The Periodic Table of Scarcity and Abundance
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Titanium

Element 22 · Transition metal

Specimen

Atomic number
22
Atomic mass
47.867
State at room temperature
Solid
Melting point
1,668 °C
Boiling point
3,287 °C
Density
4.5 g/cm³
Discovered
1791

Physical data from PubChem.1

Can I eat it?

In food and water
Allowed in food. Titanium dioxide is a white food color (E 171). In 2021, EFSA said it is no longer safe as a food additive, because it could not exclude damage to DNA. The EU withdrew it from food in 2022. The US FDA still allows it, up to 1% of the food weight. 234

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The atom

Ti
ShellElectrons
1 (K) 2
2 (L) 8
3 (M) 10
4 (N) outermost 2
Total22

Configuration [Ar] 3d² 4s²

3d ↑ ↑
4s ↑ ↓
A shell diagram: each ring is an electron shell and each dot is one electron. The nucleus holds 22 protons. The outermost shell is shown in red. Electrons do not travel on rings: they fill orbitals, regions where an electron is likely to be found. The boxes are those orbitals for the electrons outside the Ar core, with one arrow per electron.

Related elements

Group 4
Zr Zirconium Hf Hafnium Rf Rutherfordium

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Sources

  1. 1

    National Center for Biotechnology Information (PubChem), 2026. Periodic Table of Elements .

    Atomic mass, electron configuration, melting and boiling points, density and discovery year for all 118 elements.

  2. 2

    European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), 2021. Titanium dioxide: E171 no longer considered safe when used as a food additive .

    • the Panel concluded that titanium dioxide can no longer be considered safe as a food additive. A critical element in reaching this conclusion is that we could not exclude
  3. 3

    European Commission, 2023. Re-evaluation of food additives (with questions and answers on titanium dioxide) .

    • The European Commission has adopted, on 14 January 2022, Regulation (EU) 2022/63 withdrawing the authorisation to use a food additive Titanium dioxide (TiO2 also known as E171) in food products
  4. 4

    U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2025. Titanium Dioxide as a Color Additive in Foods .

    • The FDA allows for the safe use of TiO 2 as a color additive in foods according to the specifications and conditions, including that the quantity of titanium does not exceed 1% by weight of the food