Chemistry Nexus
by WebElements: the periodic table on the web
Why are some diamonds blue?
Wondering why the most expensive diamond ever (the Oppenheimer Blue, £35 million) is blue – it is because of boron impurities, element 5 in the periodic table.
WebElements May 19th, 2016
Posted In: Chemistry
Superconductivity in diamond
Workers in Russia and Los Alamos, USA report in Nature1 superconductivity in boron-doped diamond synthesized at high pressure (nearly 100,000 atmospheres) and temperature (2500-2800 K). Electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, specific heat and field-dependent resistance measurements show that boron-doped diamond (carbon) is a bulk, type-II superconductor below the superconducting transition temperature Tc 4 K.
Boron has one less electron than carbon and, because of its small atomic radius, is relatively easily incorporated into diamond.
WebElements May 9th, 2004
Posted In: Chemistry, Materials chemistry
Tags: Boron, Carbon, superconductivity