Titanium Dioxide for Plastics

Compare TiO2 candidates in the plastic system you actually make. Define the resin, how TiO2 enters the formulation, the conversion process, the finished specimen, its exposure and the results you need to accept before comparing candidates.

Review Plastics Grades Define Your Plastics System

Define your plastics system

Start with the application rather than a pigment name. Record what you know, and mark an item as unknown instead of guessing:

resin or material, including whether it is virgin, recycled, blended, filled or reinforced where relevant;
whether TiO2 enters as direct powder, a compound or a masterbatch, plus known carrier or formulation context;
conversion process and the process window used for the comparison;
finished specimen, thickness or geometry and surface condition;
indoor, outdoor, warm, wet, chemical or other relevant exposure;
incumbent material or other reference; and
measured endpoints, methods and rejection conditions.

This basis lets a supplier understand the comparison even when the Grade, one test condition or another technical detail is still open.

Judge optical results in the finished system

Whiteness and opacity are results of the full plastic system. Resin colour, TiO2 level, dispersion, specimen thickness, surface, processing and the measurement method can all affect the observed result. A nominal pigment value alone does not establish finished-part performance.

For an opacity comparison, identify the specimen and method. One established contrast-ratio approach compares the CIE Y value of the same specimen over black and white backgrounds. Report the illuminant and observer conditions with the result. Keep the loading, specimen preparation and measurement basis comparable when discussing two candidates.

Keep dispersion screens and defect observations separate

Observation	What it can support	What it does not establish
Filter pressure value under ISO 23900-5	A bounded comparison of pigment dispersibility under the stated concentrate preparation and test conditions	A universal acceptance limit or finished-product result
Film test under ISO 23900-6	A film-based assessment under the stated preparation and inspection method	A complete diagnosis of every production defect
Gels, black specks, holes or other line defects	A reason to investigate material, contamination, drying, residence time, temperature, filtration, handling and other process factors	Proof that TiO2 is the sole cause

Use each observation for the question it was designed to answer. If concentrate preparation changes, state that change before comparing FPV results.

Build durability evidence around the use condition

An accelerated exposure result becomes useful when it names the material, property, laboratory exposure and field or service comparator. There is no universal conversion from a set number of accelerated-weathering hours to outdoor years. An acceleration factor measured for one material and property should not be transferred to another without evidence.

For a candidate comparison, identify the finished plastic, the property being followed, the exposure cycle and the endpoint. Use outdoor or field evidence as a comparator where the decision requires it. A weathering study on an aromatic engineering thermoplastic can help frame exposure variables, but it does not establish the behaviour of an untested TiO2 formulation.

Follow the final-plastic route

How TiO2 enters the final plastic—direct powder, compound or masterbatch—is part of the application definition on this page. Evaluate the converted specimen and its accepted endpoints after that route is chosen.

If your primary task is making or qualifying a high-concentration colour masterbatch, continue to Titanium Dioxide for Masterbatch. Carrier selection, concentrate formulation and masterbatch production qualification belong there.

Turn resin examples into questions

Material examples help identify missing inputs. They do not transfer a result from one formulation to another or select a Grade.

Final-plastic context	Questions to define before comparison
Film or outdoor PVC	What thickness, processing history, optical endpoint and exposure represent the finished use?
Post-consumer PET	Are the opaque and transparent feed streams, TiO2 content, processing history and mechanical endpoints controlled or separately reported? A reported recycling study does not isolate every effect as a direct pigment substitution.
Polycarbonate or PBT	What stabilisation, specimen, exposure and failure endpoint apply? Historical polycarbonate findings and their erratum do not establish a rule for another grade, resin or formulation.
Polyamide	What moisture conditioning, specimen state and test timing are required? Conditioning can affect measured behaviour, so state the protocol rather than inferring a universal drying or processing rule.

Use a TDS to define the comparison

A Technical Data Sheet can support candidate screening. Sort its fields before drawing a conclusion:

Comparable: same property, method, units and stated basis.
Not directly comparable: different method, units, specimen, conditioning or reporting basis.
Needs verification: a required field is missing, ambiguous or outside the stated scope.

Matching nominal TiO2 content, process route or one reported value does not establish interchangeability. Ask for the method and basis behind any field that affects the trial decision.

