The Application of Titanium Dioxide in Coating Industry
Titanium dioxide is known as the king of white pigments. It has the characteristics of high refractive index, strong achromatic power, high covering power, good dispersibility, high whiteness and non-toxicity. It is widely used in coatings, plastics, inks, paper, chemical fiber, ceramics and other industries. Among them, the amount of paint is the largest, accounting for about 57% of the total titanium dioxide.
Coatings made of titanium dioxide have bright colors, high covering power, strong tinting power, low dosage, and many varieties, which can protect the stability of the medium, and can enhance the mechanical strength and adhesion of the paint film, prevent cracks, and prevent ultraviolet rays. It can penetrate with water and prolong the life of the paint film. Almost every pattern in the colorful pattern paint is inseparable from titanium dioxide.
Titanium dioxide is the most widely used white pigment in coatings. Its output accounts for more than 70% of inorganic pigments, and its consumption accounts for 95.5% of the total consumption of white pigments. At present, about 60% of the world’s titanium dioxide is used to make various coatings, especially rutile titanium dioxide, most of which are consumed by the coatings industry. Here is the three main application of titanium dioxide in coating.
1.) Water-based coatings
The first application of titanium dioxide in coating is for water-based coatings, which refer to coatings in which most of the volatile substances in the coating formulation are water. With the enhancement of people’s environmental awareness and the stricter environmental regulations, water-based coatings have become popular. Like solvent-based coatings, titanium dioxide is required to have good whiteness and dispersibility, high hiding power, achromatic power and weather resistance, and low impurity content.
At present, most of the titanium dioxide on the market are general-purpose titanium dioxide, which can be used for both solvent-based coatings and water-based coatings. However, after all, there are essential differences between water-based coatings and solvent-based coatings.
These general-purpose titanium dioxide The dispersion effect of white powder in water-based coatings is not very good. Therefore, in order to make titanium dioxide well dispersed in water-based coatings, the surface treatment method of titanium dioxide must be selected in a targeted manner.
2) Powder coating
One of the other application of titanium dioxide in coating is for powder coating. Different types of coatings with different uses have different requirements for titanium dioxide. For example, powder coatings require rutile titanium dioxide with good dispersibility. Anatase titanium dioxide has low achromatic power and strong photochemical activity. When used in powder coatings, the coating film is prone to yellowing. The rutile titanium dioxide produced by the sulfuric acid method has the advantages of moderate price, good dispersibility, good hiding power and achromatic power, etc.
It is very suitable for indoor powder coatings, and titanium dioxide for outdoor powder coatings requires in addition to dispersibility, hiding power In addition to good achromatic power, good weather resistance is also required. Therefore, titanium dioxide for outdoor powder coatings is generally rutile titanium dioxide produced by chlorination.
3) Architectural coatings
Architectural coatings require acid resistance, alkali resistance, water resistance, moisture resistance, and good adhesion on rough or smooth base surfaces. In addition to the good optical properties and pigment properties mentioned above, titanium dioxide used in architectural coatings is required to have high weather resistance and strong chalk resistance, especially for architectural coatings for exterior walls.
The application of titanium dioxide in coating is shortly introduced in this article, if you want to finding more reasearch for it, this book ‘Applications of Titanium Dioxide Materials‘ will be a great resource. And if you want to import one type of Titanium dioxide to use in coating industry, Rutile Titanium Dioxide R5566 would be a great one.
