Boron nitride is a binary chemical compound, consisting of equal proportions of boron and nitrogen, with formula BN. Structurally, it is isoelectronic to carbon and takes on similar physical forms: a hexagonal, graphite-like one, and a cubic, diamond-like one. Cubic boron nitride is one of the hardest materials known, behind only diamond and ultrahard fullerite. It is widely used for grinding and as a material for tools in industry. This is in part because it does not dissolve into iron, nickel, and related alloys at high temperatures like diamond does. Hexagonal boron nitride finds use as a high-temperature lubricant where the electrical conductivity or reactivity of graphite would be problematic. A binary compound is a chemical compound consisting of only two different elements. ... General Name, Symbol, Number boron, B, 5 Chemical series metalloids Group, Period, Block 13, 2, p Appearance black Atomic mass 10. ... Jump to: navigation, search General Name, Symbol, Number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 14. ... Two or more molecular entities (atoms, molecules, ions) are described as isoelectronic if they have the same number of valence electrons and the same structure (number and connectivity of atoms), but may differ in the elements involved. ... Jump to: navigation, search General Name, Symbol, Number carbon, C, 6 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 14, 2, p Appearance black (graphite) colorless (diamond) Atomic mass 12. ... Jump to: navigation, search Graphite (named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789, from the Greek γραφειν: to draw/write, for its use in pencils) is one of the allotropes of carbon. ... Jump to: navigation, search A scattering of round-brilliant cut diamonds shows off the many reflecting facets. ... Jump to: navigation, search Scratch caused by ultrahard fullerite on diamond Ultrahard fullerite (C60) is a form of carbon found to be harder than diamond, and which can be used to create even harder materials, such as aggregated diamond nanorods. ... Jump to: navigation, search General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 8, 4, d Appearance lustrous metallic with a grayish tinge Atomic mass 55. ... Jump to: navigation, search General Name, Symbol, Number nickel, Ni, 28 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 10, 4, d Appearance lustrous, metallic Atomic mass 58. ... An alloy is a combination, either in solution or compound, of two or more elements, at least one of which is a metal, and where the resultant material has metallic properties. ...

Boron nitride can also be synthesized in forms analogous to carbon nanotubes, but with a more uniform electronic band gap and the potential for piezoelectric activity. An electronic device known as a diode can be formed by joining two nanoscale carbon tubes with different electronic properties. ... In solid state physics and related applied fields, the band gap is the energy difference between the top of the valence band and the bottom of the conduction band in insulators and semiconductors. ... Piezoelectricity is the ability of certain crystals to produce a voltage when subjected to mechanical stress. ...

Synthesis

Hexagonal boron nitride is produced by the nitridation or ammonolysis of boron trioxide. Cubic boron nitride is produced by treating hexagonal boron nitride at high pressure and temperature, much as synthetic diamond is produced from graphite. Jump to: navigation, search Boron oxide is a colourless or white solid, also known as diboron trioxide, formula B2O3. ... Jump to: navigation, search Synthetic diamond is diamond produced through chemical or physical processes in a laboratory. ...

See also

• Beta carbon nitride
• Borazon