Tantalum powder is a kind of metal powder with high melting point, high strength and corrosion resistance. Because of its excellent performance, it has been widely used in electronics, aerospace, automobile manufacturing, medical treatment and other fields.
So, how is tantalum powder produced?
The manufacturing process of tantalum powder is mainly divided into two steps: production and purification.
The first step in production is to reduce tantalum powder. There are four ways to reduce tantalum powder, namely, sodium fluoride-tantalum acid-base reduction, magnesium/sodium tantalum oxide reduction, homogeneous reduction and electric deoxidation of tantalum oxide.
At present, sodium fluoride-tantalum acid-base reduction is still the mainstream in the market. The sodium fluoride-tantalum acid-base reduction method needs to go through eight steps, namely grinding, adding hydrofluoric acid and sulfuric acid for decomposition, extracting in the pulp, and obtaining tantalum liquid and residual liquid after extraction. Tantalum liquid is synthesized, cooled, crystallized, filtered, washed and dried to obtain potassium fluotantalate. Then potassium fluotantalate and sodium metal are used as raw materials, and halogen salt or halogen salt mixture is added as diluent in the reaction process to prepare tantalum powder. This chemical process is an exothermic reaction. After starting the reaction, a lot of heat will be released, the temperature will rise sharply and the reaction will be fierce. The technological parameter of this step is to control the reaction speed by controlling the reaction temperature. This preparation method has low cost, but it consumes a lot of energy and pollutes the environment. Moreover, because the reaction is carried out at high temperature, the grains of tantalum powder grow rapidly, which easily leads to a large average particle size of tantalum powder. It is not suitable for making high specific capacitance capacitors, and the yield is easy to drop.
Tantalum powder with higher purity can be obtained by magnesium/sodium tantalum oxide reduction method. This method is to gasify metallic magnesium in a high temperature environment above 800 degrees. Then the vaporized magnesium is used for reduction reaction of tantalum oxide, and fine tantalum powder can be obtained. The tantalum powder obtained by this preparation method has the advantages of adjustable particle size distribution, high purity, high specific volume and controllable surface morphology.
Homogeneous reduction method solves the problem of large particle size of tantalum powder produced at high temperature, and can increase the fineness of tantalum powder at the same time, which effectively solves the problem of specific capacitance value of capacitor. At present, the treatment of liquid ammonia reaction can construct an ideal electrical environment at low temperature, which can promote the nuclear process at low temperature and limit its reaction at the same time. On the whole, the homogeneous reaction effect in liquid ammonia environment is ideal. Tantalum powder with high strength and good fluidity can be obtained after high temperature heat treatment in the later stage. The disadvantage is that during production, the requirements for reactor equipment are high and the safety production control is strict.
The electro-deoxidation of tantalum oxide has the comprehensive characteristics of short operation process and environmental friendliness. Solid oxide is made into cathode, graphite rod is used as anode, CaCl2-NaCl mixed molten salt is used as reaction system, and it is decomposed at a temperature lower than the melting point of metal and the decomposition voltage of molten salt. The overall production efficiency is short, but the tantalum powder produced has high oxygen content, which is not suitable for high-precision and mass production.
The second step of making tantalum powder is purification and impurity removal, including water pickling, heat treatment and oxygen reduction. At present, the commonly used impurity removal processes include acid leaching and water washing. The research object includes the key steps such as the ratio of pickling solution, temperature, stirring speed, stirring time and water washing. Because in the process of purification and impurity removal, the metal activity of metal substances is different. Common metals such as copper ions, iron ions and chromium have high activity and are easily cleaned by acid solutions such as hydrofluoric acid and hydrochloric acid. However, it is difficult to remove impurities from nonmetallic substances such as carbon, oxygen and nitrogen in production.
Tantalum powder has a wide range of applications, including electronics, aerospace, automobile manufacturing, medical care, machinery and other fields.
1. Electronic industry: Tantalum powder can be used to manufacture high-precision electronic components, such as transistors and integrated circuits, to improve the stability and reliability of electronic equipment.
2. Aerospace industry: Tantalum powder can be used to manufacture key components such as blades and guides of aero-engines to improve engine performance. .
3. Automobile manufacturing industry: Tantalum powder can be used to manufacture pistons, connecting rods and other parts of high-end automobile engines to improve engine efficiency and fuel economy.
4. Medical industry: Tantalum powder can be used to manufacture artificial joints, dental instruments and other medical equipment.
5. Mechanical industry: Tantalum powder can be used to manufacture mechanical parts to improve mechanical durability and stability.
Tantalum powder has excellent properties such as high temperature, high pressure, corrosion resistance and easy processing. Compared with other metal powders, tantalum powder has higher corrosion resistance and strength, and can maintain stable performance in high temperature, high pressure and strong corrosive environment. In addition, the machinability of tantalum powder makes it easy to be processed into parts of various shapes and sizes.
With the continuous progress of science and technology and the change of market demand, the application field of tantalum powder will continue to expand. In the future, with the continuous advancement of environmental protection technology, the production process of tantalum powder will be more environmentally friendly, the production cost will be reduced, and the application scope will be further expanded. In addition, with the continuous emergence of new technologies, the application fields of tantalum powder will expand to new energy, new materials and other fields, bringing broader market prospects for the development of tantalum powder.
Tantalum powder, as a precious metal powder, has a series of excellent properties, such as high melting point, low vapor pressure, good cold working performance, high chemical stability, strong corrosion resistance of liquid metal and large dielectric constant of surface oxide film. This makes it play an important role in various fields.
ATT can provide high performance tantalum powder with varied grades and dimensions. Our tantalum powder has the characteristics of high purity (99.95%), low oxygen content (500ppm) and small particle size (1-3um). We are dedicated to performing stringent quality control. Whether for research, development, or production, we ensure every single product is of extremely high quality and reproducible.
We are a Tantalum supplier. We can produce plate, foil, tube, disc, granules, ingot, pellets, crucibles, pieces, powder, rod, wire, sputtering target and in numerous other forms and custom shapes. Other shapes are available by request. If you are interested in our products, please contact us now!
