The synthesis and crystal structure of potassium tantalate (KTa
2(O,OH)
6·1.8H
2O) with a defect pyrochlore structureare reported. The compound was crystallized directly from tantalum pentoxide in basic solution under hydrothermalconditions at temperatures as low as 200
C. Ion exchange of this substance in acid yielded an H-type defectpyrochlore. Both highly crystalline K-type and H-type materials absorb argon and have BET surface areas ofabout 14 m
2/g. The crystal structures were refined by the Rietveld least-squares method from powder X-raydiffraction data. The final R
wp and
2 were 7.70% and 2.79, respectively. The high thermal stability and controlof acidity of these materials, along with the simple and cheap synthesis, may find many applications in sorption,catalysis, and microelectronics.