Tantalum

Tantalum was discovered by Anders G. Ekeberg (1802), and he discovered this metal in Uppsala, Sweden, in the minerals tantalite from Finland and yttrotantalite from Sweden. Later English chemist William Wollaston declined his discovery. Not only that, but he also claimed that it was another kind of material known as the niobium, in the year 1903; the tantalum was refined by other chemist named, Werner Von Bolton.

What is Tantalum?

The term Tantalum is derived from a Greek mythological character, named Tantalos, who was one of the villains. In 1903, Werner Von Bolton gave this name because it was tantalizing or one of the hardest to find elements.

Figure 1 − Tantalum and its properties

Tantalum, can be defined as a chemical element, which is represented by Ta and has the atomic number of 73. It is one of the rarest metals, which are hard and blue-grey. It is part of the refractory metals, which used as the components in alloys. It is considered valuable as laboratory equipment and a good replacement for platinum.

Effects of tantalum

• It can affect humans and cause many health-related issues. Sometimes it can create skin and eye irritation if can be absorbed by the skin.

• It can be proved dangerous for the upper respiratory tract and the mucous membranes.

• It also can cause several damages to the environment and that is the reason required measures need to be taken before disposing of the tantalum

Source of tantalum

Tantalum can be found in nature, especially in the mineral columbine-tantalite. The main zone where it can be found is in Australia, Brazil, Nigeria, Thailand and sides of Canada. However, tantalum is not freely available in nature; it can be found in a combination with the minerals such as columbine and tantalite.

Those minerals also contain tantalum also has niobium as other components. The reduction of potassium fluorotantalate with sodium or react to the carbide with oxide, can separate the tantalum from the niobium. The tantalum that is found naturally has two isotypes whereas the normal it should have twenty-five isotopes.

Properties of tantalum

There are mainly two kinds of properties of tantalum-

Physical Properties

Tantalum is a dark and dense metal that is highly corrosion-resistance. It is considered a good heat and electricity conductor. It is one of the inert chemical compounds that can be found on the earth's surface. It is shiny and silvery when it is soft and pure in form. It is bound to chemical attacks below the temperature of 150oC

Chemical properties

It belongs to group 5 and period 6. It is solid at 20oC and it is a d block element of the periodic table. The melting of the tantalum is 3017°C, 5463°F, 3290 K and the boiling point of it is 5455°C, 9851°F, 5728 K. The density of tantalum is 16.4 and the relative atomic mass is 180.948.

Use of tantalum

Tantalum can be used in many forms but the major uses of it are-

• It is used in the making of vacuum furnace components.

• It is used in high-temperature devices such as the engines of the aircraft

• Majorly it is used in the making of capacitors.

• Because of its basic nature, it is used in the manufacturing of medical and dental appliances.

• Its highly corrosion resistance nature makes it useful in chemical industries.

• In powder form, it is used in making electronic parts such as high power resistors. It is useful in the making of a variety of alloys.

• It is sued in camera lenses because it can help in making refractive index glasses.

Difference between Titanium and Tantalum

Titanium and tantalum, are strong metals, however, there is some major difference between them-

Titanium	Tantalum
Titanium is a metal with a silver colour.	Tantalum is blue-grey.
It is corrosion resistant in seawater.	It is generally highly corrosion resistant
It is the most preferred metal for aerospace applications. Aerospace applications	It is used as the capacitors for the electronic equipment.
The melting point of titanium is 1668oC.	The melting point of tantalum is 2996 °C
The density of titanium is 4.507 g/cm3	The density of tantalum is 16.65 g/cm3

Table 1: Difference between Titanium and tantalum

Conclusion

Tantalum is one among the strongest metal and it is rare in nature. The variety of uses and unique properties of tantalum make it effective and important in the study of chemical elements. It is a valuable substance of laboratory equipment and can easily replace platinum. As because it can cause damage to nature it should be disposed of carefully.

FAQs

1. What is the main use of tantalum?

Tantalum is used in the making of chemical process equipment, however, majorly it is used for electrolytic capacitors and also for vacuum furnace parts. It is also used in missile parts and in aircrafts.

2. How does tantalum affect humans?

Tantalum is chemically inactive and that is the reason it is used as implant material for the humans. It is also non-toxic by nature and can be taken orally. It is because they cannot be absorbed easily and get eliminated from the mammal's body

3. between tantalum and titanium, which one is stronger?

Tantalum and titanium both are considered very strong as metal. However, when compared with each other, titanium is stronger. Not only titanium’s strength-to-weight ratio is the best among other metals.

4. Can humans wear tantalum?

Humans can easily and comfortably wear tantalum because they do not produce any kind of heat. It is considered comfortable and safe to wear.

5. Is tantalum flammable?

The dust of tantalum can react with the oxidizing agents and it is highly flammable