Ekaboron

Ekaboron, also written eka-boron, is a historical and hypothetical element name associated with predictions in the 19th century when scientists were developing the periodic table. The term denotes the element that would lie directly below boron in the periodic table, in the group that would later be known as group 13. The prefix eka- comes from a tradition used by Dmitri Mendeleev to mark elements that had not yet been discovered but were expected to fit into the table based on periodic trends.

Historically, eka-boron was described by Mendeleev as a light metal with properties influenced by boron and the other members of its group. He anticipated characteristics such as oxide formation and chemical behavior consistent with a small, trivalent metal in that position. At the time, these predictions were part of the effort to complete and validate the periodic law as more elements were discovered.

Aluminium, which is the real element occupying the position below boron in the modern periodic table, had already been discovered and characterized by the early 19th century. This led to the alignment of the predicted eka-boron with the actual element aluminium, though the historical predictions did not precisely match aluminium’s measured properties. Consequently, the concept of eka-boron persists mainly as a historical illustration of Mendeleev’s predictive method rather than as a separate, recognized element.

In contemporary chemistry, eka-boron is not used as an official designation. It is referenced primarily in discussions of the history of the periodic table and the development of element discovery.