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Tantalum
Tantalum information, including Technical Data, Safety Data and its high purity properties, research, applications and other useful facts are discussed below. Scientific facts such as the atomic structure, ionization energy, abundance on Earth, conductivity and thermal properties are included.

Tantalum has a number of interesting properties that make it particularly useful in electronic applications. Tantalum is available as metal and compounds with purities from 99% to 99.999% (ACS grade to ultra-high purity); metals in the form of foil, sputtering target, and rod, and compounds as submicron and nanopowder. It has the third highest melting point, surpassed only by rhenium and tungsten, yet it is highly conductive to heat and electricity. This has made it the material of choice for electronic capacitors for most telecommunications and hand held electronics equipment, such as cell phones, laptop computers and pagers. Tantalum compounds, such as the oxide and chloride, are the basis for di-electric coatings. Tantalum is added to glass for its high refractive index. It has various applications in nuclear energy.

Tantalum facts, including appearance, CAS #, and molecular formula and safety data, research and properties are

 

  Hydrogen                                 Helium
  Lithium Beryllium                     Boron Carbon Nitrogen Oxygen Fluorine Neon
  Sodium Magnesium                     Aluminum Silicon Phosphorus Sulfur Chlorine Argon
  Potassium Calcium Scandium Titanium Vanadium Chromium Manganese Iron Cobalt Hydrogen Copper Zinc Gallium Germanium Arsenic Selenium Bromine Krypton
  Rubidium Strontium Yttrium Zirconium Niobium Molybdenum Technetium Ruthenium Rhodium Palladium Silver Cadmium Indium Tin Antimony Tellurium Iodine Xenon
  Cesium Barium Cerium Hafnium Tantalum Tungsten Rhenium Osmium Iridium Platinum Gold Mercury Thallium Lead Bismuth Polonium Astatine Radon
                                     
      Cerium Praseodymium Neodymium Promethium Samarium Europium Gadolinium Terbium Dysprosium Holmium Erbium Thulium Ytterbium Lutetium    
      Thorium Protactinium Uranium Neptunium Plutonium Americium Curium Berkelium Californium Einsteinium Fermium Mendelevium Nobelium Lawerencium    


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available for many specific states, forms and shapes on the product pages listed to the left. Elemental or metallic forms include pellets, rod, wire and granules for evaporation source material purposes. Nanoparticles and nanopowders provide ultra high surface area which nanotechnology research and recent experiments demonstrate function to create new and unique properties and benefits.

Oxides are available in forms including powders and dense pellets for such uses as optical coating and thin film applications. Oxides tend to be insoluble. Fluorides are another insoluble form for uses in which oxygen is undesirable such as metallurgy, chemical and physical vapor deposition and in some optical coatings. Tantalum is available in soluble forms including chlorides, nitrates and acetates. These compounds are also manufactured as solutions at specified stoichiometries.

Tantalum is a Block D, Group 5, Period 6 element. The electronic configuration is [Xe] 4f14 5d3 6s2. In its elemental form tantalum's CAS number is 7440-25-7. The tantalum atom has a radius of 143.pm and it's Van der Waals radius is 200.pm.

All elemental metals, compounds and solutions may be synthesized in ultra high purity (e.g. 99.999%) for laboratory standards, advanced electronic, metallurgy and optical materials and other high technology advantages. Information is provided for stable (non-radioactive) isotopes. Organo-Metallic Tantalum compounds are soluble in organic or non-aqueous solvents. See Analytical Services for information on available certified chemical and physical analysis techniques including MS-ICP, X-Ray Diffraction, PSD and Surface Area (BET) analysis.

Tantalum was first discovered by Anders Ekeberg in 1802.

French tantale German Tantal Italian tantalio Portuguese Tântalo Spanish tántalo Swedish Tantal

Abundance. The following table shows the abundance of tantalum and each of its naturally occurring isotopes on Earth along with the atomic mass for each isotope.

