Naked boron atom

Most metallaboride clusters are synthesized from metal-rich metallaboranes (Lewis base adducts of BH3 are often used as the source of the B atom) several different methods are used to transform B-H bonds into B-M interactions and hence isolate a naked boron atom. Two recent review articles have been devoted to this subject.l l... 

The diamondoid shape that the boron compound forms demonstrates how it can be bonded into a diamond crystal without causing strain in the diamond lattice due to its similarity of structure. This also demonstrate how the properties of a material at the macro scale (visible to the naked eye) is determined by bonding at the atomic scale. 

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