Melting Temperatures of (Super)Hard Cubic Boron Pnictides

Based on the analysis of the established empirical relationship between elastic constants and melting temperatures for cubic pnictides of Group IIIa elements, the melting temperatures of hypothetical cubic BSb and BBi have been predicted. A critical review of the melting data for (super)hard cubic boron pnictides BX (X = N, P, As, Sb, Bi) has been performed, showing that their melting temperatures at ambient pressure, as well as their Vickers hardness, are linear functions of the pnictogen Mendeleev number.