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Environment

Re: The fifth element

July 3, 2016 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 94, Issue 27

While attending the Boron in the Americas (BORAM) conference at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, from June 25 to 28, Senior Correspondent Steve Ritter (@sritterz) asked his followers on Twitter, “What does boron as an element mean to you?” The question sparked tons of enthusiastic responses. Here are just a few.

Steve Ritter (@sritterz)

Boron signifies electron-deficiency. Is that a hole in your valence shell, or are you just excited to see me?
Preston MacDougall (@ChemicalEyeGuy) via Twitter

My postdoc! Boric acid and derivatives in bone and prostate tissue.
M Gallardo-Williams (@Teachforaliving) via Twitter

Green flames. And I always liked organoboron chemistry.
Eva Horn Møller (@mediemedicin) via Twitter

Perennially unhappy element: 4 bonds = too many electrons; 3 bonds = too few. My favorite element to work with though!
Tom Sheppard (@SheppardTomD) via Twitter

One of the most important carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions you will find (Suzuki-Miyaura).
Adam Henwood (@AdamHenwood1) via Twitter

Funky bonding (Wade’s rules).
Stuart Cantrill (@stuartcantrill) via Twitter

It’s a perfect “staple” for holding tris(pyrazolyl)borate ligands together. RIP Jerry Trofimenko—50 years of Tp #chemistry!
Klaus Theopold (@KHTeopold) via Twitter

MT orbital! Unique bonding! Green flame! Uses in defense, pharma, electronics, coatings, etc.! Best. Element. Ever.
Beth Bosley (@bdbosley) via Twitter

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