Isotopic composition dependences of lattice constant and thermal expansion of β-rhombohedral boron

Abstract

Boron isotope substitution in boron-containing crystalline structures is important because many properties of these materials are structure sensitive. In the present work, we studied the unit cell expansion at the fixed temperature and temperature dependence of thermal expansion for the β-rhombohedral modification of boron, when 11B is replaced by 10B isotope. Theoretical analysis of experimental results associates the observed changes in structures of the β-rhombohedral boron samples of various isotope compositions with isotope effects rather than with technologically concomitant impurities.