Titanio

Titanio is the Spanish word for Titanium.

Titanium (Ti) is a chemical element with the atomic number 22. It is a silvery-gray transition metal with high strength, low density, and excellent corrosion resistance. Titanium is found in numerous minerals, primarily rutile and ilmenite. It can be alloyed with other elements, such as iron, aluminum, vanadium, and molybdenum, to produce strong, lightweight alloys for aerospace (jet engines, missiles, and spacecraft), military, industrial processes (chemicals and petrochemicals, desalination plants, pulp, and paper), automotive, agriculture (farming), medical prostheses (bone replacement and dental implants), orthopedic instruments, sporting goods, jewelry, mobile phones, and other applications.

Titanium is known for its biocompatibility, meaning it is not rejected by the body. This property makes it highly suitable for medical implants.

The element was discovered in 1791 by William Gregor in Cornwall, Great Britain, and named by Martin Heinrich Klaproth after the Titans of Greek mythology. Titanium's properties were not fully realized until the 20th century when efficient industrial processes were developed to extract and refine the metal.

Titanium exists in two crystalline forms: alpha (α) and beta (β). The alpha phase is a hexagonal close-packed structure, while the beta phase is a body-centered cubic structure. The properties of titanium can be tailored by controlling the ratio of these phases.

Titanium is relatively abundant in the Earth's crust, ranking as the ninth most abundant element. Despite its abundance, titanium metal is expensive to produce due to the complex extraction and refining processes required. The Kroll process and the Hunter process are the two primary methods used to commercially produce titanium.