Chemical properties of Tantalum

• Atomic number:
• 73

• Atomic mass:
• 180.947 g.mol ^-1

• Electronegativity according to Pauling:
• 1.5

• Density:
• 16.69 g.cm^-3 at 20°C

• Melting point:
• 3017 °C

• Boiling point:
• 5458 °C

• Vanderwaals radius:
• 0.217 nm

• Ionic radius:
• 0.146

• Isotopes:
• 2

• Electronic shell:
• [ Xe ] 4F¹⁴ 5d³ 6s²

• Energy of first ionisation:
• 761 kJ.mol ^-1

Tantalum is a chemical element with symbol Ta and atomic number 73. Previously known as tantalium, its name comes fromTantalus, an antihero from Greek mythology.Tantalum is a rare, hard, blue-gray, lustrous transition metal that is highly corrosion-resistant. It is part of the refractory metals group, which are widely used as minor components in alloys. The chemical inertness of tantalum makes it a valuable substance for laboratory equipment and a substitute for platinum. Its main use today is in tantalum capacitors in electronic equipment such as mobile phones, DVD players, video game systems and computers. Tantalum, always together with the chemically similar niobium, occurs in the minerals tantalite, columbite and coltan (a mix of columbite and tantalite).
Applications
The major use for tantalum, as the metal powder, is in the production of electronic components, mainly capacitors and some high-power resistors. Tantalum is also used to produce a variety of alloys that have high melting points, strength, and ductility. Alloyed with other metals, it is also used in making carbide tools for metalworking equipment and in the production of superalloys for jet engine components, chemical process equipment,nuclear reactors, and missile parts. The high melting point and oxidation resistance lead to the use of the metal in the production of vacuum furnace parts.
Tantalum in the environment
Several steps are involved in the extraction of tantalum from tantalite. First, the mineral is crushed and concentrated by gravity separation. This is generally carried out near the mine site. Tantalum is considered a conflict resource. Coltan, the industrial name for a columbite–tantalite mineral from which columbium (i.e. niobium) and tantalum are extracted,can also be found in Central Africa, which is why tantalum is being linked to warfare in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.