Isotope
Atomic Mass
% Abundance on Earth
Ta-180
179.947466
0.01
Ta-181
180.947996
99.99

Safety Data. The safety data for tantalum metal, nanoparticles and its compounds can vary widely depending on the form. For potential hazard information, toxicity, and road, sea and air transportation limitations, such as DOT Hazard Class, DOT Number, EU Number, NFPA Health rating and RTECS Class, please see the specific material or compound referenced in the left margin.

Ionization Energy. The ionization energy for tantalum (the least required energy to release a single electron from the atom in it's ground state in the gas phase) is stated in the following table:

1st Ionization Energy
728.43 kJ mol-1
2nd Ionization Energy
- kJ mol-1
3rd Ionization Energy
- kJ mol-1

Conductivity. As to tantalum's electrical and thermal conductivity, the electrical conductivity measured as to electrical resistivity @ 20 ºC is 13.15 μΩcm and its electronegativities (or its ability to draw electrons relative to other elements) is 1.5. The thermal conductivity of tantalum is 57.5 W m-1 K-1.

Thermal Properties. The melting point and boiling point for tantalum are stated below. The following chart sets forth the heat of fusion, heat of vaporization and heat of atomization.

Heat of Fusion
31.4 kJ mol-1
Heat of Vaporization
758.22 kJ mol-1
Heat of Atomization
781.425 kJ mol-1

 
Formula Atomic Number Molecular Weight Electronegativity (Pauling) Density Melting Point
Boiling Point
Vanderwaals radius
Ionic radius Energy of first ionization
Ta 73 180.95 g.mol -1 1.5 16.69 g.cm-3 at 20 °C 2850 °C 6000 °C 200.pm 0.070 nm (+5) 728.43 kJ.mol-1

PRODUCT CATALOG U.S. Operations Submicron & Nanopowder Tolling Ultra High Purity Sputtering Target Crystal Growth Rod, Plate, Powder, etc. Foil
 
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Recent Research & Development for Tantalum

  • Do Tantalum and Titanium Cups Show Similar Results in Revision Hip Arthroplasty? Jafari SM, Bender B, Coyle C, Parvizi J, Sharkey PF, Hozack WJ. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2009 Oct 7. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19809857 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

  • Effect of a biplanar osteotomy on primary stability following high tibial osteotomy: a biomechanical cadaver study. Pape D, Lorbach O, Schmitz C, Busch LC, Van Giffen N, Seil R, Kohn DM. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2009 Oct 7. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19809806 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

  • Tantalum is a good bone graft substitute in tibial tubercle advancement. Fernandez-Fairen M, Querales V, Jakowlew A, Murcia A, Ballester J. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2009 Oct 6. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19806411 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

  • New registration algorithm for determining 3D knee kinematics using CT and single-plane fluoroscopy with improved out-of-plane translation accuracy. Scarvell JM, Pickering MR, Smith PN. J Orthop Res. 2009 Oct 1. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19798739 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

  • Tantalum-Amidate Complexes for the Hydroaminoalkylation of Secondary Amines: Enhanced Substrate Scope and Enantioselective Chiral Amine Synthesis. Eisenberger P, Ayinla RO, Lauzon JM, Schafer LL. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2009 Sep 28. [Epub ahead of print] No abstract available. PMID: 19787670 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

  • Augmentation of tibial plateau fractures with Trabecular Metal: a biomechanical study. Benoit B, Fouad Z, Laflamme GH, Rouleau D, Laflamme GY. J Orthop Surg Res. 2009 Sep 22;4:37. PMID: 19772649 [PubMed - in process]

  • The reactivity of 1,1-dialkoxyalkanes with niobium and tantalum pentahalides. Formation of coordination compounds, C-H and C-C bond activation and the X-ray structure of the stable carboxonium species [Me(2)C=CHC(=OMe)Me][NbCl(5)(OMe)]. Marchetti F, Pampaloni G, Zacchini S. Dalton Trans. 2009 Oct 14;(38):8096-106. Epub 2009 Aug 10. PMID: 19771374 [PubMed - in process]

