Because of the shortage of natural rutile, synthetic rutile is a widely used substitute welding materials for natural rutile owing to its excellent mechanical and thermal properties. In this work, rutile TiO2 was prepared from oxidation roasting titanium slag, which can be used as special welding materials. The phase microstructure characteristics of the raw materials and the roasted samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopic analysis. Results indicated that the contents of sulfur (S) and carbon (C) in titanium slag decreased during oxidation roasting process, and the decreases of sulfur and carbon contents were mainly ascribed to the formation of corresponding oxides. XRD and FT-IR results revealed the formation of rutile TiO2 phase after titanium slag through oxidization roasting; additionally, observed from SEM patterns, the rutile TiO2 phase with a complex short rod-like crystal appeared in the products. Since the contents of sulfur (S), phosphorus (P) and carbon (C) element were all below 0.030% in the prepared rutile TiO2 with the recommended roasting approach (roasted at 1100 °C for 120 min), the present work highlights that Panzhihua titanium slag is a potential resource of titanium for the manufacture of high-quality rutile TiO2 applicable for special welding materials industry.
