The Boron Trifluoride Nitromethane Adduct

Abstract

The separation of the boron isotopes using boron trifluoride·organic-donor, Lewis acid·base adducts is an essential first step in preparing 10B enriched and depleted crystalline solids so vital to nuclear studies and reactor applications such as enriched MgB2, boron carbide, ZrB2, HfB2, aluminum boron alloys, and depleted silicon circuits for radiation hardening and neutron diffraction crystal structure studies. The appearance of this new adduct with such superior properties demands attention in the continuing search for more effective and efficient means of separation. An evaluation of the boron trifluoride nitromethane adduct, its thermodynamic and physical properties related to large-scale isotopic separation is presented. Its remarkably high separation factor was confirmed to be higher than the expected theoretical value. However, the reportedly high acid/donor ratio was proven to be an order of magnitude lower. On-going research is determining the crystal structure of deuterated and 11B enriched 11BF3·CD3NO2 by X-ray and neutron diffraction.

Department(s)

Materials Science and Engineering

Keywords and Phrases

BF3·nitromethane Adduct; Boron; Isotopes; Lewis Acid-Base Complex; Crystalline Solids

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0022-4596

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2004 Elsevier Inc., All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 2004

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