Amorphous aluminium phosphate (AlPO4) was used as an effective support for iron catalysts towards the growth of Y-shaped carbon nanotubes (Y-CNTs) by chemical vapor deposition. AlPO4 were synthesized by co-precipitation method. Iron with weight percentage of 3% was loaded over the AlPO4 support by wet impregnation method. The catalyst was characterized by X-ray diffractograms, Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope. Y-CNTs were obtained from (3%) Fe/AlPO4 catalyst at 700 degrees C using acetylene as a carbon precursor. The CNTs were examined with scanning and transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The effortless synthesis process of Fe/AlPO4 makes the production of Y-CNTs simple and scalable. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.