Exploring the Possibilities of Fe₂O₃

The Incredible Variety of Iron Oxide

Due to its color characteristics, magnetic properties, and catalytic ability, iron oxide has found use in a wide range of applications, including pigments, magnets, magnetic tape, electric-wave absorption materials, toners, and catalysts.
As a pigment, iron oxide is used in products ranging from concrete and asphalt to paint, ink, rubber, plastics, paper, cosmetics, pet foods, and medicine capsules. Of course, iron oxide has always been in great supply. Moreover, it is harmless to human beings and is environment friendly. With its wide availability and ease of use, iron oxide holds many attractive benefits for the enterprising developer.
Iron oxide, however, is a naturally derived material, and as such can vary considerably in quality and purity. Accordingly, these characteristics can sometimes impose limitations on its applicability.
The issue of consistent quality and purity, then, became the key to Toda's quest for a solution. We actually developed a unique technology enabling us to synthesize iron oxide, and this technology now makes possible a variety of particulate variations having different crystalline structures, surface characteristics, shapes, diameters and size distributions. Indeed, the use of synthetic iron oxide offers many benefits, including waste reduction and effective resource utilization since the raw material−iron sulfate−is collected from the waste sulfuric acid used to wash sheet steel, and from by-products generated through the production of titanium oxide.

A Staple of Today's Advanced Information Society

The rapid proliferation of personal computers, the growth of the Internet and other advancements in technology have created a truly global information network. Today's world has indeed become an information-based community. But along with the increased use of multimedia, the amount of data to be stored has grown exponentially. There is increased demand for computer tape and various kinds of disks with high storage capacities.
Here at the threshold of next era, Toda has responded to explosive demand in high-capacity storage technology, developing materials for use with high-density magnetic recording tape. These materials, made from metal/barium ferrite magnetic particles, have been further enhanced with the application of a thin film of iron oxide, placed directly over the magnetic recording layer.
Moreover, we are currently developing highly durable carriers capable of rendering high-quality images. These carriers, which are ideal for next-generation color printers, can reproduce images with a degree of quality far superior to those of conventional models using ferrite materials.