Titanium

I. Introduction Titanium, symbol Ti, silver-white metallic element used principally to make light, strong alloys. Titanium is one of the transition elements of the periodic table (see Periodic Law). The atomic number of titanium is 22. Titanium was discovered in 1791 in the mineral menachanite by the British clergyman William Gregor, who named the new element menachite. Four years later, the German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth rediscovered the element in the mineral rutile and named it titanium …

…a replacement for bone and cartilage in surgery and as a pipe and tank lining in the processing of foods. It is used in heat exchangers in desalinization plants because of its ability to withstand saltwater corrosion. In metallurgy, titanium alloys are employed as deoxidizers and denitrogenizers to remove oxygen and nitrogen from molten metals. Titanium dioxide, known as titanium white, is a brilliant white pigment used in paints, lacquers, plastics, paper, textiles, and rubber.