B3 and CrB2 from high-temperature aluminum solutions". Journal of Crystal Growth. 166 (1–4): 429–435. Bibcode:1996JCrGr.166..429O. doi:10.1016/0022-0248(95)00890-X.
^L'vov, S. N.; Nemchenko, V. F.; Kislyi, P. S.; Verkhoglyadova, T. S.; Kosolapova, T. Ya. (1964). "The electrical properties of chromium borides, carbides, and nitrides". Soviet Powder Metallurgy and Metal Ceramics. 1 (4): 243–247. doi:10.1007/BF00774426. ISSN0038-5735. S2CID137007220.
^Kislyi, P. S.; L'vov, S. N.; Nemchenko, V. F.; Samsonov, G. V. (1964). "Physical properties of the boride phases of chromium". Soviet Powder Metallurgy and Metal Ceramics. 1 (6): 441–443. doi:10.1007/BF00773921. ISSN0038-5735. S2CID137532121.