A novel method of synthesis and investigation on transformation of synthetic rutile powders from Panzhihua sulphate titanium slag using microwave heating

•Microwave heating was used to optimize preparation parameter of titanium slag.•The structure of titanium slag was destroyed to remove the impurities.•Rutile TiO2 has been synthesized successfully.

A novel microwave roast process for synthesizing rutile TiO2 having high crystallinity from Panzhihua sulphate titanium slag is developed in the present work. Properties of samples at various stages of reactions including the crystal structure, microstructure and molecular structure, were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Raman techniques, respectively. The work also addressed the phase transformation of sulphate titanium slag before and after microwave heating. The result of XRD showed that under the microwave roasting process, the sulphate titanium slag was decomposed following acidification of the sodium titanates. The SEM analysis showed morphology transformations during the whole process and the short rod-like structure of rutile after the treatment. The Raman spectroscopy demonstrated that the peaks of 141 cm− 1, 254.8 cm− 1, 428.8 cm− 1, and 606.2 cm− 1 corresponded to the characteristic patterns of rutile TiO2. Based on the above results, this process could be an efficient way for rutile TiO2 preparation utilizing Panzhihua sulphate titanium slag.

Graphical abstractThe primary focus is to investigate the influence of microwave heating on the roast-leach process to produce synthetic rutile from Panzhihua sulphate titanium slag. Schematic diagram of mechanism of microwave heating and conventional heating.Download high-res image (94KB)Download full-size image