Boron trioxide (or diboron trioxide) is one of the oxides of boron. It is a white, glassy solid with the formula B2O3. It is almost always found as the vitreous (amorphic) form; however, it can be crystallized after extensive annealing. It is one of the most difficult compounds known to crystallize.
Glassy boron oxide (g-B2O3) is thought to be composed of boroxol rings which are six-membered rings composed of alternating 3-coordinate boron and 2-coordinate oxygen. This view is controversial, however, because no model has ever been made of glassy boron oxide of the correct density containing a large number of six-membered rings. The rings are thought to make a few BO3 triangles, but mostly link (polymerize) into ribbons and sheets. The crystalline form (α-B2O3) see structure in the infobox) is exclusively composed of BO3 triangles. This trigonal, quartz-like network undergoes a coesite-like transformation to monoclinic β-B2O3 at several gigapascals and is (what?) 9.5 GPa.
Boron trioxide is produced by treating borax with sulfuric acid in a fusion furnace. At temperatures above 750 °C, the molten boron oxide layer separates out from sodium sulfate. It is then decanted, cooled and obtained in 96–97% purity.