Wednesday, 20 July 2011

Tapping titanium's colorful potential

ScienceDaily (June 28, 2011) — A new, cost-effective process for colouring titanium can be used in manufacturing products from sporting equipment to colour-coded nuclear waste containers.

"The new method uses an electrochemical solution to produce coloured titanium, improving on an older, time-consuming and expensive method where heat was used to develop a coloured layer," says Gregory Jerkiewicz, a professor in the Department of Chemistry.

Dr. Jerkiewicz's new technique can be finely tuned to produce over 80 different shades of basic colours. In addition, the coloured titanium produced using the new method remains crack-free and stable for many years.

Coloured titanium has the potential to be used in the production of everyday objects like spectacle frames, jewelry, golf clubs and high-performance bicycles.

Industries including healthcare, aviation and the military could use the technology to create items like colour-coded surgical tools, brightly coloured airplane parts, and stealth submarines made from blue titanium.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Queen's University.

Journal Reference:

Andrew Munro, Michael F. Cunningham, Gregory Jerkiewicz. Spectral and Physical Properties of Electrochemically Formed Colored Layers on Titanium Covered with Clearcoats. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2011; : 110316084657083 DOI: 10.1021/am2000196

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.


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