Tungsten pentaboride can be made by sintering tungsten and boron powder at 1200-1300 ℃ in vacuum or argon atmosphere; boron reduction of tungsten trioxide will also produce tungsten pentaboride, but tungsten monoboride will be produced as a by-product.
Tungsten pentaboride is a special compound with potential applications in superhard materials, friction-reducing materials and catalytic materials. Tungsten pentaboride can be used as a pharmaceutical intermediate or superhard material. Even at very high temperatures, tungsten pentaboride is still a high-performance material.