Titanium Dioxide Powder TiO2 (Rutile)

TITANIUM DIOXIDE 

Rutile - Technical/Industrial Grade

 

Titanium Dioxide is the naturally occurring oxide of titanium and is found as the minerals Rutile, Anatase and Brookite. rhodochrosite. Titanium dioxide accounts for 70% of the total production volume of pigments worldwide. It is widely used to provide whiteness and opacity to products such as paints, plastics, papers and inks.

A special micronized rutile grade with a low inorganic and hydrophobic organic surface treatment, possessing good optical properties, opacity, and an excellent degree of dispersibility.

Rutile TiO₂ is the thermodynamically stable form with the highest refractive index of any widely used white pigment, giving superior hiding power (opacity) and durability.

 

Properties of Titanium Dioxide Rutile:

• Other Names: Titanium dioxide, Titanium(IV) oxide, Titanium White, Pigment White 6, C.I.No 77891.
• CAS No: 13463-67-7
• EINECS No: 236-675-5
• Formula: TiO₂
• Molar mass: 79.86 g/mol
• Melting Point: 1843 C
• Boiling Point: 2972 C
• Solubility: insoluble
• Refractive index (n): ~2.73 (key to its opacity)
• Crystal system: Rutile (tetragonal)
• Crystal hardness: Mohs ~6–6.5
• Surface area (BET): ~6–12 m²/g
• Inertness: Insoluble in water; highly chemically stable in most environments

• Band gap: ~3.0 eV (rutile)

• Appearance:- white powder
• Titanium dioxide content: >93.0% of which is rutile:- >97%
• Surface treatment: Alumina, zirconium, organic
• Density:- 4g/cm3
• pH: 6-9
• Oil Absorption:- 18-23g/100g

Uses for Titanium Dioxide:

Paints & coatings

• Primary white pigment for architectural, automotive, industrial, marine.

• Delivers opacity, brightness, tint strength, gloss, and weatherability (with proper coatings).

• Calcined/encapsulated grades improve UV durability and chalking resistance; optimized grades reduce TiO₂ use via spacing.

• Applied to sports pitches, tennis courts etc to produce the white lines

Plastics & masterbatch

• Opaque white in PVC, PE, PP, PS, PET, ABS.

• Improves whiteness, opacity, heat/UV stability, and barrier (some systems).

• Special low-abrasion grades for film/fiber, and blue-tone grades to counter yellowness.

• Hydrophobic, surface-treated rutile is standard to limit polymer degradation.

Printing inks

• High opacity at thin films for packaging, publication, inkjet/UV-curable inks.

• Controlled particle size and surface chemistry → good gloss and rheology.

Paper & paperboard (coatings)

• Boosts brightness, opacity, print gloss at lower coat weights (though kaolin/GCC often carry bulk).

Cosmetics & suncare

• Micronized/ultrafine rutile (often Al₂O₃/SiO₂-coated) as a physical UV filter and white pigment in sunscreens, foundations, powders.

• Chosen over anatase for lower photoactivity (less ROS generation), while still providing strong UV scattering.

Construction & others

• White pigment in sealants, adhesives, elastomers, and roof coatings.

• Ceramics & dielectrics: Rutile as a raw mineral in specialized bodies/glazes, capacitors.  A thin film of TiO₂ is used to produce reflective optical coatings for dielectric mirrors and some gemstones.

• In ceramic glazes titanium dioxide acts as an opacifier and seeds crystal formation

• Welding electrodes: “Rutile” electrodes (E6013, etc.) use TiO₂ minerals for stable arc and slag formation.

• Used in the production of self-cleaning glass and antifogging coatings.
• Production of titanium metal.

Rutile vs anatase (at a glance)

• Opacity: Rutile > Anatase

• Weatherability: Rutile > Anatase (when properly coated)

• Photocatalytic activity: Rutile < Anatase (good for durability; anatase preferred for active photocatalysis)

• Tone: Rutile often bluer, aiding bright whites