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Bright white scatterers beyond titania

Replacing titania with edible white pigments

Titania (anatase or rutile TiO2) is an extremely wide-spread compound used to modify the optical appearance in applications, ranging from powder-coatings to food products. Because of suspected health implications, colloidal formulations of titania have been outlawed in France and the EU has recently tightened regulations concerning the use of titania. The importance of TiO2 lies in its high refractive index, providing effective light scattering for the efficient creation of the “colour” white, which is also used as optical brightener in colour formulations. Replacing titania in products involves a few challenges including maximizing the optical contrast of distinct scatterers in solid continuous (non-porous) optical media, maximizing multiple light scattering in these media, and using sustainable, benign materials. Inspired by nature, the objective of this project is the development of a “white” pigment replacing the TiO2 industry standard.

Main investigator

Involved people