Lithopone is used in water-based paints because of its excellent alkali resistance. It is also used as a whitener and reinforcing agent for rubber and as a filler and whitener for paper.

TiO₂ absorbs UV light. This property makes it appear bright white under light, unlike other white materials that can look slightly yellow.

Further outstanding properties of Lithopone are its high lightness, neutral white colour and its diffuse reflectance in the near UV range.

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles have also been found in human placentae and in infant meconium, indicating its ability to be transferred from mother to fetus. 

Lithopone is rather nontoxic, due to the insolubility of its components. It has been used in medicine as a radiocontrast agent. Lithopone is allowed to be in contact with foodstuffs in the US and Europe.^[1]

Gravimetric Determination of Titanium Dioxide in Industrial Applications

Developing new Lithopone formulations, one that enhances the properties of the existing Lithopone is anticipated to boost the demand for Lithopone white pigment during the forecast period. Reinforced Lithopone is one such development, wherein a copolymer is added to the polymerization reaction to yield Lithopone with an increased weather resistance and an anti-ultraviolet property. Moreover, development of nano-scale Lithopone is also anticipated to attract market interest during the forecast period.

The morphology of vitaminB2@P25TiO₂NPs is coherent with the description of Degussa P25 typical population. Size distribution histograms were made from manual measures of the nanoparticles observed in SEM micrographs using ImageJ®. This data showed that more than 70% is anatase (between 20 and 60 nm) with a minor amount of rutile characteristic bars (between 80 and 100 nm) and a small amount of amorphous phase (<40 nm) [36]. Further analysis of the same sample areas with an EDS probe demonstrated the presence of organic material composed of C and O (Fig. 2). This material was found homogeneously distributed on the surface of the different shapes of P25TiO₂NP, not in the background, indicating a specific interaction that could be attributed to the functionalization of the P25TiO₂NPs with vitamin B2.

1. Properties: white powder, a mixture of zinc sulfide and barium sulfate.

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) is a naturally occurring mineral that is mined from the earth, processed and refined, and added to a variety of foods, as well as other consumer products. White in color, it is used to enhance the color and sheen of certain foods and is also key for food safety applications. In its natural state it exists in different bulk crystalline forms, such as anatase and rutile, but during processing it is ground into a very fine powder.

The FDA is reviewing the safety of titanium dioxide in response to an April petition from EWG and other environmental and public health groups. This is the FDA’s first comprehensive review of titanium dioxide since 1973.

In a review published in 2022 in the journal Archives of Toxicology, researchers found that the ingestion of E171 is a “a definite health risk for consumers and their progeny.” After reviewing dozens of in vivo, ex vivo and in vitro studies on the toxicity of E171, the researchers wrote that two facts must be noted: “First, reprotoxicity studies show that animals of both sexes are impacted by the toxicity of these nanoparticles, underlining the importance of conducting in vivo studies using both male and female animals. Second, human exposure begins in utero via maternal-fetal transfer and continues after birth by breastfeeding. Children are then chronically re-exposed due to their food preferences. To be relevant to the human in vivo situation, experimental studies should therefore consider nanoparticle exposure with respect to the age or life period of the studied population.”