Cobalt borides are

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s with the general formula Co_xB_y. The two main cobalt borides are CoB and Co₂B. These are refractory materials.

Applications

Materials science

Cobalt borides are known to be exceptionally resistant to oxidation, a chemical property which makes them useful in the field of materials science. For instance, studies suggest cobalt boride can increase the lifespan of metal parts when used as a coating, imparting surfaces with higher corrosion and wear resistance. These properties have been exploited in the field of

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for the design of specialized drug delivery systems.

Renewable energy

Cobalt boride has also been studied as a catalyst for hydrogen storage and

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technologies.

Organic synthesis

Cobalt boride is also an effective hydrogenation catalyst used in

organic synthesis Organic synthesis is a special branch of chemical synthesis and is concerned with the intentional construction of organic compounds. Organic molecules are often more complex than inorganic compounds, and their synthesis has developed into one o ...

. In one study, cobalt boride was found to be the most selective transition metal based catalyst available for the production of

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amines via nitrile reduction, even exceeding other cobalt containing catalysts such as

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Preparations

Materials coating

Cobalt boride is produced under high temperature such as 1500 °C. Coatings of cobalt boride on iron are produced by boriding, which involves first introducing a coating of FeB, Fe₂B. On to this iron boride coating is deposited cobalt using a pack cementation process. Cobalt boride

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in the size range of 18 to 22 nm have also been produced.

Catalyst

When used as a catalyst, cobalt boride is prepared by reducing a cobalt salt, such as

cobalt(II) nitrate Cobalt is a chemical element with the symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. The free element, pro ...

, with sodium borohydride. Prior to reduction, the

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of the catalyst is maximized by supporting the salt on another material; often this material is

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