An environmentally friendly in situ plasma and anodization method to produce titanium dioxide nanotubes

An environmental friendly route to synthesize titanium dioxide nanotube powder is developed using a semi-batch reactor set-up that combines both anodization and the plasma treatment of water. A constant supply of the reactive plasma species, such as nitrate and hydrogen peroxide, in the semi-batch reactor facilitates the formation of titanium dioxide nanotubes during the anodization of titanium. The results are compared against a conventional batch reactor set-up that uses the same plasma-treated water constantly during the anodization, which impacts the quality of the nanotubes produced. The semi-batch reactor set-up resulted in the formation of powders of titanium dioxide nanotubes with better physical and chemical qualities than those produced in the batch set-up.