Because they are such big players, Fisher wonders why they would even attempt to go after such small and esoteric markets. Even at prices of $10 per lb and up, sales will pale compared with high-volume TiO 2 pigment that sells for about 90 cents, he says.Īmong the largest TiO 2 makers, Du Pont and Millennium Chemicals have shown interest in these small-volume specialties. "Nanosized TiO 2 is a nanosized market," says Jim Fisher, president of consultants International Business Management Associates (IBMA). And researchers are looking at them as substitutes for silicon to make solar power cells, as well as battery storage media.īut there may be more hoopla about nanosized TiO 2 than it deserves. These tiny minerals have semi conducting properties, too. Engineers have adapted them to remove nitrogen oxides from power plant exhausts, and they are looking at ways to harness these environmental catalysts to treat diesel vehicle emissions. They have imagined and produced self-cleaning window glass, air and water purification systems, and antibacterial coatings by tapping the photocatalytic properties of these particles. Nanosized particles in the 10- to 50-nm range take on unusual properties that chemists and chemical engineers are trying to exploit, with varying degrees of success.
Manufacturers also use this inert, stable filler and colorant to make products as diverse as paper, plastics, lipstick, toothpaste, and pharmaceutical tablets.īut there is more to TiO 2 when it goes unseen. One coat of paint often does the trick because titanium dioxide is there. T itanium dioxide is an opaque white pigment. “ Workhorse pigment titanium dioxide is also the stuff that dreams are made of” Nanomaterials, nanotechnology and their relevance to polymers Technical Articles & Reports on Plastic Industry
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