Molybdenum

Molybdenum: the essentials

 Brief description: molybdenum is a silvery-white, hard, transition metal. Scheele discovered it in 1778. It was often confused with graphite and lead ore. Molybdenum is used in alloys, electrodes and catalysts. The World War 2 German artillery piece called "Big Bertha" contains molybdenum as an essential component of its steel.

Small and large samples of molybdenum rod like this, as well as foil, sheet, wire, insulated wire, mesh, and tube, can be purchased from Advent Research Materials via their web catalogue.

Isolation

Isolation: it is not normally necessary to make samples of molybdenum metal in the laboratory since it is readily available commercially. Industrially, its extraction is sometimes linked to copper production. The normal process is for the sulphide MoS₂ to be "roasted" to form the oxide MoO₃. This is often used directly in the steel industry.

Pure samples of the metal are available by first dissolving the oxide in ammonium hydroxide to make ammonium molybdate, (NH₄)₂[MO₄], and thenreduction of the molybdate with hydrogen gas to form the metal.

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