It occurs chiefly as an oxide ore. Metallic titanium was first isolated in impure form in 1887 and with higher purity in 1910. However, it was not until the 1950's that it began to come into use as a structural material. This was initially stimulated by aircraft applications. Although the aerospace industry still provides the major market, titanium and titanium alloys are finding increasingly widespread use in other industries due to their many desirable properties.
Traditional applications are in the aerospace and chemical industries.
More recently, especially as the cost of titanium has fallen significantly, the alloys are finding greater use in other industry sectors, such as offshore. Titanium is a very reactive metal that shows remarkable corrosion resistance in oxidizing acid environments by virtue of a passive oxide film. Following its commercial introduction in the 1950's, titanium has become an established corrosion resistant material. In the chemical industry, the grade most used is commercial-purity titanium. Like stainless steels , it is dependent upon an oxide film for its corrosion resistance.