Diboran (6)

BeschreibungDiborane is a colorless gas at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. It has an unpleasant, distinctive, sickly sweet odor. Diborane is a highly flammable gas that forms a flammable mixture with air over a range of 0.9 percent to 98 percent diborane (at 1 atm). Diborane bums in air (or oxygen) with a blue to green flame. Diborane is considered pyrophoric at room temperature. The gas is easily ignited by a spark or the heat of reaction with moisture in air. Pure diborane is insensitive to mechanical shock; however, shock and thermally sensitive mixtures may be formed in the presence of impurities such as oxygen, water, halogenated hydrocarbons, and so on. Thermal decomposition of diborane to hydrogen can result in excessive pressure buildup. Vessels for containment of diborane should be designed to contain such resultant decomposition pressure.

VerwendenDiborane is used as a rocket propellant, in thevulcanization of rubber, as a polymerizationcatalyst, as a reducing agent, in the synthesisof trialkyl boranes, and as a doping agent(Merck 1996).