Barium borate Barium borate Barium borate is an inorganic compound, a borate of barium with a chemical formula BaBO or Ba(BO). It is available as a hydrate or dehydrated form, as white powder or colorless crystals. The crystals exist in the high-temperature α phase and low-temperature β phase, abbreviated as BBO; both phases are birefringent, and BBO is a common nonlinear optical material. Barium borate exists in two major crystalline forms: alpha and beta. The low-temperature beta phase converts into the alpha phase upon heating to 925 °C. β-Barium borate (BBO) differs from the α form by the positions of the barium
Chemical element chemical bonds, they form chemical compounds. Only a minority of elements are found uncombined as relatively pure minerals. Among the more common of such native elements are copper, silver, gold, carbon (as coal, graphite, or diamonds), and sulfur. All but a few of the most inert elements, such as noble gases and noble metals, are usually found on Earth in chemically combined form, as chemical compounds. While about 32 of the chemical elements occur on Earth in native uncombined forms, most of these occur as mixtures. For example, atmospheric air is primarily a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and argon, and