 Discovery Information |
| Who:
William Gregor
|
| When: 1791 |
| Where: England |
|
| Name Origin |
| Greek: titanos (Titans). |
|
| Sources |
| Usually occurs in the minerals ilmenite (FeTiO3) or rutile (TiO2). Also in Titaniferous magnetite, titanite (CaTiSiO5), and iron ores. The primary deposits of titanium ore are in Australia, Scandinavia, North America and Malaysia. |
|
| Uses |
| Since it is strong and resists acids it is used in many alloys. Titanium dioxide (TiO2), a white pigment that covers surfaces very well, is used in paint, rubber, paper and many other materials. Also used in heat exchangers, airplane motors, bone pins and other things requiring light weight metals or metals that resist corrosion or high temperatures. Titanium oxide is used extensively in paints. |
|
| Notes |
| Pure titanium is a lustrous white metal, as strong as steel, 45% lighter, 60% heavier than aluminium, and twice as strong as steel. |
| Titanium is Latin and refers to the Titans, the first sons of the earth in Mythology. It was discovered by Gregor in 1791 and named by
Klaproth
four years later. It was nearly a hundred years later (1887) when impure titanium was first prepared by Nilson and Pettersson. About 20 years later Hunter heated Titanium Chloride TiCl4 with sodium in a steel bomb and isolated 99.6% pure titanium. It is the ninth most abundant
element
in the earth's crust and is also found in meteorites and in the sun. It is found in the ash of coal, in plants and even in the human body. It occurs in the minerals rutile, ilmenite and sphene. |
| As a compound, it is found as Titanium dioxide TiO2 in star sapphires and rubies (it is TiO2 that gives them their asterism). It is also found as titanium chloride (TiCl4). |
