Physicochemical properties of titanium. Properties and applications of titanium. Titanium in construction

Many are interested in a slightly mysterious and not fully understood titanium - a metal whose properties are somewhat ambiguous. Metal is both the strongest and the most brittle.

The strongest and most brittle metal

It was discovered by two scientists with a difference of 6 years - the Englishman W. Gregor and the German M. Klaproth. The name of the titan is associated, on the one hand, with the mythical titans, supernatural and fearless, on the other hand, with Titania, the queen of the fairies.
This is one of the most common materials in nature, but the process of obtaining a pure metal is particularly difficult.

22 chemical element of D. Mendeleev's table Titanium (Ti) belongs to the 4th group of the 4th period.

The color of titanium is silvery white with a pronounced luster. Its highlights shimmer with all the colors of the rainbow.

It is one of the refractory metals. It melts at +1660°C (±20°). Titanium is paramagnetic: it is not magnetized in a magnetic field and is not pushed out of it.
The metal is characterized by low density and high strength. But the peculiarity of this material lies in the fact that even minimal impurities of other chemical elements radically change its properties. In the presence of an insignificant fraction of other metals, titanium loses its heat resistance, and a minimum of non-metallic substances in its composition make the alloy brittle.
This feature determines the presence of 2 types of material: pure and technical.

1. Pure titanium is used where a very light substance is required that can withstand heavy loads and ultra-high temperature ranges.
2. Technical material is used where parameters such as lightness, strength and resistance to corrosion are valued.

The substance has the property of anisotropy. This means that the metal can change its physical characteristics based on the applied force. This feature should be taken into account when planning the use of the material.

Titanium loses its strength at the slightest presence of impurities of other metals in it.

Conducted studies of the properties of titanium under normal conditions confirm its inertness. The substance does not react to elements in the surrounding atmosphere.
The change in parameters begins when the temperature rises to +400°C and above. Titanium reacts with oxygen, can ignite in nitrogen, absorbs gases.
These properties make it difficult to obtain a pure substance and its alloys. Titanium production is based on the use of expensive vacuum equipment.

Titanium and competition with other metals

This metal is constantly compared with aluminum and iron alloys. Many of the chemical properties of titanium are significantly better than those of competitors:

1. In terms of mechanical strength, titanium surpasses iron by 2 times, and aluminum by 6 times. Its strength increases with decreasing temperature, which is not observed in competitors.
   Anticorrosive characteristics of titanium are significantly higher than those of other metals.
2. At ambient temperatures, the metal is absolutely inert. But when the temperature rises above +200°C, the substance begins to absorb hydrogen, changing its characteristics.
3. At higher temperatures, titanium reacts with other chemical elements. It has a high specific strength, which is 2 times higher than the properties of the best iron alloys.
4. The anti-corrosion properties of titanium significantly exceed those of aluminum and stainless steel.
5. The substance is a poor conductor of electricity. Titanium has a resistivity 5 times that of iron, 20 times that of aluminum, and 10 times that of magnesium.
6. Titanium is characterized by low thermal conductivity, this is due to the low coefficient of thermal expansion. It is 3 times less than that of iron, and 12 times less than that of aluminum.
   

How is titanium obtained?

The material takes 10th place in terms of distribution in nature. There are about 70 minerals containing titanium in the form of titanic acid or its dioxide. The most common of them and containing a high percentage of metal derivatives:

• ilmenite;
• rutile;
• anatase;
• perovskite;
• brookite.

The main deposits of titanium ores are located in the USA, Great Britain, Japan, large deposits of them have been discovered in Russia, Ukraine, Canada, France, Spain, and Belgium.

Titanium mining is an expensive and labor-intensive process

Getting metal from them is very expensive. Scientists have developed 4 ways to produce titanium, each of which is working and effectively used in industry:

1. Magnesium method. The extracted raw materials containing titanium impurities are processed and titanium dioxide is obtained. This substance is subjected to chlorination in mine or salt chlorinators at elevated temperatures. The process is very slow and is carried out in the presence of a carbon catalyst. In this case, solid dioxide is converted into a gaseous substance - titanium tetrachloride. The resulting material is reduced by magnesium or sodium. The alloy formed during the reaction is subjected to heating in a vacuum unit to ultrahigh temperatures. As a result of the reaction, evaporation of magnesium and its compounds with chlorine occurs. At the end of the process, a sponge-like material is obtained. It is melted and high quality titanium is obtained.
2. Hydride-calcium method. The ore is subjected to a chemical reaction and titanium hydride is obtained. The next stage is the separation of the substance into components. Titanium and hydrogen are released during heating in vacuum plants. At the end of the process, calcium oxide is obtained, which is washed with weak acids. The first two methods relate to industrial production. They make it possible to obtain pure titanium in the shortest possible time at relatively low costs.
3. electrolysis method. Titanium compounds are subjected to high current. Depending on the feedstock, the compounds are divided into components: chlorine, oxygen and titanium.
4. Iodide method or refining. Titanium dioxide obtained from minerals is doused with iodine vapor. As a result of the reaction, titanium iodide is formed, which is heated to a high temperature - + 1300 ... + 1400 ° C and act on it with an electric current. At the same time, components are isolated from the source material: iodine and titanium. The metal obtained by this method has no impurities and additives.

Areas of use

The use of titanium depends on the degree of its purification from impurities. The presence of even a small amount of other chemical elements in the composition of a titanium alloy radically changes its physical and mechanical characteristics.

Titanium with a certain amount of impurities is called technical. It has high rates of corrosion resistance, it is light and very durable material. Its application depends on these and other indicators.

