Surface Preparation of Tantalum for Encapsulation and Adhesive Bonding

A number of methods of surface preparation of tantalum for encapsulation in silicone rubber and for structural adhesive bonding were explored. The only ones which could be generally useful were boiling for 24 hours in distilled water (28% improvement) or boiling for 4 hours in 20% sodium hydroxide solution followed by boiling for 2 hours in dilute hydrochloric acid (34% improvement). An alternative, which could sometimes be used, was heating in air for at least 2 hours at 100°C.