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## Meet the editor

Dr. Aydin received his BS degree in 1989 and his MS degree in Engineering Physics in 1993 from Ankara University. He also holds a doctorate in Physical Chemistry from the City University of New York (CUNY), received in 2001. From 2001 to 2005, Dr. Aydin was a post-doctoral associate at the Center for Analysis of Structures and Interfaces, The City College, Chemistry Department, at CUNY. In 2008, Dr. Aydin joined the faculty of the

Chemistry Department of Ondokuz Mayıs University, where he rose through the ranks from assistant professor to professor of physical chemistry. Dr. Aydin's work has been published in numerous professional journals. He has talked extensively at conferences and universities, both national and international. His main research interests involve photofragmentation spectroscopy of transition metal cation clusters in a reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometer, surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy, aggregation enhanced Raman spectroscopy, density functional theory, chemistry and physics of isolated and functionalized carbon nanotubes, boron nitride nanotubes and graphene, and X-ray diffraction.

Contents

*by Ingrid Garcés Millas*

on Boron(III)-Chelates

Photovoltaics: A Brief Overview

*by Maria P. Savyak and Alex B. Melnick*

**Preface III**

**Chapter 1 1**

**Chapter 2 25**

**Chapter 3 45**

**Chapter 4 63**

**Chapter 5 75**

**Chapter 6 93**

Boron Industry, Sources, and Evaporitic Andean Deposits: Geochemical

Characteristics and Evolution Paths of the Superficial Brines

Functionalized Boron Nitride Applications in Biotechnology *by Hélio Ribeiro, Paula von Cardoso Randow, Diego N. Vilela,* 

Significance of Boron Nitride in Composites and Its Applications *by Sasikumar Rathinasabapathy, M.S. Santhosh and Manivannan Asokan*

*by Georgy L. Pakhomov, Vlad V. Travkin and Pavel A. Stuzhin*

Peculiarities of Refractory Borides Formation during Mechanical Alloying IV-V Group Transition Metals with Boron in Planetary Mill

Hexachlorinated Boron(III) Subphthalocyanine as Acceptor for Organic

*Milene Adriane Luciano and Lidia Maria de Andrade*

Bio-Inspired Artificial Light-Harvesting Arrays Based

*by Hatun H.T. Al-Sharif and Anthony Harriman*

## Contents


Preface

Boron is a semimetal that is found in low amounts both in the solar system and in the Earth's crust. It is a chemical element with atomic number 5 and is produced by cosmic ray and high-energy radiation from supernovae that impact boron-containing minerals. Naturally occurring boron is found within chemical compounds such as borate minerals; however, the elemental form is not found because of its high reactivity. Also, high purity boron is difficult to produce industrially because of contamination by carbon and other elements at high temperatures. Boron has several allotropes, including amorphous boron, a dark brown powder, and crystalline boron, a black material with a melting point above 2000°C, which is extremely hard and weakly conductive at room temperature, but a good

Boron is an important synthetic and research chemical. It is an important compo-

Recent developments in the field of boron chemistry have led to a broad range of applications from medical science to materials uses. Boron-doped drugs have several biomedical applications, including use in neutron capture therapy for cancer, as an anticancer, antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal therapeutic agent, and as a component of optical and nuclear imaging agents. Due to the electron-deficient nature of the boron atom, boron-based organic materials, such as three-coordinate organoboron compounds, present electron-accepting centers that give exceptional optoelectronic functions and significantly amplify performance in energy-conversion systems such as organic light-emitting diodes, organic photovoltaics, and organic field-effect transistors. Furthermore, the rapid development of nanoscience and nanotechnology has inspired scientists to investigate new features of boron nanostructures at the nanoscale such as boron-containing nanotubes, nanowires, and nanosheets. These novel structures have found applications in the field of hydrogen storage, batteries, catalysts, electronics, superconductors, mechanically strong components, nano-

The aim of this book is to present an overview of recent developments in boroncontaining materials with potential applications in many fields. In Chapter 1, the history of boron and its usage areas are briefly reviewed, including a comprehensive discussion on boron deposits and sources in Chile. Chapter 2 provides experimental and theoretical works for different boron nitride functionalization structures with potential biomedical applications. Chapter 3 deals with the photophysical and

nent of reducing agents such as sodium borohydride and borane. In the Corey–Bakshi–Shitaba catalyst used to asymmetrically reduce ketones, boron plays dual roles as a hydride source and a Lewis acid. Boron's Lewis acid properties result from an empty p-orbital, which confers electron-accepting abilities, such as in the familiar boron trifluoride used as a Lewis acid catalyst. Boronic acids and esters are key organic building blocks in synthetic chemistry: these oxygen- and carbon-containing boron compounds are important cross-coupling partners in palladium-catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura reactions. They are also critical to the small molecule synthesis of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and veterinary science

conductor at high temperature.

medicine, and cancer research.

products.
