Titania Particles and a Process for their Production

摘要

The invention provides a process for the production of titania particles with a desired morphology. The process comprises providing a titania sol and then drying the sol to provide dried titania particles. The process is characterised in that the morphology of the dried titania particles is controlled by applying one or more of the following criteria: (a) the titania sol is produced from a TiO2 containing slurry obtained using a precipitation step in a sulphate process, wherein the size of micelles formed during the precipitation is controlled; (b) the titania sol is produced from a TiO2 containing slurry and the pH of the slurry is controlled in order to affect the extent to which the titania sol is flocculated; (c) the titania sol is produced from a TiO2 containing slurry and the iso-electric point of the titania is adjusted in order to affect the extent to which the titania sol is flocculated; (d) the titania sol is dried by application of heat and the temperature used during the drying step is controlled.