Titanium white
Titanium white, also Pigment White 6 or CI 77891 is a family of white pigments composed primarily of titanium dioxide. It is the most widely used white pigment in contemporary artistic applications because of its affordability, low toxicity, and high hiding power. Though the term titanium white most often refers to pigments containing titanium dioxide, it can also describe any white pigment that contains a titanium compound.
History
Titanium dioxide is a bright white substance first named and created in a laboratory in the mid-19th century. It was initially used as a pigment in the ceramic arts for yellow glazes later in the century, and by the 1890s artists started to use white mixtures containing the compound.The pigment was further developed for industrial use in the 1910s by the Titanium Pigment Company in the United States and the Titan Company in Norway, each working independently. The two manufactures cross-licensed their patents in 1920. By the late 1920s, titanium and zinc white had unseated lead white as the dominant product in the market for white pigment. Most art supply companies now explicitly advise that titanium white should be used instead of lead white for safety reasons.