Interesting Facts About Titanium: Properties, Uses & More

Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It is found in nature only as an oxide. To produce a lustrous transition metal, it can be reduced with a silver colour, low density, and high strength, unaffected by corrosion in sea water, aqua regia, and chlorine. Titanium is twice strong as sodium. Titanium metal is brittle when cold and can be broken easily both at room temperature and high temperatures; it becomes malleable and ductile.

In this article, we will study the titanium element and some interesting facts about it.

Titanium: The Superhero Element

For an element with superpowers, atomic number = 22, titanium encompasses a fitting origin story: It is cast in the depths of supernovas or collapsing stars. A 2012 study of a selected dying star, Supernova 1987A, found that a single supernova can produce 100 Earths worth of titanium-44, a radioactive isotope of titanium atomic no. 22, by mass.

The ninth most abundant metal in Earth's crust is Titanium, according to Chemicool, but it wasn't discovered until 1791. Rev. William Gregor, an English amateur geologist, discovered some black, metallic sand in a creek bed, analysed it and discovered it to be a mixture of magnetite, a simple form of iron oxide, and new metal. Gregor knew it as  Manaccanite for the parish in which he'd discovered the sand.

After 4 years, when a German scientist named Martin Heinrich Klaproth was studying an ore from Hungary and realised that it contained a never-before-described chemical element. He named it titanium and later confirmed that Gregor's Manaccanite contained titanium.

M.A. Hunter was the first person to distil titanium into its pure form and was an employee of General Electric, according to the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). It wasn't till the 1930s, however, that William J. Kroll made up a method that made extracting titanium possible on an industrial scale. The alleged Kroll process initially treats titanium oxide ore with chlorine, producing titanium chloride. 

Next, Mg (magnesium) or metallic elements are mixed with the atomic number 22 chloride in atomic number 18 gas (allowing chemical elements into the proceedings would be quite explosive, indeed, only if atomic number 22 is very reactive to chemical elements, in line with the RSC). Below temperatures of 2,192oF (1,200 oC), the Mg or metallic element sodium reduces the titanium chloride to pure titanium. 

Titanium

Properties of Titanium

Some Interesting facts about titanium are as follows: 

• Atomic Number: 22

• Atomic Symbol of Titanium: Ti

• Atomic Mass: 47.867

• Density: 4.5 grams per cubic centimetre

• Phase at Room Temperature: Solid

• The Melting Point of Titanium: 3,034.4 oF (1,668 oC)

• Boiling Point: 5,948.6 oF (3,287 oC)

• Number of Isotopes: 18; five are stable

• The most common isotopes of Titanium are Titanium-46, Titanium-47, Titanium-48, Titanium-49 and Titanium-50

Uses of Titanium

Given below are the uses of Titanium.

• Titanium is as well built(strong) as steel but much less dense. It is so vital as an alloying agent with several metals, including aluminium, molybdenum and iron. These alloys are primarily used in aircraft, spacecraft and missiles because of their low density and ability to withstand temperature extremes. They are additionally used in golf clubs, laptops, bicycles and crutches.

• Power plant condensers use metallic element pipes due to their corrosion resistance. As a result, the metallic element has wonderful resistance to corrosion in seawater, it's employed in chemical process plants and to shield the hulls of ships, submarines and alternative structures exposed to seawater.

• Titanium metal connects well with bone; therefore, it is found in surgical applications such as joint replacements (especially hip joints) and tooth implants.

• The largest use of titanium is within the kind of titanium(IV) oxide. Titanium(IV) is extensively used as a pigment in house paint, artists’ paint, plastics, enamels and paper. It is a bright white pigment with excellent covering power. It's a bright white pigment with wonderful covering power. It is additionally a decent reflector of infrared emission and then is employed in star observatories wherever heat causes poor visibility. 

Fun Facts about Titanium

Given below are some cool facts about titanium.

• According to the RSC, nearly all igneous rock — rocks which are formed from the solidification of molten rock — contains titanium.

• Titanium is orbiting the planet right now: The International Space Station (ISS) incorporates a range of titanium parts and pipes in line with NASA. A research and archiving venture to preserve human languages and thought has also flown an etched piece of pure titanium outside the ISS in the Rosetta Project to see how it stands up to radiation and the harsh environment of space.

• Earth isn't the only place to find titanium. In 2011, a satellite map of the moon's surface disclosed clusters of titanium-rich rock. These rocks frequently contained up to 10 per cent titanium, compared to the 1 per cent or so typically seen in Earth rocks.

• Titanium is used as the stuff in 3D printing. In 2013, researchers at Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Analysis Organization 3D-printed lightweight titanium horseshoes for racehorses. The shoes were in trendy hot-pink colour.

Fact About Titanium

Summary

In this article, we learned about titanium, a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It is found in nature only as an oxide. To produce a lustrous transition metal, it can be reduced with a silver colour, low density, and high strength, unaffected by corrosion in sea water, aqua regia, and chlorine. We have also learned some interesting facts about Titanium and how it is a superhero element.

And some fun facts about the element it uses; we have also learnt that titanium is so vital as an alloying agent with several metals, including aluminium, molybdenum and iron. We hope you enjoyed reading this article.