Tantalum
Oxides, nitrides, carbides, sulfides

Tantalum pentoxide (Ta O) is the most important compound from the perspective of applications. Oxides of tantalum in lower oxidation states are numerous, including many defect structures, and are lightly studied or poorly characterized.

Tantalates, compounds containing or are numerous. Lithium tantalate (LiTaO) adopts a perovskite structure. Lanthanum tantalate (LaTaO) contains isolated TaO tetrahedra.

As in the cases of other refractory metals, the hardest known compounds of tantalum are nitrides and carbides. Tantalum carbide, TaC, like the more commonly used tungsten carbide, is a hard ceramic that is used in cutting tools. Tantalum(III) nitride is used as a thin film insulator in some microelectronic fabrication processes.

The best studied chalcogenide is TaS, a layered semiconductor, as seen for other transition metal dichalcogenides. A tantalum-tellurium alloy forms quasicrystals.
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