• In the chemical industry titanium and its alloys are used to manufacture heat exchangers, pipes of various diameters, fittings, housings and parts for pumps for various purposes. The substance is indispensable in places where high strength and resistance to acids are required.
• On transport titanium is used for the manufacture of parts and assemblies of bicycles, cars, railway cars and trains. The use of the material reduces the weight of rolling stock and cars, makes bicycle parts lighter and stronger.
• Titanium is important in the naval department. Parts and elements of hulls for submarines, propellers for boats and helicopters are made from it.
• In the construction industry zinc-titanium alloy is used. It is used as a finishing material for facades and roofs. This very strong alloy has an important property: it can be used to make architectural details of the most fantastic configuration. It can take any form.
• In the last decade, titanium has been widely used in the oil industry. Its alloys are used in the manufacture of equipment for ultra-deep drilling. The material is used for the manufacture of equipment for oil and gas production on the offshore shelves.

Titanium has a very wide range of applications.

Pure titanium has its uses. It is needed where resistance to high temperatures is required and at the same time the strength of the metal must be maintained.

It is applied in :

• aircraft and space industry for the manufacture of skin parts, hulls, fasteners, chassis;
• medicine for prosthetics and the manufacture of heart valves and other devices;
• technique for working in the cryogenic region (here they use the property of titanium - with a decrease in temperature, the strength of the metal increases and its ductility is not lost).

In percentage terms, the use of titanium for the production of various materials looks like this:

• 60% is used for the manufacture of paint;
• plastic consumes 20%;
• 13% is used in paper production;
• mechanical engineering consumes 7% of the resulting titanium and its alloys.

Raw materials and the process of obtaining titanium are expensive, the costs of its production are compensated and paid off by the service life of products from this substance, its ability not to change its appearance over the entire period of operation.

In the periodic system, the chemical element titanium is designated as Ti (Titanium) and is located in a side subgroup of group IV, in period 4 under atomic number 22. It is a silvery-white solid metal that is part of a large number of minerals. You can buy titanium on our website.

Titanium was discovered at the end of the 18th century by chemists from England and Germany, William Gregor and Martin Klaproth, independently of each other with a six-year difference. It was Martin Klaproth who gave the name to the element in honor of the ancient Greek characters of the titans (huge, strong, immortal creatures). As it turned out, the name became prophetic, but it took humanity even more than 150 years to get acquainted with all the properties of titanium. Only three decades later, the first sample of titanium metal was obtained. At that time, it was practically not used due to its fragility. In 1925, after a series of experiments, chemists Van Arkel and De Boer obtained pure titanium using the iodide method.

Due to the valuable properties of the metal, engineers and designers immediately drew attention to it. It was a real breakthrough. In 1940, Kroll developed a magnesium-thermal method for obtaining titanium from ore. This method is still relevant today.

Physical and mechanical properties

Titanium is a fairly refractory metal. Its melting point is 1668±3°C. According to this indicator, it is inferior to such metals as tantalum, tungsten, rhenium, niobium, molybdenum, tantalum, zirconium. Titanium is a paramagnetic metal. In a magnetic field, it is not magnetized, but it is not pushed out of it. Picture 2
Titanium has a low density (4.5 g/cm³) and high strength (up to 140 kg/mm²). These properties practically do not change at high temperatures. It is more than 1.5 times heavier than aluminum (2.7 g/cm³), but 1.5 times lighter than iron (7.8 g/cm³). In terms of mechanical properties, titanium is far superior to these metals. In terms of strength, titanium and its alloys are on a par with many grades of alloyed steels.

In terms of corrosion resistance, titanium is not inferior to platinum. The metal has excellent resistance to cavitation conditions. Air bubbles formed in a liquid medium during the active movement of a titanium part practically do not destroy it.

It is a durable metal that can resist fracture and plastic deformation. It is 12 times harder than aluminum and 4 times harder than copper and iron. Another important indicator is the yield strength. With an increase in this indicator, the resistance of titanium parts to operational loads improves.

In alloys with certain metals (especially nickel and hydrogen), titanium is able to "remember" the shape of the product created at a certain temperature. Such a product can then be deformed and it will retain this position for a long time. If the product is heated to the temperature at which it was made, then the product will take its original shape. This property is called "memory".

The thermal conductivity of titanium is relatively low and the coefficient of linear expansion, respectively, too. From this it follows that the metal is a poor conductor of electricity and heat. But at low temperatures, it is a superconductor of electricity, which allows it to transmit energy over considerable distances. Titanium also has a high electrical resistance.
Pure titanium metal is subject to various types of cold and hot processing. It can be drawn and made into wire, forged, rolled into strips, sheets and foils with a thickness of up to 0.01 mm. The following types of rolled products are made from titanium: titanium tape, titanium wire, titanium pipes, titanium bushings, titanium circle, titanium bar.

Chemical properties

Pure titanium is a reactive element. Due to the fact that a dense protective film is formed on its surface, the metal is highly resistant to corrosion. It does not undergo oxidation in air, in salty sea water, does not change in many aggressive chemical environments (for example: dilute and concentrated nitric acid, aqua regia). At high temperatures, titanium interacts with reagents much more actively. It ignites in air at a temperature of 1200°C. When ignited, the metal gives off a bright glow. An active reaction also occurs with nitrogen, with the formation of a yellow-brown nitride film on the surface of titanium.

