Advances in Nanostructured TiO2 Coatings for Industrial Applications

Abstract

Titanium is a very important element for several industrial applications, being one of the nine most abundant elements in the Earth’s crust (0.63 wt.%). The most important mineral sources are ilmenite (FeTiO3) and rutile (TiO2), with increasing annual production of 6,790 and 790 metric tons, respectively, in 2011, with a contained TiO2 known reserve of 750,000 metric tons, mostly ilmenite (MAM 2021). Approximately 95% of titanium is consumed in the form of titanium dioxide (TiO2), mostly as a white pigment in paints, paper, plastics, printing inks, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, textiles, food industry (food coloring E171), in all cases due to its very low toxicity (Gázquez et al. 2014, USGS 2021). TiO2 is one of the most widely used nanomaterials in our daily lives (Liu et al. 2014a) in such a way that its level of consumption is considered a “quality-of-life” product (Khataee and Mansoori 2012). Moreover, the actual research capabilities have permitted new technological applications of TiO2 due to its semiconducting and other relevant properties at the nanoscale level. In the present chapter, a broad overview of the industrial applications of TiO2 in energy, construction, air and water purification, biomedical devices and food packaging will be presented. Moreover, the problems to be overcome as well as new questions intrinsically associated with the nanoscale nature of the new applications are mentioned.