Elizabeth Henderson
Product Development Manager ITAC Ltd |
The name ‘titanium’ was originally chosen for the metal on
account of its high strength/density ratio, which means it can be used for
aircraft components and other small-volume applications such as artificial
human joints and posts in teeth. The oxide’s good colour strength in paints
means that relatively low quantities can be used in pale colours such as
magnolia and grey, where iron oxides and carbon black will contribute to the
opacity.
Titanium compounds also play major roles in catalytic
processes. Nanoparticle TiO2 when exposed to UV light, reacts with
water to generate protons which will decompose any organic material they
contact. Such particles can be sintered into the surface of glass, making it
self-cleaning. There are limitations with incorporating them into paints
because they destroy the organic binders, but silicone binders may emerge in
future which it will be possible to use. Polypropylene was first discovered in
the lab thanks to someone investigating Ziegler-Natta catalysts, based on mixed
oxidation state compounds of titanium with chlorine, and finding a strange
white material in reaction products. Ziegler-Natta catalysts have been used for
this application ever since.
For all the diversity and importance of the applications of
titanium and its compounds, the most striking use of titanium metal is at the
Guggenheim art museum in Bilbao, which is covered in glittering plates of
titanium metal – clean, beautiful and strong.
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