A
boride is a compound between
boron and a less
electronegative element, for example
silicon boride (SiB
3 and SiB
6). The borides are a very large group of compounds that are generally high melting and are covalent more than ionic in nature. Some borides exhibit very useful physical properties. The term boride is also loosely applied to compounds such as B
12As
2 (N.B. Arsenic has an electronegativity higher than boron) that is often referred to as
icosahedral boride.