Titanium Oxides

Titanium Oxides

 

the compounds of titanium and oxygen TiO, Ti2O3, and TiO2. In addition, a series of intermediate oxides are known to exist within the range of compositions TiO2-Ti2O3. The titanium oxide most widely distributed and of greatest commercial importance is titanium dioxide, TiO2, which occurs naturally as the minerals rutile, anatase, and brookite. In pure form, TiO2 is a white powder with a melting point of 1830°–1850°C. Technical-grade TiOz is obtained from rutile and from complex titaniferous iron ores of the ilmenite type by the sulfuric-acid method, by the oxidation of TiCl4 in a plasma jet of oxygen at 1500°–2000°K, or by the combustion of TiCl4 in oxygen.

Titanium oxide ores serve as raw materials in the production of metallic titanium. TiO2 is widely used in the manufacture of high-quality white paints (titanium white). It also serves as a pigment and filler in the rubber industry, in metallurgy, and in the production of plastics, synthetic fibers, paper, and leather.

S. G. GLAZUNOV