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Tantalum and Ta-Alloys

Tantalum Tubes	Tantalum Sheets, Plates, Rods, Bars

Tantalum is a strong, ductile metal that is nearly immune to chemical attack at room temperatures. It can be drawn into a fine wire that is used to evaporate metals, such as aluminum. It has a high melting point and is frequently used as a substitute for platinum, which is more expensive. Tantalum is used to make components for chemical plants, nuclear power plants, airplanes and missiles. Tantalum does not react with bodily fluids and is used to make surgical equipment. Tantalum also does not irritate the body and is used to make surgical sutures as well as implants, such as artificial joints and cranial plates. Tantalum is alloyed with steel to increase steel's ductility, strength and melting point.

About Tantalum

Tantalum is an element found in many ways in our everyday lives, improving technology and material performance. Its many applications include uses in electronics, medicine, engineering and energy generation.

Tantalum was discovered by Anders Gustaf Ekenberg, a Swedish chemist, in 1802 in minerals obtained from Ytterby, Sweden. Many scientists believed that he had only discovered an allotrope of niobium, an element that is chemically similar to tantalum. The issue was finally settled in 1866 when, Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac, a Swiss chemist, proved that tantalum and niobium were two distinct elements. The first relatively pure samples of tantalum were first produced in 1907. Today, tantalum is primarily obtained from the minerals columbite ((Fe, Mn, Mg)(Nb, Ta)2O6), tantalite ((Fe, Mn)(Ta, Nb)2O6) and euxenite ((Y, Ca, Er, La, Ce, U, Th)(Nb, Ta, Ti)2O6).

About half of the tantalum consumed each year is used in the electronics industry, mainly as powder and wire for capacitors, owing to tantalum's particular ability to store and release electrical energy. This allows components to be exceptionally small and they are therefore favored in space-sensitive high-end applications in telecommunications, data storage and implantable medical devices. Tantalum is also used for electronic sound filters and as a barrier against copper diffusion in semi-conductors. Tantalum carbide's hardness makes it ideal for cutting tools.

Tables and Properties

			High Quality Tantalum Metal (wt%)
	Impurities (max.)
	Type	Nb		C		O		N	Fe		Ni	W		Mo	Si		Ti
	Ta-1	0.01		0.02		0.20		0.01	0.01		0.005	0.003		0.003	0.02		0.003
	Ta-2	0.02		0.04		0.30		0.02	0.02		0.01	0.005		0.003	0.02		0.003
	FTa-1	0.05		0.03		0.03		0.02	0.01		0.005	0.02		0.02	0.02		0.005
	FTa-2	0.10		0.05		0.035		0.03	0.03		0.01	0.03		0.03	0.03		0.01
		Typical Composition of Ta-Alloys (wt %)
				Type				Ta	W		Nb
				R05252				97.5	2.5		-
				R05255				90	10		-
				R05240				60	-		40
		Typical Specification
Type Dimension (mm) Perform Standard         Ta1, Ta2, FTa-1, FTa-2, R05255 R05252 R05240 Sheet, Plate Thickness: 0.01-10 Width max: 1000 Length on required ASTM B 708-98         Rod, Bar Diameter: Φ3.0-Φ110 Length on required ASTM B 365-98         Tube Outside Diameter: Φ0.5-Φ30 Wall Thickness: 0.20-5.00 Length on required ASTM B 52