Boron oxide

Patent Pending Boron trioxide (or diboron trioxide) is one of the oxides of boron. It is a white, glassy solid with the formula B2O3. It is almost always found as the vitreous (amorphous) form; however, it can be crystallized after extensive annealing (that is, under prolonged heat). It is known as one of the most difficult compounds to crystallize.[clarification needed] Glassy boron oxide (g-B2O3) is thought to be composed of boroxol rings which are six-membered rings composed of alternating 3-coordinate boron and 2-coordinate oxygen. This view is controversial, however, because no model has ever been made of glassy boron oxide of the correct density containing a large number of six-membered rings. The rings are thought to make a few BO3 triangles, but mostly link (polymerize) into ribbons and sheets.[3][4] The crystalline form (α-B2O3) (see structure in the infobox) is exclusively composed of BO3 triangles. This trigonal, quartz-like network undergoes a coesite-like transformation to monoclinic β-B2O3 at several gigapascals (9.5 GPa).