The oxidation of boron and boron powders modified with vanadium pentoxide gels at a heating rate of 10°C/min in air was studied by X-ray powder diffraction analysis using a synchrotron radiation source. It has been established that vanadium pentoxide activates boron oxidation through its ability to transfer electrons and facilitate oxygen delivery to the boron surface when dissolved in molten {{B}₂}{{O}₃}.
Shevchenko et al. (Wed,) studied this question.