About This Product
Boron powder (B, CAS 7440-42-8) is the element itself, in amorphous or crystalline form, and appears as a black, light brown or brown-black powder. Standard grades carry 95.0%, 90% or 85.0% total boron with limits on water-soluble boron, hydrogen peroxide insolubles and moisture; separate 95% and 99% purity grades also limit magnesium, to 2.0% and 0.3%, and come at 1-3 µm and 10-20 µm respectively. The neutral grade has a d50 below 5 µm. Steelmakers add boron to special alloy steels and use the powder to remove gases from molten steel. At high temperature it reacts with oxygen, nitrogen, carbon and many metals, which makes it a starting material for borides and other boron compounds, and boron also acts as a catalyst in some organic reactions. Fine boron powder at these purities is a listed dual-use item under UK and EU export controls, so an export licence is needed to ship it out of the UK or the EU. It can also be classed as a flammable solid for transport, and it oxidises when heated. The two specification sets disagree on water-soluble boron and moisture, so confirm the grade, particle size and safety data sheet before ordering.
