Menu
Other Resources

Compare Carbon vs Boron

Comparing Carbon (C) and Boron (B). Atomic numbers 6 and 5 with atomic masses 12.01 u and 10.806 u, classified as nonmetal and metalloid. Below: a side-by-side comparison of their physical, atomic, electron-configuration and historical properties, including density, melting and boiling points, ionization energies, oxidation states and discovery history.

vs
C
Carbon
#6
B
Boron
#5

Periodic properties of the elements

CarbonBoron
SymbolCB
Atomic number65
Group1413
Period22
Blockpp
Element categoryNonmetalMetalloid

Physical properties

CarbonBoron
Phase at STPSolidSolid
Density1.821 g/cm32.08 g/cm3
Atomic weight12.0096 u10.806 u
Melting point-2349 K
2075.85 °C
3768.53 °F
Boiling point-4200 K
3926.85 °C
7100.33 °F

Atomic properties

CarbonBoron
Electronegativity (Pauling Scale)2.552.04
Electron affinity121.776 kJ/mol26.989 kJ/mol
Oxidation states−4, −3, −2, −1, 0, +1, +2, +3, +4
(a mildly acidic oxide)		−5, −1, 0, +1, +2, +3
(a mildly acidic oxide)
Ionization energies
  1. 1086.5 kJ/mol
  2. 2352.6 kJ/mol
  3. 4620.5 kJ/mol
  4. 6222.7 kJ/mol
  5. 37831 kJ/mol
  6. 47277 kJ/mol
  1. 800.6 kJ/mol
  2. 2427.1 kJ/mol
  3. 3659.7 kJ/mol
  4. 25025.8 kJ/mol
  5. 32826.7 kJ/mol

Electron configuration

CarbonBoron
Shorthand configuration[He] 2s2 2p2 [He] 2s2 2p1
Full configuration1s2 2s2 2p2 1s2 2s2 2p1
Electrons per shell2, 42, 3

History

CarbonBoron
DiscoveryEgyptians and Sumerians (3750 BC)Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac, Louis Jacques Thénard (1808)
First isolationHumphry Davy (1808)
Compare Carbon with
Compare Boron with