Reactions with hydrochloric and sulfuric acids at room temperature are weak, but when heated, the metal dissolves strongly. As a result of the reaction, lower chlorides and monosulfate are formed. Weak interactions with phosphoric and nitric acids also occur. The metal reacts with halogens. The reaction with chlorine occurs at 300°C.
The active reaction with hydrogen proceeds at a temperature slightly above room temperature. Titanium actively absorbs hydrogen. 1 g of titanium can absorb up to 400 cm³ of hydrogen. The heated metal decomposes carbon dioxide and water vapor. Interaction with water vapor occurs at temperatures above 800°C. As a result of the reaction, metal oxide is formed and hydrogen escapes. At higher temperatures, hot titanium absorbs carbon dioxide and forms carbide and oxide.

How to get

Titanium is one of the most common elements on Earth. Its content in the bowels of the planet by weight is 0.57%. The highest concentration of the metal is observed in the "basalt shell" (0.9%), in granitic rocks (0.23%) and in ultrabasic rocks (0.03%). There are about 70 titanium minerals that contain it in the form of titanic acid or dioxide. The main minerals of titanium ores are: ilmenite, anatase, rutile, brookite, loparite, leucoxene, perovskite and sphene. The main world producers of titanium are Great Britain, the USA, France, Japan, Canada, Italy, Spain and Belgium.
There are several ways to obtain titanium. All of them are applied in practice and are quite effective.

1. Magnesium thermal process.

Ore containing titanium is mined and processed into dioxide, which is slowly and at very high temperatures subjected to chlorination. Chlorination is carried out in a carbon environment. The titanium chloride formed as a result of the reaction is then reduced with magnesium. The resulting metal is heated in a vacuum equipment at a high temperature. As a result, magnesium and magnesium chloride evaporate, leaving titanium with many pores and voids. Sponge titanium is remelted to produce high-quality metal.

2. Hydride-calcium method.

First, titanium hydride is obtained, and then it is separated into components: titanium and hydrogen. The process takes place in an airless space at high temperature. Calcium oxide is formed, which is washed with weak acids.
Calcium hydride and magnesium thermal methods are commonly used on an industrial scale. These methods make it possible to obtain a significant amount of titanium in a short period of time, with minimal monetary costs.

3. Electrolysis method.

Titanium chloride or dioxide is exposed to a high current. As a result, the compounds are decomposed.

4. Iodide method.

Titanium dioxide interacts with iodine vapor. Next, titanium iodide is exposed to high temperature, resulting in titanium. This method is the most efficient, but also the most expensive. Titanium is of very high purity without impurities and additives.

Application of titanium

Due to its good anti-corrosion properties, titanium is used for the manufacture of chemical equipment. The high heat resistance of the metal and its alloys contributes to the use in modern technology. Titanium alloys are an excellent material for aircraft, rocket and shipbuilding.

Monuments are made from titanium. And the bells made of this metal are known for their extraordinary and very beautiful sound. Titanium dioxide is a component of some medicines, for example: ointments against skin diseases. Metal compounds with nickel, aluminum and carbon are also in great demand.

Titanium and its alloys have found application in such areas as the chemical and food industries, non-ferrous metallurgy, electronics, nuclear technology, power engineering, electroplating. Weapons, armor plates, surgical instruments and implants, irrigation systems, sports equipment and even jewelry are made from titanium and its alloys. In the process of nitriding, a golden film is formed on the surface of the metal, which is not inferior in beauty even to real gold.

Titanium occupies the 4th place in terms of distribution in production, but an effective technology for its extraction was developed only in the 40s of the last century. It is a silver-colored metal, characterized by a low specific gravity and unique characteristics. To analyze the degree of distribution in industry and other areas, it is necessary to voice the properties of titanium and the scope of its alloys.

Main characteristics

The metal has a low specific gravity - only 4.5 g/cm³. Anti-corrosion properties are due to a stable oxide film formed on the surface. Due to this quality, titanium does not change its properties during prolonged exposure to water, hydrochloric acid. Damaged areas do not occur due to stress, which is the main problem of steel.

In its pure form, titanium has the following qualities and characteristics:

• nominal melting point — 1660°С;
• under thermal influence +3 227 ° С boils;
• tensile strength - up to 450 MPa;
• characterized by a low elasticity index - up to 110.25 GPa;
• on the HB scale, the hardness is 103;
• the yield strength is one of the most optimal among metals - up to 380 MPa;
• thermal conductivity of pure titanium without additives - 16.791 W / m * C;
• minimum coefficient of thermal expansion;
• this element is a paramagnet.

For comparison, the strength of this material is 2 times that of pure iron and 4 times that of aluminum. Titanium also has two polymorphic phases - low-temperature and high-temperature.

For industrial needs, pure titanium is not used because of its high cost and required performance. To increase the rigidity, oxides, hybrids and nitrides are added to the composition. Rarely change the characteristics of the material to improve corrosion resistance. The main types of additives for obtaining alloys: steel, nickel, aluminum. In some cases, it performs the functions of an additional component.

Areas of use

Due to its low specific gravity and strength parameters, titanium is widely used in the aviation and space industries. It is used as the main structural material in its pure form. In special cases, by reducing the heat resistance, cheaper alloys are made. At the same time, its corrosion resistance and mechanical strength remain unchanged.

In addition, the material with titanium additives has found application in the following areas:

• Chemical industry. Its resistance to almost all aggressive media, except for organic acids, makes it possible to manufacture complex equipment with good indicators of maintenance-free service life.
• Vehicle production. The reason is the low specific gravity and mechanical strength. Frames or load-bearing structural elements are made from it.
• The medicine. For special purposes, a special alloy nitinol (titanium and nickel) is used. Its distinguishing feature is shape memory. To reduce the burden on patients and minimize the likelihood of negative effects on the body, many medical splints and similar devices are made of titanium.
• In industry, metal is used for the manufacture of cases and individual elements of equipment.
• Titanium jewelry has a unique look and feel.

