Rutile for almost everything, anatase only where you want a specific optical effect.
Rutile scatters light more efficiently and is the grade the industry builds coverage around, so it reaches the same hiding power at a lower loading. Anatase is softer, slightly bluer in undertone and has lower refractive efficiency, which is why it survives mainly in pressed powders where hardness matters and in applications where a cooler white is wanted.
Our range follows that split: six rutile grades (T-02, T-06, T-48, T-60, T-90, CR50) and two anatase grades (T-01, T-04). If you have no specific reason to choose otherwise, start with rutile.
Smaller particles give more covering power per kilo but scatter less light back at you; larger ones give a brighter, cleaner white and easier wetting.
T-60 at 210 nm and CR50 at 250 nm and T-90 at 280 nm are the coverage grades — highest whiteness at ≥92, and what you want when the formula has to hide a dark base or you are reducing the TiO2 level for cost. T-06 at 360 nm and T-02 at 420 nm are the brightness grades, better in loose powder and in products where a visible whitening cast is acceptable or desired. T-48 at 400 nm sits at ≥90 whiteness and is the economical option in that size band.
One practical note: below roughly 250 nm, dispersion quality starts to matter as much as the grade itself. Undispersed fines read as dullness, not coverage.
Alumina alone gives photostability and dispersion; adding silica on top improves the surface's resistance to the photoactive reaction that TiO2 can trigger in a formula.
That matters when the TiO2 sits next to something that fades — a fragrance, an unstable dye, a vitamin. T-06 (360 nm) and T-90 (280 nm) carry the Al + Si coating; T-02, T-48, T-60 and CR50 carry alumina only. The two anatase grades are uncoated.
If you are formulating a sunscreen or a product with light-sensitive actives, choose a coated grade rather than adding a separate antioxidant and hoping it holds.
Foundation usually lands at 5–12%, pressed powder at 3–8%, and sunscreen at whatever the SPF target dictates — often 3–8% for a moderate SPF in combination with an organic filter, higher for mineral-only systems.
The ceiling in base makeup is rarely about coverage and more about texture: above roughly 12% you start to feel dryness and the product drags during application. If you need more hiding power past that point, adding a soft-focus filler usually works better than adding more TiO2.
In mineral-only sunscreen, loading is driven by the required SPF and the film thickness you can actually achieve, not by the powder's own properties.
It is non-nano. The rutile grades are specified at 210–420 nm mean particle size and the anatase grades at 200–220 nm, all well above the 100 nm threshold used in most nano definitions.
For a customer questionnaire, the usual package is: the particle size distribution from the batch COA, a statement that the primary particle size is above 100 nm, and the SDS. Where a market has its own definition and its own notification route, the wording has to follow that definition rather than a generic one, so tell us the destination market and we will align the statement to it.
Because fines that are not fully dispersed act as light scatterers in the wrong size range — they dull the film instead of whitening it.
Going from a 400 nm grade to a 210 nm grade roughly doubles the number of particles at the same weight, which doubles the demands on dispersion. In a 3-roll mill this usually just means more passes. In a high-speed disperser it can mean the difference between 20 minutes and an hour.
Check the grind gauge reading before blaming the grade. If the reading is above 15 µm, the problem is dispersion, not the powder.
Less, and the gap is bigger than most people expect.
TiO2 needs air voids around the particle to scatter efficiently. In an anhydrous base the oil wets the surface only partially, leaving those voids; in a water-based or heavily wetted system the film is more continuous and the refractive index step at the particle surface is smaller, so the same loading looks less opaque.
In practice you compensate by loading 10–20% more in water-based systems, or by pairing it with a platy filler that adds its own scattering.
A batch COA, the TDS, and the SDS. Additional documents — heavy metal statements, allergen declarations, non-nano statements, REACH registration status — are issued on request against the specific grade and lot.
The COA is the document that matters for release testing, because it reports the measured values for that lot rather than the specification range. Ask for the COA of the lot being shipped, not a generic datasheet for the grade.
We do not put market-specific limit values in the TDS. They change, and a stale number in a technical document is worse than no number at all.
Hardness in a pressed compact comes from particle packing and from the binder, and coarser particles pack into a denser, stronger structure. The 400–420 nm grades press better than the 210 nm grade at the same binder level. Anatase is also mechanically softer, which some formulators prefer for a smoother press surface.
If the compact is chipping in transit, raise the binder or the coarse fraction before changing the TiO2 grade.
MOQ is typically 25 kg for a stock grade and 100–200 kg for a production run of a non-stock grade. Lead time is roughly 7–15 working days depending on grade and quantity; stock items ship sooner.
Standard packaging is 25 kg net in a paper-plastic composite bag, with 500 kg or 1000 kg jumbo bags available for larger orders. Samples are 1 kg, shipped with COA and TDS.
Give us the destination port when you enquire — it changes the packing choice more often than people expect, because humidity in transit matters for an uncoated grade.
We reply within one business day with shipping arrangements and technical documents. Samples are free of charge; freight is collect or credited against your next order.