Compare at matched conditions and accepted output

Run the incumbent and candidate on a declared basis: the same resin or clearly documented lot difference, TiO2 introduction route, formulation, specimen, process conditions, conditioning, exposure, method and endpoint. Keep results for different candidate Grades separate. Investigate an unexpected defect across material and process causes before assigning it to the pigment.

Price per kilogram, nominal TiO2 content and loading make a meaningful cost comparison only when the incumbent and candidate plastic systems reach the same accepted technical endpoint. Define which cost categories to include, such as material, testing, scrap and rework, and apply that same basis throughout the comparison.

Grades to review

Use these eight Grades as starting points for technical review. The list does not rank or recommend a Grade or establish suitability for a particular resin.

Grade	Process	Next step
M-350	Chloride	View M-350
M-510	Chloride	View M-510
M-200	Chloride	View M-200
M-108	Sulfate	View M-108
M-210	Chloride	View M-210
M-340	Chloride	View M-340
M-886	Chloride	View M-886
M-2377	Sulfate	View M-2377

Open the Grade page for a candidate you are considering, or compare the relevant pages if you have several candidates. Keep each candidate's trial results separate. If you do not know the Grade, continue with your application and the context you already have.

Explore All Products

Prepare your request

Share the resin or material, TiO2 introduction route, conversion process, specimen, exposure, test methods, acceptance endpoints and incumbent or reference where known. State which conditions are still unknown.

Request Documents when you know one Product Grade and need one or more document types. Submit a separate request for another Grade. The team reviews availability and applicable scope.
Request a Sample with a known Grade or an unknown-Grade selection, your plastics application, destination and test objective. Submission starts a review; any arrangement is confirmed separately.
Request a Quote with a known lead Grade or Not sure / Need help. Tell us your plastics application, required or estimated quantity in metric tonnes, destination and any other context you already know. If several Grades are under consideration, list the others in Additional Requirements.

After an RFQ is submitted, the team reviews the requirements and details and contacts you using the information provided.

Technical sources

Titanium Dioxide Manufacturers Association (TDMA). How titanium dioxide protects your outdoor plastics.
HunterLab. Contrast Ratio Opacity. Published 20 April 2023.
ISO. ISO 23900-5:2015, Pigments and extenders — Methods of dispersion and assessment of dispersibility in plastics — Part 5: Determination by filter pressure value test. Published May 2015; confirmed in 2025.
ISO. ISO 23900-6:2015, Pigments and extenders — Methods of dispersion and assessment of dispersibility in plastics — Part 6: Determination by film test. Published May 2015; confirmed in 2025.
Sean Fowler, Q-Lab. How many hours in a Q-SUN or a QUV equals a year of outdoor exposure?. Published 22 August 2022.
Andreas Riedl, Atlas Material Testing Technology. Weathering Basics I – Acceleration. Published 30 December 2024.
Li Piin Sung, James E. Pickett, Olga Kuvshinnikova and Brett Ermi, NIST. Accelerated Weathering Parameters for Some Aromatic Engineering Thermoplastics. Part 2: Polycarbonate copolymers, polyarylate and ABS. NIST publication page dated 16 August 2020.
Marcela Hricova, Maria Petkova, Zita Tomcikova and Anna Ujhelyiova. The Effect of Inorganic Pigments on the Rheological Properties of the Color Masterbatches from Polylactic Acid. Fibers 13(9), 122; published 8 September 2025.
David Loaeza, Jonathan Cailloux, Orlando Santana Pérez, Miguel Sánchez-Soto and Maria Lluïsa Maspoch. Impact of Titanium Dioxide in the Mechanical Recycling of Post-Consumer Polyethylene Terephthalate Bottle Waste: Tensile and Fracture Behavior. Polymers 13(2), 310; published 19 January 2021.
K. M. Blackwood, R. A. Pethrick, F. I. Simpson, R. E. Day and C. L. Watson. Titanium dioxide induced failure in polycarbonate. Journal of Materials Science; published September 1995, with a 1996 erratum notice.
Paul Wetzel, Anna Katharina Sambale, Kai Uhlig, Markus Stommel, Benjamin Schneider and Jan-Martin Kaiser. Hygromechanical Behavior of Polyamide 6.6: Experiments and Modeling. Polymers 15(16), 3387; published 12 August 2023.
ISO. ISO 1110:2019, Plastics — Polyamides — Accelerated conditioning of test specimens. Fourth edition, published May 2019; confirmed in 2024.
American Society for Quality. Cost of Quality (COQ). Reference page; no publication date shown.