Titanium tetrachloride (TiCl₄, titanium (IV) chloride, also called 'Tickle') is used for commercial production of pure titanium metal. Around 90% of the TiCl₄ production is used to make pigment; titanium(IV) oxide (TiO₂). In the pure state it is a colourless to pale yellow liquid, in the crude state it is a slight reddish-brown. Exposure can damage eyes, skin, mucous membranes, and the lungs. It reacts with water to form hydrochloric acid. It is widely used in organic chemistry as a Lewis acid, for example in the Mukaiyama aldol condensation.

Crude TiCl₄ is produced by the Kroll process, reacting ilmenite or rutile ore with carbon and chlorine in a furnace at 900°C. Impurities must be removed in a distillation furnace to get pure TiCl₄.

2FeTiO₃ + 7Cl₂ + 6C -----> 2 TiCl₄ + 2FeCl₃ + 6CO

References

• Titanium tetrachloride - Sumitomo Titanium Corporation information sheet.

• N. N. Greenwood, A. Earnshaw, Chemistry of the Elements, Pergamon Press, 1984.