Boron

Atomic number

5

Atomic mass (u)

10.81

Category

Metalloid

Standard state

Solid

Melting point

2074.85 °C (2348 K)

Boiling point

3999.85 °C (4273 K)

Density (g/cm³)

2.37

Electronegativity (Pauling)

2.04

Electron configuration

[He]2s2 2p1

Oxidation states

+3

Atomic radius (pm)

192

First ionization energy (eV)

8.298

Discovery & recognition

Discovery year / period (PubChem)

1808

Discovery credited to (RSC)

Louis-Josef Gay-Lussac and Louis-Jacques Thénard in Paris, France, and Humphry Davy in London, UK

Date or period recorded by RSC

1808

Discovery place

Not supplied in the structured record; see the RSC history source.

An ancient date does not identify a first human discovery. Different references may date observation, isolation and formal recognition differently.

Natural occurrence & production

The creation of an element’s nuclei and its concentration into terrestrial deposits are different processes. The occurrence note below concerns its presence or production on Earth; it is not a complete account of nucleosynthesis.

“Boron occurs as an orthoboric acid in some volcanic spring waters, and as borates in the minerals borax and colemanite.”

Royal Society of Chemistry · occurrence excerpt ↗

Continue the research

Reference values are not product specifications. Blank values have not been estimated. For superheavy elements, some properties and family assignments are theoretical or incompletely measured.