"Twin Brothers": Metal Niobium and Tantalum

by Julissa G. Content generator

There is such a close relationship between the good brothers in nature. They belong to the same family elements in the periodic table, they are similar in physical and chemical properties, and they grow together in the same ore body. Therefore, they are called "twin brothers in metal". Who are they?

Well, you may have known the answer from the title of this article that they are tantalum and niobium.

In the periodic table of elements, niobium and tantalum belong to the same family, and their physical and chemical properties are very similar. They are “inseparable” and are associated with each other in nature, so they are called a pair of “twin brothers”. In fact, when people discovered cockroaches and cockroaches in the early 19th century, they thought they together were an element. After about 42 years, people used chemical analysis to separate them for the first time, only to see that they are two different metal elements.

Physical and Chemical Properties of Tantalum

tantalum

The chemical symbol of Tantalum is "Ta", the atomic number is 73, the atomic weight is 180.9479, and the same period is the V-subgroup (vanadium) element. It is a silver-white metal with a main valence of +5 and good corrosion resistance. Below 200 ° C, it only works with fluorine, hydrofluoric acid, strong alkali solution, fuming sulfuric acid. At room temperature, it is not affected by hydrochloric acid, nitric acid and sulfuric acid, does not interact with aqua regia, and has great stability in acid.

Tantalum is malleable and can be drawn into a thin foil. Its thermal expansion coefficient is very small, and it only expands by 0.00066% for every 1 °C increase. In addition, it has a strong toughness and is superior to copper.

Tantalum plays an important role in surgical care. Many medical devices are manufactured from tantalum or coated with a layer of tantalum thin film by sputtering. Tantalum is also a good "biocompatible material". For example, the bracts can compensate for the damage of the skull. The silk can be used to suture the nerves and tendons. The purlins can replace broken bones and joints. The crepe or crepe made of silk can be used to compensate for muscle tissue...

Physical and Chemical Properties of Niobium

The chemical symbol of niobium is "Nb", the atomic number is 41, and the atomic weight is 92.90638. It belongs to the V-subgroup (vanadium) element of the periodic system. This is a shiny gray metal with paramagnetic properties. High-purity base metals have higher ductility but harden as the content of impurities increases. Niobium has a very low capture cross-section for thermal neutrons and is therefore of considerable use in the nuclear industry.

Niobium metal is stable at room temperature, begins to oxidize at 200 ° C to form a dense oxide film, and can resist the corrosion of molten alkali and various acids, including aqua regia, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid and phosphoric acid.

It has been found that both metals belong to high melting point metals, are chemically stable, have the characteristics of compression and wear resistance, and are also excellent superconducting materials. Therefore, they are widely used in various fields and are important strategic resources.

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