Atomic number | 73 |
Atomic mass | 180.95 g.mol -1 |
Electronegativity | 1.5 |
Density | 16.69 g.cm-3 at 20°C |
Melting point | 2850 °C |
Boiling point | 6000 °C |
Vanderwaals radius | 0.1425 nm |
Ionic radius | 0.070 nm (+5) |
Isotopes | 4 |
Electronic shell | [ Xe ] 4f14 5d3 6s2 |
Energy of first ionisation | 674.2 kJ.mol -1 |
Discovered by | Anders Ekeberg in 1802 |
Tantalum is a shiny, silvery metal which is soft when is pure. It is almost immune to chemical attack at temperatures below 150 C. Tantalum is virtually resistant to corrosion due to an oxide film on its surface.
Applications
Tantalum finds use in four areas: high-temperature applications, such as aircraft engines; electrical devices, such as capacitors; sirurgical impants and handling corrosive chemicals. It is rarely used as an alloying agent because it tends to make metals brittle. Tantalum resist corrosion and is almost impervious to chemical attack, for this reason it has been employed in chemical industry, e.g. for heat exchanger in boilers where strong acids are vaporized.