| abstract |
The disclosure pertains to a process for making a suspension of finely divided titanium (IV) oxide particles, comprising: n vigorously mixing n (a) a volume of a first component comprising a major proportion of an alcohol, a minor proportion of a titanium alkoxide and a minor proportion of a titanium alkoxide activator selected from the group consisting of water and a first aqueous base, and n (b) a volume of a second component selected from the group consisting of water and a second aqueous base, n at least one of the first component or the second component having a base therein, the second component being substantially free of alcohol, to form a mixture comprising a suspension of finely divided titanium (IV) oxide particles, the mixture having a water to titanium molar ratio ranging from about 40 to about 1 to about 5000 to about 1, n wherein the proportion of the titanium alkoxide, the proportion of the activator, the mixing vigor, and a ratio of the volume of the first component to the volume of the second component are effective for the suspension of the finely divided particles to form in the mixture. n The suspensions can be dried to recover a powder. Typically the particles are nanoparticles. |