Abstract

In the metallothermic reduction (MR) process used to obtain tantalum powder in one batch, it is difficult to control the morphology and location of the tantalum deposits. On the other hand, an electronically mediated reaction (EMR) process is capable of overcoming this difficulty. The effect of using K_2TaF_7 as the raw material and sodium as the reducting agent on the characteristics of tantalum powder are investigated. As the temperature of the reduction varied from 1023K to 1223K, the powder particles obtained with MR were relatively large (sim34µm), while those prepared via EMR were of uniform (13µm). In the MR process, the Ta powder recovery rate increased from 37% to 83% at 1123K in constrat with EMR process.

• Keywords: Tantalum powder;Metallothermic reduction;Electronically mediated reaction;Particle size;