Titanium Dioxide – One of the World’s Best White Pigments
Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium dioxide, has the chemical formula TiO2 and is a white pigment with excellent performance. Nano titanium dioxide is an important type of inorganic functional material, also known as nano titanium dioxide. Nano titanium dioxide is a fine titanium dioxide powder made by a special process.
Application fields
1. Application in pigments and coatings
Pigment-grade titanium dioxide has high refractive index, strong tinting power, large hiding power, good dispersibility and whiteness, is non-toxic and has stable physical and chemical properties, and has excellent optical and electrical properties. It is widely used in latex paint, coil and iron printing coatings, automotive paints, powder coatings and other fields, accounting for more than 90% of all white pigments used, which can improve product quality, add color and brighten. Titanium dioxide with a particle size of 200~400nm also has functions such as ultraviolet shielding, electrostatic shielding, wear resistance and scratch resistance, improves coating adhesion and prevents sagging.
2. Application in textiles and chemical fibers
Textiles and chemical fibers are an important application field of titanium dioxide. It has a high refractive index, which makes it perform well in optical properties. Therefore, it is often used as a matting agent for synthetic fibers. Generally speaking, only 0.2%~0.5% of TiO2 needs to be added to synthetic fibers to obtain a significant matting effect.
3. Application in the papermaking industry
The papermaking industry is an important application field of titanium dioxide, which is often used for decorative paper, Bible paper and banknotes. Paper using titanium dioxide has the characteristics of high whiteness, high strength, good gloss, thin and smooth, and opaque printing. The opacity is much higher than that of calcium carbonate and talcum powder, and the weight is also lighter.
4. Application in cosmetics
TiO2 can absorb, reflect and scatter ultraviolet rays, and can play a role in protecting against ultraviolet radiation. It has certain application potential in the field of cosmetics. However, nano-TiO2 itself has a large specific surface energy, strong polarity, and is easy to agglomerate, which affects the actual application effect. Therefore, nano-TiO2 is usually surface-modified before being used in the cosmetics field.
5. Application in the plastics industry
The plastics industry is an important application field for titanium dioxide, and its consumption accounts for about 20% of the total. There are more than 50 special plastic titanium dioxide brands in the world. In addition to its high hiding power and color-reducing power, titanium dioxide can also improve the heat resistance, light resistance, and weather resistance of plastic products, and improve their mechanical and electrical properties.
6. Application in the ink industry
Titanium dioxide has good whiteness, small and uniform particle size, high refractive index, high tinting power and hiding power, good physical and chemical stability, light diffusion, light resistance, heat resistance, weather resistance and hydrophobicity, making it not only an indispensable white pigment in ink manufacturing, but also a necessary raw material for the preparation of many intermediate color ink products.
7. Application in the rubber industry
Titanium dioxide is used as a colorant in the rubber industry, and it also has the functions of filling, anti-aging, acid and alkali resistance and reinforcement. Adding titanium dioxide to white and light-colored rubber products will make the finished products have the characteristics of slow aging, high strength, no cracking, no fading, large elongation and acid and alkali resistance.
8. Application in medical and health care
TiO2 photocatalytic materials can destroy the cell walls and cell membranes of bacteria, thereby playing a role in sterilization and disinfection. Nano-TiO2 can decompose pathogens and endotoxins. TiO2 photocatalytic antibacterial building materials are used in places where bacteria multiply in large numbers, such as hospital wards and operating rooms, to degrade endotoxins on solid surfaces and in liquids at room temperature.
9. Application in batteries
Solar cells are a sustainable green energy source. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have low costs, relatively simple manufacturing methods, are non-toxic, harmless, and pollution-free, and have good development prospects. TiO2 can be used in the production of dye-sensitized solar cells. Adding nano-Au, Ag or Pt and other precious metal particles to the surface of TiO2 electrodes, doping with non-metallic ions and transition metal complexes can improve the photoelectric conversion efficiency of TiO2. TiO2 can also be used as an electronic buffer layer material in perovskite solar cells, as well as a negative electrode material for lithium-ion batteries and sodium-ion batteries.