Given a set $S$, the closure of $S$ is sometimes defined as the intersection of all the closed sets that contain it. This type of argument is pervasive in mathematics when one want to construct the smallest object that still verifies some property.
Does this require the axiom of choice? What makes it possible to construct such intersection?
No. Let $S\subseteq X$ be a set, and $\tau$ be the topology on $X$. Then $$\overline{S} = \left\{x\in S: \forall (T\subseteq S : X\setminus T\in \tau)[x\in T]\right\}$$ All we are using here is the axiom schema of specification.