Characterization of hydrogenated amorphous boron by a combination of infrared absorption spectroscopy and thermal analyses

Abstract Hydrogen can be absorbed in amorphous boron during mechanical milling carried out under a hydrogen atmosphere, mainly in the form of B–H terminal and B–H–B bridge bonds. By a combination of IR absorption and thermal analyses, the desorption behavior of these two B–H bond states was clarified. For the sample mechanically milled for 80 h, the approximate ratio of the hydrogen trapped by terminal and bridge bonds is 1:2.