What is Titanium

Titanium (pronunciation: ti-TAY-nee-em) is a hard, shiny, strong, and lightweight element classified as a transition metal and represented by the chemical symbol Ti ^{[1, 2, 3]}. As compared to the other ferromagnetic elements, titanium is a weakly magnetic metal that shows its magnetic characteristics in the presence of external magnetic fields ^[4].

Isotopes

There are five stable naturally-occurring isotopes of titanium, including Titanium-46, Titanium-47, Titanium-48, Titanium-49, and Titanium-50, with Titanium-48 having the greatest natural abundance of 73.8% ^[5]. Titanium is characterized by 21 radioisotopes out of which the most stable are Titanium-44, Titanium-45, Titanium-51, and Titanium-52 with half-lives of 60 years, 184.8 minutes, 5.76 minutes, and 1.7 minutes respectively ^[5].

Where is Titanium Found

As the 9th most abundant element in the Earth’s crust, titanium is commonly found in igneous rocks and their sediments ^[1]. It is present in minerals like rutile (titanium dioxide), ilmenite (titanium-iron oxide), and sphene (calcium titanium nesosilicate), as well as in titanate (titanium oxide) and several iron ores ^[1].

It is commercially extracted from its ore through reduction of titanium (IV) chloride using either sodium or magnesium ^[1]. Titanium (IV) oxide is obtained from ilmenite by using either chlorine (chloride process) or sulfuric acid (sulfate process) ^[1].

The top 3 titanium producers are Canada, Australia, and South Africa while the top 3 titanium reserve holding countries include China, Australia, and India ^[1].

History

Origin of its Name: The name is derived from the word ‘Titan’, which in Greek mythology means “the sons of the Goddess Earth” ^{[1, 2]}.

Who discovered it: Titanium was found by the British mineralogist and clergyman William Gregor ^[1].

When and How was it Discovered

In 1791, the titanium mineral menaccanite was found in Cornwall by William Gregor ^[1]. He studied it and inferred that it consisted of iron oxide along with a new metal, which he reported to the Royal Geological Society ^[1].

The German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth, in 1795, analyzed a red mineral ore called Schörl ^[1]. It was the oxide of an unknown element which Klaproth named titanium ^[1]. After learning about Gregor’s discovery, Klaproth examined menaccanite and confirmed that it was made up of titanium ^[1].

M.A. Hunter, the metallurgist from New Zealand, produced pure titanium metal from titanium tetrachloride and sodium metal in 1910 ^[1].

Titanium Identification
Atomic number	22 [1]
CAS number	7440-32-6 [1]
Position in the periodic table	Group	Period	Block
	4 [1]	4 [1]	d [1]

Properties and Characteristics of Titanium

Atomic Data of Titanium (Element 22)

What is Titanium Used for

• Titanium forms important alloys with other metals, including molybdenum, iron, and aluminum, that are used in missiles, aircraft, and spacecraft due to their low density and high-temperature resistance ^{[1, 8]}.
• Although it is as strong as steel, it has a much lesser density because of which it is commonly used in laptops, golf clubs, crutches, and bicycles ^{[1, 8]}.
• Since they resist corrosion, titanium pipes are used in power plant condensers ^[1].
• As it has excellent corrosion resistance in seawater, it is widely used for propeller shafts, hulls of ships, submarines, and in desalination plants ^{[1, 8]}.
• Titanium has many surgical applications, including its use in hip joint replacements and tooth implants ^{[1, 8]}.
• Since its pigment has great covering power, it is used in plastics, artists’ paint, house paint, enamels, and paper ^[1].
• It is used in solar observatories because of its excellent infrared-radiation reflective properties ^[1].
• Titanium oxide is an essential ingredient in sunscreens, used for protecting the skin from UV light ^[1].

Toxicity and Health Effects

While pure titanium is considered non-toxic, exposure to large amounts of titanium dioxide dust may be hazardous ^[1]. Although the safety of nano-TiO₂ is unclear, studies have shown that it may damage the liver, kidney, brain, and lung functions when it is inhaled or taken in high doses ^[13]. It can also be toxic to embryos in development ^[13]. Titanium is not known to play any biological role ^[1].

Interesting Facts

• Every igneous rock (that is formed due to the cooling and solidification of lava) consists of titanium ^[3].
• According to Boeing, the 737 Dreamliner comprises 15 percent titanium ^[3].
• A 2011-satellite-image revealed titanium-rich rocks on the moon’s surface ^[3].
• The graphical representation of titanium indicates an early votive statue based on the Titans in Greek mythology ^[1].

Titanium Price

The cost of pure titanium is about $6.61 per gram ^[8].

References
1. http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/22/titanium
2. https://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele022.html
3. https://www.livescience.com/29103-titanium.html
4. https://terpconnect.umd.edu/~wbreslyn/magnets/is-titanium-magnetic.html
5. https://education.jlab.org/itselemental/iso022.html
6. https://www.webqc.org/molecular-weight-of-Ti.html
7. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/titanium
8. https://www.chemicool.com/elements/titanium.html
9. http://periodictable.com/Elements/022/data.html
10. http://www.ochemonline.com/Ions
11. http://butane.chem.uiuc.edu/pshapley/GenChem2/Intro/2.html
12. http://chemistry-reference.com/q_elements.asp?Symbol=Ti
13. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5540742/