What is the Ionic Charge of Boron (B)? And Why?

The common Ionic Charges of Boron (B) are 3- and 3+.

But the question is how can you find the ionic charge on Boron (B)?

Well, boron is one of the elements that have a variable ionic charge.

The ionic charge of boron depends on what it is bonded with.

So let’s try to find out the ionic charge of Boron (B) using some examples.

You can also refer to the below video from which you will learn to find charge of any ion.

How to find the ionic charge of Boron (B)?

As I mentioned earlier, the ionic charge of Boron (B) can be found out by looking at what it is bonded with.

So let’s take examples of compounds of Boron (B) like BCl₃, BF₃, BH₃, etc.

Example 1: BCl₃
In BCl₃, the Boron (B) is bonded to Chlorine (Cl).
You know that the ionic charge of Cl is 1-.
So you can easily say that the ionic charge of B should be 3+, then only it will get canceled out.
Hence the ionic charge of Boron in BCl₃ is 3+.

Example 2: BF₃
In BF₃, the Boron (B) is bonded to Fluorine (F).
And again, you know that the ionic charge of F is 1-.
So here also you can easily say that the ionic charge of B should be 3+, then only it will get canceled out.
Hence the ionic charge of Boron in BF₃ is 3+.

Example 3: BH₃
Similarly in BH₃, the Boron (B) is bonded to Hydrogen (H).
And you know that the ionic charge of H is 1+.
So from this, you can easily say that the ionic charge of B should be 3-, then only it will get canceled out.
Hence the ionic charge of Boron in BH₃ is 3-.

In this way, Boron can have variable charges depending on what it is bonded to.

But as seen from the above examples,
The most common charges of Boron (B) are 3- and 3+.

I hope you have understood why boron has variable ionic charges.

Check out some other related topics for your practice.

Related topics:
Charge of Tin (Sn)
Charge on ClO3 (Chlorate ion)
Charge of Cadmium (Cd)
Charge of Titanium (Ti)
Charge of Gallium (Ga)