Jessica Sie

Tantalizing Titanium
William Gregor was a clergyman and amateur chemist in the 1970s when he analysed
gun powder-like sand and found a reddish brown clay he could not identify. Several years
later, renowned chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth independently discovered the element in
rutile. Due to its high strength-to-weight ratio, Klaproth named the element Titanium, after
the mythological Titans; “the incarnation of natural strength.”
Being the 22nd element of the periodic table, titanium has protons of the same number,
along with an atomic mass of 47.867. With an electron configuration of [Ar] 3d2 4s2 , the
element is found in period 4 and group 4 of the periodic table of elements, which lies in the d-block
of the table . Located in the d-block shows that the element of titanium is a transition metal; silver in
colour, low in density, and high in strength.

The distance from the centre of the titanium nucleus to the boundary of the
surrounding shells of electrons, also known as its atomic radius, is 147 pm. The element’s
large atomic radius leads to less energy required to remove an electron from a gaseous atom
or ion, thus it has a first ionisation energy of 658 kJ mol -1 , which is the amount of energy
required to remove one mole of electrons from one mole of isolated gaseous atoms or ions.
The second and third ionisation energy is 1310 kJ mol -1 and 2652 kJ mol -1 , which
increases due to smaller atomic radii , more screening electrons and titanium’s nuclear charge
.Therefore, the second ionisation energy can be defined as the energy needed to remove
a second electron from each ion in 1 mole of gaseous 1+ ions to give gaseous 2+ ions; the
third ionisation energy is the energy needed to remove a third electron from each ion in 1
mole of gaseous 2+ ions to give gaseous 3+ ions.
Other physical properties of the element of Titanium includes its melting and
boiling point, also commonly known as the temperature at which the pure metal changes
from solid to liquified state; and which it changes from liquid to gaseous state. The
metallic bonding that occurs between the atoms of titanium, provides a number of its
distinct physical properties. Among which is its high melting and boiling point of
1,668 °C and 3,287 °C. Other physical properties include, High thermal and electrical
conductivity, lustre and high reflectivity, malleability and ductility and high mechanical
strengths.
Moving on to titanium’s numerous chemical properties, among which is its
electronegativity. More commonly defined as the tendency of an atom to attract a shared pair
of electrons towards itself, the element of Titanium has an electronegativity of 1.54, which is
relatively low as the scale spans from the units 0 to 4. In addition to electronegativity being
used to predict whether a bond between atoms will be ionic or covalent, it can also predict if
the resulting molecule will be polar or nonpolar. Furthermore, an atom's electronegativity is
affected by both its atomic number and the distance at which its valence electrons reside from
the charged nucleus.
Another chemical property is reactivity of the element. Titanium is a highly reactive
metal. One can see this by the great amount of power it takes to remove it from the oxygen it
so dearly loves. Finely divided titanium burns as fiercely as a magnesium fire and is equally
hard to put out. In fact, when a titanium fire occurs, the best option is just to let it burn out
whenever it is possible. If water or carbon dioxide is poured on a titanium fire, it just burns
BETTER! The Titanium thinks you are wonderful for providing all that fuel! Notice that the
 Jessica Sie

composition of water and carbon dioxide given above include the element oxygen (O). The
Ti is so reactive it removes the oxygen from the water or carbon dioxide just like humans
taking the environment from wildlife animals.

Now, one may well ask, if it is so reactive, why doesn’t it just catch fire very easily.
The answer lies in the fact that Titanium instantly forms an invisible oxide layer whenever it
is exposed to air. Without any outside source of heat, there is not enough reaction heat
generated to keep the Titanium reacting. In addition, the TiO2 layer is adherent to the
Titanium, so it protects the metal from further oxidation.

This statement leads to our next chemical property, which is the reactions of
Titanium. As previously stated above, Titanium metal is coated with an oxide layer that
usually renders it inactive. However once titanium starts to burn in air it burns with a
spectacular white flame to form titanium dioxide, TiO2and titanium nitride TiN. In fact,
Titanium is the only metal that burns in pure nitrogen. Another reaction of Titanium is with
water , which it reacts with steam form the dioxide, titanium(IV) oxide, TiO2, and hydrogen,
H2. Equally important is the reaction of Titanium with halogens Titanium does react with
the halogens upon warming to form titanium(IV) halides. The reaction with fluorine requires
heating to 200°C. So, titanium reacts with fluorine, F2, chlorine, Cl2, bromine, I2, and
iodine, I2, to form respectively titanium(IV) bromide, TiF, titanium(IV) chloride, TiCl,
titanium(IV) bromide, TiBr, and titanium(IV) iodide, TiI. As a result, the compounds of
titanium(IV) halides become darker in colour as the halogens go down the group , from
white all the way to dark brown. Last but not the least, dilute aqueous hydrofluoric acid, HF,
reacts with titanium to form the complex anion [TiF6]3- together with hydrogen gas.

Being a very common element, and ninth most abundant in the earth’s crust, titanium
is frequently used for manufacturing of alloys. The metal is most commonly added to steel as
it adds strength to the steel and makes it more resistant to corrosion. Titanium also has
another advantage in alloys. Its density is less than half that of steel. So a steel alloy
containing titanium weighs less, pound-for-pound, than the pure metal of steel. These
properties explain why titanium steel is so desirable for spacecraft and aircraft applications.
In fact, about 65 percent of all titanium sold is used in aerospace applications. Titanium
alloys are used in the airframes, also known as main bodies, and engines of aircrafts. Other
uses are in armoured vehicles, armoured vests, and helmets, in jewellery, eyeglasses,
bicycles, golf clubs, and other sports equipment; in specialized dental implants; in power-
generating plants and other types of factories; and in roofs, faces, columns, walls, ceilings,
and other parts of buildings.
Titanium alloys have also become popular in body implants, such as artificial hips and
knees. These alloys are light, strong, long-lasting, and biocompatible, meaning that the alloy
does not cause a reaction when placed into the body.
Look how far humanity has come. From being an unknown red clay to becoming one
of the metals with the highest strength-to-weight ratio to being discovered on the moon and
meteorites, the tantalizing element of titanium is truly a blessing to humanity, worthy of its
mighty name .
Jessica Sie