High-quality single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) have been synthesized over Fe−Mo/MgO catalyst by catalytic decomposition of ethylene at 800 °C. The produced carbon material primarily consists of a SWNT bundle with few defects and a very small amount of amorphous carbon coating. The diameter of an individual SWNT is in the range of 0.7−2.8 nm. The as-synthesized SWNTs have a high yield of over 550% relative to the weight of Fe−Mo metal in the Fe−Mo/MgO catalyst. Our results show that ethylene can be a very ideal carbon source for the synthesis of SWNTs. We suggest that catalytic decomposition of ethylene over Fe−Mo/MgO catalyst can promise a large-scale production of high-quality SWNTs.

High-quality single-walled carbon nanotubes free of defects and amorphous carbon coating have been produced by catalytic decomposition of C2H2 over Fe-Mo/Al2O3 catalyst.