Titanium Dioxide. Properties and Applications

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) has been used in industry for many decades, as a pigment in paints or enamels, in cosmetics such as sun creams or toothpastes, in pharmaceuticals, but also in the food industry as a colorant. Titanium dioxide is also used in numerous applications thanks to its photocatalytic properties. New emerging applications are linked to the behavior of nano-sized particles.

In all these applications, the chemical nature of titanium dioxide is considered non-toxic. It's also an inexpensive compound, since the industrial technology for synthesizing titanium dioxide from mineral resources is relatively straightforward by chemical means.

Since 1950, the global market for TiO₂-based mineral fillers has been mainly focused on pigment production. Around 90% of these pigments are used in paints, plastics and paper. The remaining percentage is used in a wide variety of applications. The market for titanium oxide-based raw materials and related industries is worth around US$9 billion a year.

Titanium dioxide is closely associated with our daily lives. Around 5 million tonnes of titanium dioxide are produced worldwide every year. The industry is mainly concentrated in India and China.

Since 1990, global demand has grown by around 3% a year and, according to industry estimates, this level of growth is set to continue, driven by numerous markets, including architectural paints, aeronautics and plastic bottling. Consumption is concentrated in North America and Europe, but China has become a major player in the global titanium dioxide industry.

The aim of this article is to describe the different varieties of titanium dioxide, the mineral resources from which these oxides originate, and the industrial processing methods used to obtain titanium dioxide powders.

The article also presents the physical properties of these oxides and the industrial applications induced by these remarkable properties.