What is 6N Boron Powder

6N boron powder refers to boron powder with a purity of 99.9999% (six nines), which belongs to ultra-high purity boron materials. The total impurity content is less than 0.0001% (1ppm). 99.9999% boron powder is a category with a relatively high purity grade among boron powders.

Core features of 6N boron powder

1. Ultra-high purity

The content of impurities (such as metallic elements Fe, Al, Ca, and non-metallic elements O, C, etc.) is extremely low, avoiding the interference of impurities on material properties and making it suitable for scenarios where purity is sensitive.

2. Physical and chemical properties

The appearance of 6N boron powder is usually dark brown or black powder, with a density of approximately 2.34g /cm³ and a melting point as high as 2076℃, and it has excellent high-temperature resistance.

It has stable chemical properties and does not react with water or acids (except concentrated nitric acid and hydrofluoric acid) at room temperature. However, at high temperatures, it can react with oxygen, nitrogen, carbon and other elements to form corresponding compounds (such as B₂O₃, BN, B₄C).

Main application fields of 6N boron powder

The electronics and semiconductor industry

6N boron powder, as a semiconductor dopant, can be doped with trace amounts of boron into semiconductor materials such as silicon and germanium to prepare P-type semiconductors for chip manufacturing.

Aerospace and national defense

6N boron powder, as a high-energy fuel additive, enhances the combustion efficiency and energy density of rocket propellants.

6N boron powder is used to prepare high-temperature resistant ceramics (such as zirconium boride and titanium boride) for thermal protective coatings of spacecraft.

Nuclear industry

High-purity boron powder (especially boron powder enriched with ¹⁰B isotopes) is an important neutron-absorbing material, used as control rods and shielding materials in nuclear reactors to control the rate of nuclear reactions by absorbing neutrons.

Materials science research

6N boron powder is used to synthesize new boron compounds (such as fullerene-structured boron cages and boron nanotubes), and its applications in energy storage, catalysis and other fields are explored.

6N boron powder, as an additive for superalloys, improves the strength and oxidation resistance of the alloys.

Difficulties in the production and purification of 6N boron powder

The preparation of 6N boron powder requires multiple purification processes. Common methods include:

Vacuum distillation: Removal of low-boiling-point impurities;

Zone melting method: Further purification is carried out by taking advantage of the solubility difference of impurities in the solid-liquid two phases.

Chemical purification: Removing metallic and non-metallic impurities through methods such as complexation reactions and solvent extraction.

Due to the high chemical reactivity of boron, new impurities are easily introduced during the purification process. Therefore, it must be carried out under the protection of inert gases (such as argon), and the cleanliness requirements for production equipment and the environment are extremely high, resulting in its cost being much higher than that of boron powder of ordinary purity (such as 3N, 4N).

In conclusion, 6N boron powder, with its ultra-high purity and unique properties, plays an irreplaceable role in high-end industrial and scientific research fields and is one of the important indicators to measure a country’s level of high-end material preparation.

For boron powder, we can provide products of the following specifications. If you have other particle size requirements, we can also customize production. Please feel free to contact us at any time if you have any questions.