Titanium tetrachloride

　　Main Applications

　　Titanium tetrachloride is a "bridge compound" in the titanium industry, with applications spanning titanium metal, titanium-based materials, and the chemical sector:

　　Titanium Metal Smelting

　　This is the most core application of titanium tetrachloride. Through the Kroll process, titanium tetrachloride is reduced with magnesium or sodium to obtain sponge titanium, which is then melted and cast into titanium ingots for use in aerospace, medical devices, high-end equipment, and other fields (titanium is known as "space metal" due to its high strength and good corrosion resistance).

　　Titanium Dioxide Preparation

　　Utilizing the hydrolysis characteristics of titanium tetrachloride, high-purity titanium dioxide (titanium white) is produced via the gas-phase oxidation method:

　　Titanium tetrachloride reacts with oxygen at high temperatures (above 1000℃) to generate titanium dioxide and chlorine gas (chlorine gas can be recycled): \(TiCl_4 + O_2 \xrightarrow{\Delta} TiO_2 + 2Cl_2\)

　　The titanium white produced by this method has high purity and uniform particle size, and is widely used in coatings, plastics, papermaking, cosmetics, and other fields (titanium white is currently the white pigment with the best performance).

　　Organic Synthesis and Catalysts

　　As a Lewis acid catalyst, it is used in organic reactions (such as Friedel-Crafts reactions, epoxidation reactions) to promote carbon-carbon bond formation.

　　Used to prepare titanium-based organic compounds (such as titanates), which serve as drying agents for coatings or coupling agents for polymer materials.

　　Other Fields

　　Military field: Titanium tetrachloride can be used to manufacture smoke bombs to obscure vision because it produces white smoke when exposed to water.

　　Surface treatment: Used for etching metal surfaces or preparing titanium coatings to improve the corrosion resistance of materials.

CAS NO: 7550-45-0

EC NO: 231-441-9

Molecular Formula: TiCl₄

Molecular Weight: 189.679

Alias: ;Titanium tetrachloride(IV);Titanium tetrachloride(Ⅳ);

Structural Formula: