The oxide film on the tantalum surface is damaged, so it can react with a variety of substances. Tantalum can react with fluorine at room temperature. Tantalum is inert to chlorine, bromine and iodine at 150 ° C, and at 250 ° C, tantalum is still corrosion-resistant to dry chlorine gas. When heated to 400 ° C in chlorine gas containing water vapor, tantalum can still remain bright, and corrodes at 500 ° C. Tantalum reacts with bromine at over 300 ° C, and inert to iodine vapor until the temperature reaches red heat. Hydrogen chloride reacts with tantalum at 410 degrees to produce pentachloride, and hydrogen bromide reacts with tantalum at 375 degrees. When heated to 200 degrees or lower, S interacts with Ta, and carbon and hydrocarbons interact with tantalum at 800 to 1100 degrees. Elements of the application tantalum has a wide range of applications because of its characteristics. Tantalum can be used to replace stainless steel in the equipment of making all kinds of inorganic acids, and its service life can be increased dozens of times compared with stainless steel. In addition, tantalum can replace the precious metal platinum in chemical, electronic, electrical and other industries, so that the cost can be greatly reduced. Tantalum is made into capacitors for use in military equipment.
The United States has a highly developed military industry and is the world's largest arms exporter. Half of the world's tantalum production is used in tantalum capacitors, and America's Department of Defense Logistics is the biggest owner, buying up a third of the world's tantalum powder at one point. Tantalum forms a stable anodic oxidation film in the acidic electrolyte. Electrolytic capacitors made of tantalum have the advantages of large capacity, small volume and good reliability. Capacitor making is the most important use of tantalum, accounting for more than 2/3 of the total tantalum consumption in the late 1970s. Tantalum is also used to make electronic transmitting tubes and high-power electronic tube parts. Tantalum corrosion resistant equipment is used in the production of strong acid, bromine, ammonia and other chemical industries.
Tantalum can be used as a structural material for the combustion chamber of aircraft engines. Tantalum tungsten, tantalum tungsten hafnium and tantalum hafnium alloys are used as heat-resistant and high-strength materials for rockets, missiles and jet engines, as well as as parts for control and adjustment equipment. Tantalum is easily machined and can be used as supporting accessories, heat shield, heater and heat sink in high temperature vacuum furnace. Tantalum can be used in orthopedics and surgery. Tantalum carbide is used in the manufacture of hard alloys. The borides, silicides and nitrides of tantalum and their alloys are used as heat release elements and liquid metal cladding materials in the atomic energy industry. Tantalum oxide is used in the manufacture of advanced optical glasses and catalysts. In 1981, tantalum consumed about 73 percent of all components in the United States, 19 percent in the machinery industry, 6 percent in transportation, and 2 percent in other sectors.
