The reaction of chrysotile asbestos with titanium(III) chloride. Characterization of the reaction products

Abstract

The reaction products of chrysotile asbestos with titanium trichloride in organic and aqueous media are described. The titanium(III) acidity in H2O solution is sufficiently strong to cause fiber lixiviation and unrollment. The reaction product of the water reacted fiber is an amorphous titanium containing silicate. A series of reactions with TiCl3 in THF were carried out. The results show that the titanium bonded species is a TiIIICln group with n ≤ 2. In some experiments as much as 3 wt% titanium was fixed to the fiber without destroying the fiber structure of chrysotile. All the reaction products discussed were characterized by sem X-ray analysis, ir, esr, dta, and elemental microanalysis.