The NH4Cl/Rice Husk Carbon as Promoters and Assisted Carbon Sources in Catalyzing Polypropylene into Carbon Nanotubes

Continuously increasing practical relevance required the mass production of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) through environmentally benign and sustainable routes. In the work, it is found that loading trace amounts of NH4Cl on rice husk carbon can effectively act as promoters and assisted carbon source inthe catalytic growth of CNTs from polypropylene byNi-Mo-Mg catalysts. The synthesized CNTs was characterized by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, and Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Results show that the added rice husk carbon can take part in the formation of CNTs to a certain extent, and the trace of NH4Cl incorporated into rice husk carbon can significantly improve the conversion rate of polypropylene. The CNT products possess multiwalled structures and highgraphitization degrees. Finally, the prepared CNTs were investigated for the removal of methylene blue (MB) from water.