Yttrium Borides - YB₆ (yttrium Hexaboride)

YB₆ (yttrium Hexaboride)

YB₆ is a black odorless powder having density of 3.67 g/cm3; it has the same cubic crystalline structure as other hexaborides (CaB₆, LaB₆, etc., see infobox). High-quality YB₆ crystals of few centimeters in size can be grown by the multiple-pass floating zone technique. YB₆ is a superconductor with the relatively high transition temperature (onset) of 8.4 K.