J. Cosmet. Sci., 70, 149–159 (May/June 2019) 149 Facile Synthesis of Titanium Phosphates from Ilmenite Mineral Sand: Potential White Pigments for Cosmetic Applications LALINDA PALLIYAGURU, M. USHAN S. KULATHUNGA, K. G. UPUL R. KUMARASINGHE, CHAMPA D. JAYAWEERA, and PRADEEP M. JAYAWEERA* , Department of Chemistry, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka (L.P., M.U.S.K., K.G.U.R.K., C.D.J., P.M.J.) Accepted for publication June 8, 2019. Synopsis Ilmenite mineral sand was used to synthesize titanium bismonohydrogen orthophosphate monohydrate, Ti(HPO4)2·H2O, and titanium phosphate, TiP2O7, two white pigments suitable in cosmetic applications. Ti(HPO4)2·H2O was obtained after digesting ilmenite in 85% phosphoric acid at 150 °C for 5 hours. On standing, unreacted ilmenite and white Ti(HPO4)2·H2O solid separated into two layers and Ti(HPO4)2·H2O was calcined at 900 °C to obtain the crystalline TiP2O7. Chemical and morphological characteristics were investigated using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray analysis, Fourier-transform infrared, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic techniques. The water retention (WR) capacities were measured at a relative humidity of 57% and indicate that Ti(HPO4)2·H2O and TiP2O7 have increased WR ability when compared with the pigment grade (PG) TiO2. The optical properties of Ti(HPO4)2·H2O, TiP2O7, and PG-TiO2 were compared using Ultraviolet- visible diffuse refl ectance spectroscopy. The relative photoactivity of Ti(HPO4)2·H2O and TiP2O7 was determined using a chemical method based on the photobleaching behavior of a stable radical, 1,1-diphenyl 2-picrylhydrazyl. The photoactivities of Ti(HPO4)2·H2O and TiP2O7 are lower than that of PG-TiO2. INTRODUCT ION Pigment-g rade (PG) titanium dioxide (TiO2) has a number of applications in the cosmetic industry (1–3). Skin care products that use PG-TiO2 have several disadvantages, e.g., certain degree of photocatalytic breakdown of sebum which provides lubrication and protection to the skin from infections (4,5). In addition, it has been reported that nanoscale TiO2 could penetrate into the body through the skin, causing health risks (6,7). Mixing of silicon dioxide (SiO2) with PG-TiO2 has been recently investigated in view of mini- mizing the sebum breakdown and absorption through the skin (6). Application of SiO2-TiO2 composite in cosmetics has been severely hampered by the hardness of the composite Address all correspondence to P. M. Jayaweera at pradeep@sjp.ac.lk .