Tantalum and niobium complexes in fluoride solutions

The fact that tantalum and niobium complexes form in fluoride solutions not only supplements fundamental data on the coordination chemistry of fluoride compounds, but also has a broad practical importance. This type of solution is widely used in the technology of tantalum and niobium compounds in raw material digestion, liquid-liquid extraction, precipitation and re-pulping of hydroxides, and in the crystallization and re-crystallization of K-salts and other complex fluoride compounds. 

Raman and IR spectroscopy are most frequently used to investigate the complex structures of fluoride solutions containing tantalum and niobium. Most investigations of such solutions were performed on the liquid-liquid extraction of tantalum and niobium, with the objective of describing the mechanism of the process. These publications will be discussed separately. 

This chapter focuses on tantalum and niobium fluoride complex ions that occur in solutions containing hydrofluoric acid. 

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