Thermodynamic Analysis of Titanium Dioxide Nanotube Synthesis Process for Sustainability Improvement

Sustainability of nanomanufacturing has triggered tremendous research interest in recent years, especially the energy consumption and environmental impacts of nanomaterial. TiO₂ nanotube is a typical material with broad application potential. In this paper a thermodynamic analysis model integrating the energy consumption and exergy losses is presented for sustainability improvement of TiO₂ nanotube synthesis process. This thermodynamic model was validated by the TiO₂ nanotube electrochemical anodization process. Comparisons of energy consumption, exergy losses and environmental impacts of five main stages showed the effective sustainability improvement potential. This work can be extended to sustainability improvement of other similar nanomaterial synthesis processes.