In most cases, the material is processed in the factory. But there are a number of exceptions - knowing the properties of this material, part of the work to change the appearance of the product and its characteristics can be performed in the home workshop.

Processing features

To give the product the desired shape, it is necessary to use special equipment - a lathe and a milling machine. Manual cutting or milling of titanium is not possible due to its hardness. In addition to the choice of power and other characteristics of the equipment, it is necessary to choose the right cutting tools: milling cutters, cutters, reamers, drills, etc.

This takes into account the following nuances:

• Titanium shavings are highly flammable. It is necessary to force cooling the surface of the part and work at minimum speeds.
• The bending of the product is carried out only after the preliminary heating of the surface. Otherwise, cracks are likely to appear.
• Welding. Special conditions must be observed.

Titanium is a unique material with good performance and technical properties. But for its processing, you should know the specifics of the technology, and most importantly, safety precautions.

1941 Boiling temperature 3560 Oud. heat of fusion 18.8 kJ/mol Oud. heat of evaporation 422.6 kJ/mol Molar heat capacity 25.1 J/(K mol) Molar volume 10.6 cm³/mol Crystalline lattice of a simple substance Lattice structure hexagonal
close-packed (α-Ti) Lattice parameters a=2.951 c=4.697 (α-Ti) Attitude c/a 1,587 Temperature Debye 380 Other characteristics Thermal conductivity (300 K) 21.9 W/(m K) No CAS 7440-32-6

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Subtitles

Hi all! Alexander Ivanov is with you and this is the project “Chemistry is simple” And now we will light it up a little with titanium! This is how a few grams of pure titanium look like, which were obtained a long time ago at the University of Manchester, when it was not even a university yet. This sample is from that same museum. This is how the main mineral from which titanium is extracted looks like. This is Rutile. contain titanium In 1867, everything that people knew about titanium fit in a textbook on 1 page By the beginning of the 20th century, nothing really changed In 1791, the English chemist and mineralogist William Gregor discovered a new element in the mineral menakinite and called it "menakin" A little later, in 1795, the German chemist Martin Klaproth discovered a new chemical element in another mineral - rutile. Titanium got its name from Klaproth, who named it in honor of the queen of the elves Titania. However, according to another version, the name of the element comes from the titans, the mighty sons of the goddess of the earth - Gays However, in 1797 it turned out that Gregor and Klaproth discovered the same chemical element. But the name the one that Klaproth gave remained. But, neither Gregor nor Klaproth were able to obtain metallic titanium. They obtained a white crystalline powder, which was titanium dioxide. For the first time, metallic titanium was obtained by the Russian scientist D.K. Kirilov in 1875 But as it happens without proper coverage, his work was not noticed. After that, pure titanium was obtained by the Swedes L. Nilsson and O. Peterson, as well as the Frenchman Moissan. And only in 1910, the American chemist M. Hunter improved the previous methods for obtaining titanium and received several grams of pure 99% titanium. That is why in most books it is Hunter who indicates how the scientist who received metallic titanium Nobody predicted a great future for titanium, since the slightest impurities in its composition made it very fragile and fragile, which did not allow mechanical processing Therefore, some titanium compounds found their widespread use before the metal itself. Titanium tetrachloride was used in the first world war to create smoke screens. In the open air, titanium tetrachloride hydrolyzes to form titanium oxychlorides and titanium oxide. The white smoke that we see is the particles of oxychlorides. and titanium oxide What exactly are these particles We can confirm if we drop a few drops of titanium tetrachloride into water. Titanium tetrachloride is currently used to obtain metallic titanium. The method for obtaining pure titanium has not changed in a hundred years. First, titanium dioxide is converted with chlorine into titanium tetrachloride, which we talked about earlier. Then, with the help of magnesiumthermia, titanium metal is obtained from titanium tetrachloride, which is formed in the form of a sponge. This process is carried out at a temperature of 900 ° C in steel retorts Due to the harsh reaction conditions, we unfortunately do not have the opportunity to show this process. As a result, a titanium sponge is obtained, which is smelted into a compact metal. To obtain ultrapure titanium, an iodide refining method is used, which we will discuss in detail in the video about zirconium. As you have already noticed, titanium tetrachloride is a transparent, colorless liquid under normal conditions. But if we take titanium trichloride, it is a solid purple thing. sity Just one less chlorine atom in the molecule, and already a different state Titanium trichloride is hygroscopic. Therefore, you can work with it only in an inert atmosphere. Titanium trichloride dissolves well in hydrochloric acid. You are now observing this process. A complex ion 3 is formed in the solution. What are complex ions, I will tell you some other time next time. In the meantime, just be horrified :) If you add a little nitric acid to the resulting solution, then titanium nitrate is formed and brown gas is released, which we actually see. There is a qualitative reaction to titanium ions. We drop hydrogen peroxide. As you can see, a reaction occurs with the formation of a brightly colored compound This is pertitanic acid. In 1908, titanium dioxide was used in the United States for the production of white, which replaced white, which was based on lead and zinc. Titanium white was much superior in quality to lead and zinc counterparts. Also, titanium oxide was used to produce enamel, which was used for metal and wood coatings in shipbuilding Currently, titanium dioxide is used in the food industry as a white dye - this is an additive E171, which can be found in crab sticks, breakfast cereals, mayonnaise, chewing gum, dairy products, etc. Also, titanium dioxide is used in cosmetics - he enters the sos having sunscreen "All that glitters is not gold" - we know this saying from childhood And in relation to the modern church and titanium, it literally works And it seems, what can be in common between the church and titanium? And here's what: all modern domes of churches that shimmer with gold, in fact, have nothing to do with gold. In fact, all domes are coated with titanium nitride. Also, metal drills are coated with titanium nitride. Only in 1925, high-purity titanium was obtained, which made it possible to study it. physical and chemical properties And they turned out to be fantastic. It turned out that titanium, being almost twice as light as iron, surpasses many steels in strength. Also, although titanium is one and a half times heavier than aluminum, it is six times stronger than it and retains its strength up to 500 ° C. - due to its high electrical conductivity and non-magnetism, titanium is of high interest in electrical engineering Titanium has a high resistance to corrosion Due to its properties, titanium has become a material for space technology In Russia, in Verkhnyaya Salda, there is a corporation VSMPO-AVISMA, which produces titanium for the world aerospace industry From Verkhne Salda titanium make Boeings, Airbuses, Rolls-Ro ice cubes, various chemical equipment and many other expensive junk However, each of you can purchase a shovel or crowbar made of pure titanium! And it's not a joke! And this is how finely dispersed titanium powder reacts with atmospheric oxygen Thanks to such colorful combustion, titanium has found application in pyrotechnics And that's all, subscribe, put your finger up, don't forget to support the project and tell your friends! Bye!

