- Plutonium borides
At least four borides can be formed by direct combination of
plutonium andboron powders in an inert atmosphere at reduced pressure.PuB is formed at 1200C with a range 40-70%at boron, and has the NaCl structure, as do TiB, ZrB and HfB, with a Pu-B bond length of 2.46A.
PuB2 is formed at 800C in at least the range 60-65%at boron, and has the structure of AlB2, as does UB2.
At 1200C with 70-85%at boron, mixtures of PuB4 and PuB6 are formed, with more of the latter as the temperature increases; PuB4 has the UB4 structure tetragonal, and PuB6 the CaB6 cubic one (isomorphous with ThB6).
[cite journal | title=The crystal structures of some plutonium borides |author=B J McDonald |coauthors=W I Stuart| journal=Acta Cryst. |year=1960 |volume=13 |pages=447-448]
References
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