Laser ablation and fragmentation of Boron in liquids

•Nanoparticles of elemental boron are synthesized for the first time by laser ablation of boron target in isopropanol and subsequent laser fragmentation.•Allotropic composition of boron nanoparticles differs from that of the initial target.•Nanoparticles are of 30–50 nm in size and have core–shell structure.