Story

The discovery of TiO 2 was made almost simultaneously and independently by an Englishman W. Gregor?! and the German chemist M. G. Klaproth. W. Gregor, investigating the composition of magnetic ferruginous sand (Creed, Cornwall, England,), isolated a new "earth" (oxide) of an unknown metal, which he called menaken. In 1795, the German chemist Klaproth discovered a new element in the mineral rutile and named it titanium. Two years later, Klaproth established that rutile and menaken earth are oxides of the same element, behind which the name "titanium" proposed by Klaproth remained. After 10 years, the discovery of titanium took place for the third time. The French scientist L. Vauquelin discovered titanium in anatase and proved that rutile and anatase are identical titanium oxides.

The first sample of metallic titanium was obtained in 1825 by J. Ya. Berzelius. Due to the high chemical activity of titanium and the complexity of its purification, the Dutch A. van Arkel and I. de Boer obtained a pure sample of Ti in 1925 by thermal decomposition of titanium iodide vapor TiI 4 .

origin of name

The metal got its name in honor of the titans, the characters of ancient Greek mythology, the children of Gaia. The name of the element was given by Martin Klaproth in accordance with his views on chemical nomenclature, as opposed to the French school of chemistry, where they tried to name the element by its chemical properties. Since the German researcher himself noted the impossibility of determining the properties of a new element only by its oxide, he chose a name for it from mythology, by analogy with uranium discovered by him earlier.

Being in nature

Titanium is the 10th most abundant in nature. The content in the earth's crust is 0.57% by mass, in sea water - 0.001 mg / l. 300 g/t in ultrabasic rocks, 9 kg/t in basic rocks, 2.3 kg/t in acid rocks, 4.5 kg/t in clays and shales. In the earth's crust, titanium is almost always tetravalent and is present only in oxygen compounds. It does not occur in free form. Titanium under conditions of weathering and precipitation has a geochemical affinity for Al 2 O 3 . It is concentrated in bauxites of the weathering crust and in marine clayey sediments. The transfer of titanium is carried out in the form of mechanical fragments of minerals and in the form of colloids. Up to 30% TiO 2 by weight accumulates in some clays. Titanium minerals are resistant to weathering and form large concentrations in placers. More than 100 minerals containing titanium are known. The most important of them are: rutile TiO 2 , ilmenite FeTiO 3 , titanomagnetite FeTiO 3 + Fe 3 O 4 , perovskite CaTiO 3 , titanite CaTiSiO 5 . There are primary titanium ores - ilmenite-titanomagnetite and placer - rutile-ilmenite-zircon.

Place of Birth

Titanium deposits are located on the territory of South Africa, Russia, Ukraine, China, Japan, Australia, India, Ceylon, Brazil, South Korea, Kazakhstan. In the CIS countries, the Russian Federation (58.5%) and Ukraine (40.2%) take the leading place in terms of explored reserves of titanium ores. The largest deposit in Russia is Yaregskoye.

Reserves and production

In 2002, 90% of the mined titanium was used for the production of titanium dioxide TiO 2 . World production of titanium dioxide was 4.5 million tons per year. The confirmed reserves of titanium dioxide (without Russia) are about 800 million tons. For 2006, according to the US Geological Survey, in terms of titanium dioxide and excluding Russia, the reserves of ilmenite ores amount to 603-673 million tons, and rutile - 49, 7-52.7 million tons. Thus, at the current rate of production, the world's proven reserves of titanium (excluding Russia) will be enough for more than 150 years.

Russia has the world's second largest reserves of titanium after China. The mineral resource base of titanium in Russia consists of 20 deposits (of which 11 are primary and 9 are alluvial), fairly evenly dispersed throughout the country. The largest of the explored deposits (Yaregskoye) is located 25 km from the city of Ukhta (Komi Republic). The reserves of the deposit are estimated at 2 billion tons of ore with an average titanium dioxide content of about 10%.

The world's largest titanium producer is the Russian company VSMPO-AVISMA.

Receipt

As a rule, the starting material for the production of titanium and its compounds is titanium dioxide with a relatively small amount of impurities. In particular, it can be a rutile concentrate obtained during the beneficiation of titanium ores. However, rutile reserves in the world are very limited, and the so-called synthetic rutile or titanium slag, obtained during the processing of ilmenite concentrates, is more often used. To obtain titanium slag, ilmenite concentrate is reduced in an electric arc furnace, while iron is separated into a metal phase (cast iron), and not reduced titanium oxides and impurities form a slag phase. Rich slag is processed by the chloride or sulfuric acid method.

