Corrosion-Resistant Experts

High-Temperature, Corrosion-Resistant, and Refractory Metals

Uncompromising strength even at high temperatures—Leading Edge can provide the materials you need for the toughest environments. Our alloys are used in a wide variety of applications including aircraft engines, chemical processing, machining, and heat treatment. To learn more about which alloy best meets your needs, contact a Leading Edge material specialist.

Titanium

Titanium is a silvery-white, corrosion-resistant metal with a high strength-to weight ratio. Because it is both light and strong, it is used extensively throughout the automotive and aerospace industries. Its ability to maintain strength even with prolonged exposure to saltwater also makes it perfect for marine applications. Titanium is also biocompatible, making it an excellent choice for medical implants.

Molybdenum

Molybdenum is a plentiful, cost-effective metal known for its strength and stability in high-heat applications. Softer and more ductile than tungsten, it is often alloyed with other compounds to improve corrosion resistance and strength at high temperatures.

Molybdenum-Rhenium

The addition of rhenium to molybdenum improves plasticity and weldability and decreases brittleness for certain temperature ranges. It is used throughout the aerospace and electronics industries for applications such as nuclear reactors, semiconductors, electrical contacts, filaments and igniter wires.

Tungsten

Tungsten has the highest melting point of all metals and, at temperatures greater than 1650°C, the highest tensile strength. Its thermal expansion rate is similar to that of borosilicate glass and silicon. Tungsten’s good thermal and electrical conductivity make it an excellent choice for microprocessor applications. It is also used in electron emitters, heater coils, cathode ray tubes, electrical contacts and a variety of high-heat applications.

Niobium

Niobium (also known as columbium) is a shiny, ductile metal primarily used in alloys. It improves the properties of steel and is often used in gas pipelines, jet engines and structural applications. Because of its corrosion resistance and ability to perform at high temperatures, niobium metal plates, rods and sheets are used in sputtering targets and chemical processing equipment. At extremely low temperatures, it becomes superconductive. Superconductive niobium wire is used to make extremely powerful electromagnets used in magnetic resonance imagery and particle accelerators.

Tantalum

Like niobium, tantalum is a heat-tolerant refractory metal with excellent corrosion resistance. Often alloyed with other metals, tantalum is used to make super alloys used in chemical processing, jet engines and nuclear reactors. Its oxidation properties also make it an excellent choice for many electronic applications, including electrolytic capacitors and high-power resistors. Tantalum is also highly bio-compatible and used extensively for medical applications, such as skull plates, hip joints, suture clips and stents.