Tantalum is a metallic element with an atomic number of 73 and a chemical symbol of Ta. Its corresponding element is a steel-gray metal.

Tantalum is mainly found in tantalite and coexists with niobium. Tantalum has a moderate hardness and is ductile, so it can be drawn into thin wires to make thin foils. Its thermal expansion coefficient is very small. Tantalum has very good chemical properties and is extremely corrosion resistant. It does not react with hydrochloric acid, concentrated nitric acid, or aqua regia, whether in cold or hot conditions. It can be used to make evaporation vessels, etc., and can also be used as electrodes, rectifiers, and electrolytic capacitors for electron tubes. In medicine, it is used to make thin sheets or thin wires to repair damaged tissues. Although tantalum has strong corrosion resistance, its corrosion resistance is due to the formation of a stable tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) protective film on its surface.

PRODUCT USES

Tantalum has a wide range of applications due to its properties. In equipment for the preparation of various inorganic acids, tantalum can be used to replace stainless steel, and its life span can be increased by dozens of times compared to stainless steel. In addition, in the chemical, electronic, and electrical industries, tantalum can replace the tasks that were previously undertaken by the precious metal platinum, greatly reducing the required costs. Tantalum is made into capacitors and equipped in military equipment. The US military industry is extremely developed and is the world's largest arms exporter. Half of the world's tantalum metal production is used in the production of tantalum capacitors. The US Department of Defense Logistics Agency is the largest owner of tantalum metal and once bought out one-third of the world's tantalum powder.