The concentrate of titanium ores is subjected to sulfuric acid or pyrometallurgical processing. The product of sulfuric acid treatment is titanium dioxide powder TiO 2 . Using the pyrometallurgical method, the ore is sintered with coke and treated with chlorine, obtaining a pair of titanium tetrachloride TiCl 4:

T i O 2 + 2 C + 2 C l 2 → T i C l 4 + 2 C O (\displaystyle (\mathsf (TiO_(2)+2C+2Cl_(2)\rightarrow TiCl_(4)+2CO)))

TiCl 4 vapors formed at 850 ° C are reduced with magnesium:

T i C l 4 + 2 M g → 2 M g C l 2 + T i (\displaystyle (\mathsf (TiCl_(4)+2Mg\rightarrow 2MgCl_(2)+Ti)))

In addition, the so-called FFC Cambridge process, named after its developers Derek Frey, Tom Farthing and George Chen, and the University of Cambridge, where it was created, is now beginning to gain popularity. This electrochemical process allows direct continuous reduction of titanium from oxide in a melt mixture of calcium chloride and quicklime. This process uses an electrolytic bath filled with a mixture of calcium chloride and lime, with a graphite sacrificial (or neutral) anode and a cathode made from an oxide to be reduced. When a current is passed through the bath, the temperature quickly reaches ~1000–1100°C, and the calcium oxide melt decomposes at the anode into oxygen and metallic calcium:

2 C a O → 2 C a + O 2 (\displaystyle (\mathsf (2CaO\rightarrow 2Ca+O_(2))))

The resulting oxygen oxidizes the anode (in the case of using graphite), and calcium migrates in the melt to the cathode, where it restores titanium from oxide:

O 2 + C → C O 2 (\displaystyle (\mathsf (O_(2)+C\rightarrow CO_(2)))) T i O 2 + 2 C a → T i + 2 C a O (\displaystyle (\mathsf (TiO_(2)+2Ca\rightarrow Ti+2CaO)))

The resulting calcium oxide again dissociates into oxygen and calcium metal, and the process is repeated until the complete transformation of the cathode into a titanium sponge, or the exhaustion of calcium oxide. Calcium chloride in this process is used as an electrolyte to impart electrical conductivity to the melt and mobility of active calcium and oxygen ions. When using an inert anode (for example, tin oxide), instead of carbon dioxide, molecular oxygen is released at the anode, which pollutes the environment less, but the process in this case becomes less stable, and, in addition, under certain conditions, the decomposition of chloride becomes more energetically favorable, rather than calcium oxide, resulting in the release of molecular chlorine.

The resulting titanium "sponge" is melted down and purified. Titanium is refined by the iodide method or by electrolysis, separating Ti from TiCl 4 . To obtain titanium ingots, arc, electron beam or plasma processing is used.

Physical properties

Titanium is a light, silvery white metal. It exists in two crystalline modifications: α-Ti with a hexagonal close-packed lattice (a=2.951 Å; c=4.679 Å; z=2; space group C6mmc), β-Ti with cubic body-centered packing (a=3.269 Å; z=2; space group Im3m), transition temperature α↔β 883 °C, ΔH transition 3.8 kJ/mol. Melting point 1660 ± 20 °C, boiling point 3260 °C, density of α-Ti and β-Ti is respectively 4.505 (20 °C) and 4.32 (900 °C) g/cm³, atomic density 5.71⋅10 22 at/cm³ [ ] . Plastic, welded in an inert atmosphere. Resistivity 0.42 µOhm m at 20 °C

It has a high viscosity, during machining it is prone to sticking to the cutting tool, and therefore it is required to apply special coatings to the tool, various lubricants.

At normal temperature, it is covered with a protective passivating film of TiO 2 oxide, due to which it is corrosion-resistant in most environments (except alkaline).

Titanium dust tends to explode. Flash point - 400 °C. Titanium shavings are flammable.

Titanium, along with steel, tungsten, and platinum, is highly resistant to vacuum, which, along with its lightness, makes it very promising for spacecraft design.

Chemical properties

Titanium is resistant to dilute solutions of many acids and alkalis (except H 3 PO 4 and concentrated H 2 SO 4).

Easily reacts even with weak acids in the presence of complexing agents, for example, with hydrofluoric acid, it interacts due to the formation of a complex anion 2−. Titanium is most susceptible to corrosion in organic media, since, in the presence of water, a dense passive film of oxides and titanium hydride is formed on the surface of a titanium product. The most noticeable increase in the corrosion resistance of titanium is noticeable with an increase in the water content in an aggressive environment from 0.5 to 8.0%, which is confirmed by electrochemical studies of the electrode potentials of titanium in solutions of acids and alkalis in mixed water-organic media.

When heated in air to 1200°C, Ti ignites with a bright white flame with the formation of oxide phases of variable composition TiO x . Hydroxide TiO(OH) 2 ·xH 2 O precipitates from solutions of titanium salts, by careful calcination of which oxide TiO 2 is obtained. TiO(OH) 2 hydroxide xH 2 O and TiO 2 dioxide are amphoteric.

