Timeline – Early discoveries about titanium
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1791
Titanium discovered
William Gregor, Vicar of Creed Parish in Cornwall and amateur geologist, examines magnetic sand from a local river. After removing the magnetic iron oxide and treating the residue with hydrochloric acid, he is left with an impure white oxide of a new element.
1795
Titanium named
Martin Heinrich Klaproth, a chemist working in Germany, independently isolates a white oxide from a Hungarian mineral known as rutile. He gives the name titanium to the new metal element.
1910
Metal isolated from oxide
Matthew Hunter, an American chemist, isolates the metal from its oxide.
1916
Commercial application
Titanium dioxide becomes available as a commercial product and is used as a white pigment in paints.
1932
Titanium production breakthrough
Wilhelm Justin Kroll, from Luxembourg, produces significant quantities of titanium by combining titanium tetrachloride with calcium.
1940
Kroll Process developed
Kroll moves to America and modifies his process to meet commercial standards. Today, titanium is produced by the “Kroll Process”.
1948
Commercial production
The DuPont Company is the first to produce titanium commercially.
1960s
Military applications
Russia uses titanium alloys in military and submarine applications, while America uses titanium alloys for engine parts and fuselage/wing coverings in high-performance military aircraft.
1985
Titanium hip
The first hip replacement operation using titanium alloy implants. Titanium alloys are biocompatible, corrosion-resistant, able to carry mechanical loads and are lightweight.
2001
Titanium heart
First artificial heart transplant operation. The metallic parts are made of titanium.
2008
Titanium plane
Airbus A380, capable of carrying 550 passengers, weighs in at 280 tonnes – 145 tonnes of this is the titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V.
Acknowledgements:
Image: iStockphoto.com/Jeff Fullerton