  • Activity and radiation protection studies for the W-Ta target of CSNS. Yu QZ, Liang TJ, Yin W. Radiat Prot Dosimetry. 2009;136(3):216-21. PMID: 19770213 [PubMed - in process]

  • Tantalum-Doped Titanium Dioxide Nanowire Arrays for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells with High Open-Circuit Voltage. Feng X, Shankar K, Paulose M, Grimes CA. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2009 Sep 19;48(43):8095-8098. [Epub ahead of print] No abstract available. PMID: 19768821 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

  • Clinical and radiological evaluation of Trabecular Metal and the Smith-Robinson technique in anterior cervical fusion for degenerative disease: a prospective, randomized, controlled study with 2-year follow-up. Löfgren H, Engquist M, Hoffmann P, Sigstedt B, Vavruch L. Eur Spine J. 2009 Sep 18. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19763634 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

  • Case Report: Reconstruction of the Distal Tibia with Porous Tantalum Spacer after Resection for Giant Cell Tumor. Economopoulos K, Barker L, Beauchamp C, Claridge R. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2009 Sep 15. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19756900 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

  • Revision of Failed Total Hip Arthroplasty Acetabular Cups to Porous Tantalum Components A 5-Year Follow-Up Study. Fernández-Fairen M, Murcia A, Blanco A, Meroño A, Murcia A Jr, Ballester J. J Arthroplasty. 2009 Sep 10. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19748208 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

  • Porous tantalum and poly-epsilon-caprolactone biocomposites for osteochondral defect repair: Preliminary studies in rabbits. Mrosek EH, Schagemann JC, Chung HW, Fitzsimmons JS, Yaszemski MJ, Mardones RM, O'Driscoll SW, Reinholz GG. J Orthop Res. 2009 Sep 9. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19743507 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

  • Determination of X-ray mass attenuation coefficients using HPGe detector. Sharanabasappa, Kerur BR, Anilkumar S, Hanumaiah B. Appl Radiat Isot. 2009 Aug 19. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19726203 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

  • Formation of Ultrasmooth and Highly Stable Copper Surfaces through Annealing and Self-Assembly of Organic Monolayers. Platzman I, Saguy C, Brener R, Tannenbaum R, Haick H. Langmuir. 2009 Aug 28. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19715329 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

  • Cross-medal arrays of Ta-doped rutile titania. Yang X, Chen J, Gong L, Wu M, Yu JC. J Am Chem Soc. 2009 Sep 2;131(34):12048-9. PMID: 19705908 [PubMed - in process]

  • Fragmentation of oxygen-containing molecules via C-O bond cleavage promoted by coordination to niobium and tantalum pentahalides. Marchetti F, Pampaloni G, Zacchini S. Dalton Trans. 2009 Sep 14;(34):6759-72. Epub 2009 Jul 20. PMID: 19690687 [PubMed - in process]

  • Mechanical and thermoelastic characteristics of optical thin films deposited by dual ion beam sputtering. Cetinörgü E, Baloukas B, Zabeida O, Klemberg-Sapieha JE, Martinu L. Appl Opt. 2009 Aug 10;48(23):4536-44. PMID: 19668268 [PubMed - in process]

  • Mono-anionic acetophenone imine ligands: synthesis, ortho-lithiation and first examples of group (V) metal complexes. Neshat A, Seambos CL, Beck JF, Schmidt JA. Dalton Trans. 2009 Jul 7;(25):4987-5000. Epub 2009 May 5. PMID: 19662291 [PubMed]

  • Adhesion, spreading and osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells cultured on micropatterned amorphous diamond, titanium, tantalum and chromium coatings on silicon. Myllymaa S, Kaivosoja E, Myllymaa K, Sillat T, Korhonen H, Lappalainen R, Konttinen YT. J Mater Sci Mater Med. 2009 Aug 5. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19655235 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

 

 

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