Application

In pure form and in the form of alloys

• Titanium in the form of alloys is the most important structural material in aircraft, rocket and shipbuilding.
• The metal is used in: chemical industry (reactors, pipelines, pumps, pipeline fittings), military industry (body armor, armor and fire barriers in aviation, submarine hulls), industrial processes (desalination plants, pulp and paper processes), automotive industry, agricultural industry, food industry, piercing jewelry, medical industry (prostheses, osteoprostheses), dental and endodontic instruments, dental implants, sporting goods, jewelry, mobile phones, light alloys, etc.
• Titanium casting is carried out in vacuum furnaces in graphite molds. Vacuum investment casting is also used. Due to technological difficulties in artistic casting, it is used to a limited extent. The first monumental cast titanium sculpture in the world is the monument to Yuri Gagarin on the square named after him in Moscow.
• Titanium is an alloying addition in many alloy steels and most special alloys [ what?] .
• Nitinol (nickel-titanium) is a shape memory alloy used in medicine and technology.
• Titanium aluminides are very resistant to oxidation and heat-resistant, which, in turn, determined their use in aviation and automotive industry as structural materials.
• Titanium is one of the most common getter materials used in high vacuum pumps.

In the form of connections

• White titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) is used in paints (such as titanium white) as well as in the manufacture of paper and plastics. Food additive E171 .
• Organotitanium compounds (for example, tetrabutoxytitanium) are used as a catalyst and hardener in the chemical and paint industries.
• Inorganic titanium compounds are used in the chemical, electronic, glass fiber industries as additives or coatings.
• Titanium carbide, titanium diboride, titanium carbonitride are important components of superhard materials for metal processing.
• Titanium nitride is used to coat tools, church domes and in the manufacture of costume jewelry, as it has a color similar to gold.
• Barium titanate BaTiO 3, lead titanate PbTiO 3 and a number of other titanates are ferroelectrics.

There are many titanium alloys with different metals. Alloying elements are divided into three groups, depending on their effect on the temperature of polymorphic transformation: beta stabilizers, alpha stabilizers and neutral hardeners. The former lower the transformation temperature, the latter increase it, and the latter do not affect it, but lead to solution hardening of the matrix. Examples of alpha stabilizers: aluminum, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen. Beta stabilizers: molybdenum, vanadium, iron, chromium, nickel. Neutral hardeners: zirconium, tin, silicon. Beta stabilizers, in turn, are divided into beta-isomorphic and beta-eutectoid-forming.

The most common titanium alloy is the Ti-6Al-4V alloy (in the Russian classification - VT6).

Analysis of consumer markets

The purity and grade of rough titanium (titanium sponge) is usually determined by its hardness, which depends on the content of impurities. The most common brands are TG100 and TG110 [ ] .

Physiological action

As mentioned above, titanium is also used in dentistry. A distinctive feature of the use of titanium lies not only in strength, but also in the ability of the metal itself to grow together with the bone, which makes it possible to ensure the quasi-solidity of the tooth base.

isotopes

Natural titanium consists of a mixture of five stable isotopes: 46 Ti (7.95%), 47 Ti (7.75%), 48 Ti (73.45%), 49 Ti (5.51%), 50 Ti (5, 34%).

Artificial radioactive isotopes 45 Ti (T ½ = 3.09 h), 51 Ti (T ½ = 5.79 min) and others are known.

Notes

1. Michael E. Wieser, Norman Holden, Tyler B. Coplen, John K. Böhlke, Michael Berglund, Willi A. Brand, Paul De Bièvre, Manfred Gröning, Robert D. Loss, Juris Meija, Takafumi Hirata, Thomas Prohaska, Ronny Schoenberg, Glenda O'Connor, Thomas Walczyk, Shige Yoneda, Xiang‑Kun Zhu. Atomic weights of the elements 2011 (IUPAC Technical Report) (English) // Pure and Applied Chemistry. - 2013. - Vol. 85, no. 5 . - P. 1047-1078. - DOI:10.1351/PAC-REP-13-03-02 .
2. Editorial staff: Zefirov N. S. (editor-in-chief). Chemical Encyclopedia: in 5 volumes. - Moscow: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1995. - T. 4. - S. 590-592. - 639 p. - 20,000 copies. - ISBN 5-85270-039-8.
3. Titanium- article from the Physical Encyclopedia
4. J.P. Riley and Skirrow G. Chemical Oceanography V. 1, 1965
5. Deposit titanium.
6. Deposit titanium.
7. Ilmenite, rutile, titanomagnetite - 2006
8. Titanium (indefinite) . Information-analytical center "Mineral". Retrieved November 19, 2010. Archived from the original on August 21, 2011.
9. Corporation VSMPO-AVISMA
10. Koncz, St; Szanto, St.; Waldhauser, H., Der Sauerstoffgehalt von Titan-jodidstäben, Naturwiss. 42 (1955) pp.368-369
11. Titanium - metal of the future (Russian).
12. Titanium - article from the Chemical Encyclopedia
13. Influence water on process passivation titanium - 26 February 2015 - Chemistry and chemical technology in life (indefinite) . www.chemfive.ru Retrieved 21 October 2015.
14. Art casting in XX century
15. In the world market titanium for the last two months prices stabilized (review)

Links

• Titanium in the Popular Library of Chemical Elements

H He Li Be B C N O F Ne Na mg Al Si P S

The combination of strength and lightness in one substance is a valuable parameter so much that other qualities and features of the material can be completely ignored. expensive in , resistant to temperatures only in ultrapure form, difficult to use, but all this turns out to be secondary compared to the combination of low weight and high strength.

This article will tell you about the use of titanium in military aviation, industry, medicine, aircraft manufacturing, for the manufacture of jewelry, titanium alloys, and household applications.

The scope of the metal would be much wider if it were not for the high cost of its production. Because of this, titanium is used only in those areas where the use of such an expensive substance is economically justified. It determines the use not only strength and lightness, but also resistance to corrosion, comparable to the resistance of precious metals and durability.

