EFFECT OF TITANIUM SLAG PARTICLE SIZE ON THE ABILITY TO SYNTHESISE TiO₂ BY THE HYDROTHERMAL ALKALINE DISSOLUTION METHOD

Titanium slag is a by-product of iron extraction from Ilmenite ore.Titanium slag has a high TiO 2 content, so it is a suitable material for preparing TiO 2 .This study investigated the influence of the slag particle size on the ability to synthesize TiO 2 by the hydrothermal alkalisation method.Three groups of titanium slag powder with average particle sizes from 18 m to 108 m were alkalised with a 10M NaOH solution to separate TiO 2 by the hydrothermal method.The mixing ratio by mass between the slag and the 10M NaOH solution is 1:1.5.The hydrothermal reaction was carried out at 180 C for 7 hours.The products were analysed for their mineral, chemical, and microstructural properties using X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive detector.The results show that the particle size significantly influences the efficiency of the TiO 2 chemical extraction from the titanium slag.The formed TiO 2 is of high purity, and the main mineral composition is anatase.The anatase polymorph of TiO 2 has the potential application as a photocatalyst and an antibacterial material.