Molybdenum 42 Mo 95.94(2)   Switch element to... actinium aluminium aluminum americium antimony argon arsenic astatine barium berkelium beryllium bismuth bohrium boron bromine cadmium caesium calcium californium carbon cerium cesium chlorine chromium cobalt copper curium darmstadtium dubnium dysprosium einsteinium erbium europium fermium fluorine francium gadolinium gallium germanium gold hafnium hassium helium holmium hydrogen indium iodine iridium iron krypton lanthanum lawrencium lead lithium lutetium magnesium manganese meitnerium mendelevium mercury molybdenum neodymium neon neptunium nickel niobium nitrogen nobelium osmium oxygen palladium phosphorus platinum plutonium polonium potassium praseodymium promethium protactinium radium radon rhenium rhodium roentgenium rubidium ruthenium rutherfordium samarium scandium seaborgium selenium silicon silver sodium strontium sulfur sulphur tantalum technetium tellurium terbium thallium thorium thulium tin titanium tungsten ununbium ununhexium ununoctium ununpentium ununquadium ununtrium uranium vanadium xenon ytterbium yttrium zinc zirconium Go adjacent... V Cr Mn Nb Mo Tc Ta W Re

The essentials

Description 

Here is a brief description of molybdenum.

• Standard state: solid at 298 K
• Colour: grey metallic
• Classification: Metallic
• Availability:

  molybdenum is available in many forms including foil, sheet, wire, insulated wire, mesh, rod, powder, nanosized activated powder, and tube.

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.

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.

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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