The properties of the metal are unusually strongly dependent on purity, so the use of technical and pure titanium are considered as 2 separate issues.

About what properties titanium is so widely used in industry, this video will tell:

technical metal

Technical titanium may contain a variety of impurities that do not affect the chemical properties of the substance, but have an impact on the physical. Technical titanium loses such a valuable quality as heat resistance and the ability to work at temperatures above 500-600 C. But its corrosion resistance does not decrease in any way.

• This is the reason for its use - in the chemical industry and in any other area where it is necessary to ensure the resistance of products in aggressive environments. Titanium is used to make storage tanks, fittings, parts of reactors, pipelines and pumps, the purpose of which is the movement of inorganic and organic acids and bases. Most titanium alloys have the same properties.
• Light weight, together with corrosion resistance, provides another application - in the manufacture of transport equipment, in particular, railway transport. The use of titanium sheets and rods in the manufacture of wagons and trains makes it possible to reduce the mass of trains, and, therefore, to reduce the size of axle boxes and necks, making traction more efficient.

In ordinary cars, exhaust systems and coil springs are made from titanium. In racing cars, titanium drive units can significantly lighten the car and improve its properties.

• Titanium is indispensable in the production of armored vehicles: this is where the combination of strength and lightness is decisive.
• High corrosion resistance and lightness make the material attractive for naval affairs as well. Titanium is used in the manufacture of thin-walled pipes and heat exchangers, submarine exhaust mufflers, valves, propellers, turbine components, and so on.

Titanium products (photo)

pure metal

Pure metal exhibits very high heat resistance, the ability to work under high load and high temperature. And, given its low weight, the use of metal in the rocket and aircraft industry is obvious.

• Metal and its alloys are used to make fasteners, trim, chassis parts, a power set, and so on. In addition, the material is used in the construction of aircraft engines, which makes it possible to reduce their weight by 10–25%.
• Rockets when passing through the dense layers of the atmosphere experience monstrous loads. The use of titanium and its alloys makes it possible to solve the problem of static endurance of the apparatus, fatigue strength and, to some extent, creep.
• Another application of pure titanium is the manufacture of parts for electrovacuum devices designed for operation under overload conditions.
• The metal is indispensable in the production of cryogenic technology: the strength of titanium only increases with decreasing temperature, but some plasticity is retained.
• Titanium is perhaps the most biologically inert substance. Commercially pure metal is used to make all kinds of external and internal prostheses up to heart valves. Titanium is compatible with biological tissue and has not caused a single case of allergy. In addition, the material is used for surgical instruments, wheelchair crutches, wheelchairs and so on.

However, for all its resistance to temperatures and durability, the metal is not used in the manufacture of bearings, bushings and other parts where friction is expected. Titanium has low antifriction properties and this issue cannot be solved with the help of additives.

Titanium is well polished, anodized - color anodizing, therefore it is often used in works of art and in architecture. An example is a monument to the first artificial earth satellite or a monument. Y. Gagarin.

About the marking on titanium products, instructions for its use and other important points about the use of metal in construction, we will describe below.

The video below shows the titanium andonizing process:

Its use in construction

Of course, the lion's share of titanium is used in the aircraft industry and in the transport industry, where the combination of strength and lightness is especially important. However, the material is also used in construction, and would be used more widely if not for the high cost.

Titanium cladding

This technology is still not widespread, but, for example, in Japan, titanium sheets are very widely used for finishing roofs and even interiors. The share of material used in construction is much higher than that used in the aviation sector.

This is due both to the strength of such a cladding, and to its amazing decorative possibilities. By anodic oxidation, a layer of oxides of various thicknesses can be obtained on the sheet surface. The color then changes. By changing the annealing time and intensity, you can get yellow, turquoise, blue, pink, green colors.

When anodizing in a nitrogen atmosphere, sheets are made with a layer of titanium nitride. Thus, a wide variety of shades of gold are obtained. This technology is used in the restoration of architectural monuments - the restoration of churches, for example.

Seam roofs

This option is already very widespread. But, true, it is not titanium itself that serves as its basis, but its alloy with.

Seam roofs themselves have been known for a very long time, but have not been popular for a long time. However, today, thanks to the fashion for hi-tech and techno styles, there is a need for broken and spline surfaces, especially those that go into the facade of the building. And it provides such an opportunity.

Her ability to form is almost limitless. And the use of the alloy provides both exceptional strength and the most unusual appearance. Although in fairness, the base matte steel color is considered the most respectable.

Since zinc-titanium has quite decent malleability, a variety of complex decorative details are made from the alloy: roof ridges, waterproof ebbs, cornices, and so on.

Such an area of ​​application of titanium as facade cladding is briefly discussed below.

Facade cladding

In the manufacture of facing panels, zinc-titanium is also used. Panels are used both for facade cladding and for interior decoration. The reason is the same - a combination of strength, exceptional lightness and decorativeness.

Panels of various shapes are produced - in the form of lamellas, rhombuses, modules, scales, and so on. The most interesting thing is that the panels may not be flat, but take on almost any three-dimensional shape. As a result, such a finish is possible on walls and buildings of any, the most unthinkable configuration.

The lightness of the product leads to another completely unique application. A conventional ventilated facade also implies a gap between the cladding and insulation. However, lightweight zinc-titanium panels can be mounted on movable opening mechanisms, forming a system similar to blinds. The plates, if necessary, can deviate from the plane by an angle of 90 degrees.

Titanium has a unique combination of strength, lightness and corrosion resistance. These qualities determine its use, despite the high cost of the material.

This video will tell you how to make a titanium ring: