THE DENSITY OF TITANIUM(IV) OXIDE LIQUID

The density of TiO2 liquid in equilibrium with air has been measured at 1875-degrees to 1925-degrees-C using an Ir double bob Archimedean method. The melt density data have been combined with data extrapolated from the CaSiO3-TiO2 join at 1600-degrees-C. A combined fit to these density data yields the following description of the density of liquid TiO2: rho = 3.7611 - 0.00028T-(degrees-C), in the temperature range of 1600-degrees to 1925-degrees-C. This expansivity value is consistent with those obtained on TiO2-rich melts using a Pt-based system at lower temperature and with multicomponent oxide data. The similarity between the volume of liquid TiO2 and that of crystalline rutile implies a dominantly octahedral coordination of Ti in the liquid state.