Synthesis of Boron Nanorods by Smelting Non-Toxic Boron Oxide in Liquid Lithium

In contrast to the conventional bottom-up syntheses of boron nanostructures, a unique top-down and greener synthetic strategy is presented for boron nanorods involving nontoxic boron oxide powders ultrasonically smelted in liquid lithium under milder conditions. The product was thoroughly characterized by energy dispersive X-ray analysis, atomic emission spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and, UV-Vis spectroscopy, including structural characterization by transmission electron microscopy (TEM).