Catalytic production of carbon nanotubes over Fe–Ni bimetallic catalysts supported on MgO

MgO supported bimetallic catalysts containing a combination of Fe and Ni metals in 1:1 ratio at varying loadings (from 1 to 50 wt.%) were prepared by a wet impregnation method. Carbon nanotubes were synthesized over the prepared catalysts by the catalytic decomposition of acetylene for different reaction conditions. The effect of reaction temperature, reaction time and metal loading to the yield, structural perfection and morphology of the synthesized carbon products was investigated using a combination of XRD, DTA/DTG, Raman spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) techniques. The results revealed that both the selection of the growing conditions and the metal loading are critical for the nature of the synthesized carbon nanotubes and can assign their yield and their overall quality. The synthesized carbon nanotubes exhibit extended crystallinity while they were synthesized at high yields.