Is anyone here familiar with boron chemistry and it's ability to form polymers and compounds similar to carbon? I have read where boron chemistry may exceed carbon chemistry in it's ability to form complex compounds. I have googled this but information about it is less than helpful in this direction.

A search on "silicon-based life" might lead you somewhere since what you read about boron is also said about silicon.

 

On one website they say, " On the surface, silicon seems like an ideal substitute for carbon in another living system. Theoretically, silicon has bonding chemistry identical to that of carbon, and like carbon, can combine with four other elements to construct an incredible range of different macromolecules. So why not silicon-based life?"

 

The problem is that silicon has several disadvantages and it has now been discarded as a possible substitute for carbon. The most that can be said in its favor is that it might've helped to start life going.

 

 

A search on "silicon-based life" might lead you somewhere since what you read about boron is also said about silicon.

 

On one website they say, " On the surface, silicon seems like an ideal substitute for carbon in another living system. Theoretically, silicon has bonding chemistry identical to that of carbon, and like carbon, can combine with four other elements to construct an incredible range of different macromolecules. So why not silicon-based life?"

 

The problem is that silicon has several disadvantages and it has now been discarded as a possible substitute for carbon. The most that can be said in its favor is that it might've helped to start life going.

 

 

 

 

You're right, it would lead you somewhere, but it sure won't lead you to boron chemistry.

 

Moontanman,

 

I don't know much about this area of chemistry, but a quick search of boron polymers gave me these links:

 

http://www.tcm.phy.cam.ac.uk/~pdh1001/papers/paper7/

 

http://www.iupac.org/publications/pac/1991/pdf/6303x0407.pdf

 

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ba-1961-0032.ch027

 

Also, this book:

 

http://books.google.com/books?id=0_yQXXMFQrcC&dq=Macromolecules%2BContaining&ie=ISO-8859-1&source=gbs_gdata

 

 

You're right, it would lead you somewhere, but it sure won't lead you to boron chemistry.

 

Moontanman,

 

I don't know much about this area of chemistry, but a quick search of boron polymers gave me these links:

 

http://www.tcm.phy.cam.ac.uk/~pdh1001/papers/paper7/

 

http://www.iupac.org/publications/pac/1991/pdf/6303x0407.pdf

 

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ba-1961-0032.ch027

 

Also, this book:

 

http://books.google.com/books?id=0_yQXXMFQrcC&dq=Macromolecules%2BContaining&ie=ISO-8859-1&source=gbs_gdata

 

Thanks, I was looking the wrong way evidently, Boron polymers area good start for sure.

Thanks, I was looking the wrong way evidently, Boron polymers area good start for sure.

 

You might look into borane clusters as well. I find the nido-borane clusters particularly intetesting.