Compounds and Chemistry of Molybdenum

Molybdenum is a transition metal with an electronegativity of 2.16 on the Pauling scale and a standard atomic weight of 95.96 g/mol. It does not visibly react with oxygen or water at room temperature, and the bulk oxidation occurs at temperatures above 790 °C, resulting in molybdenum trioxide:

2 Mo + 3 O2 → 2 MoO3
The trioxide is volatile and sublimates at high temperatures. This prevents formation of a continuous protective oxide layer, which would stop the bulk oxidation of metal. Molybdenum has several oxidation states, the most stable being +4 and +6 (bolded in the table). The chemistry and the compounds show more similarity to those of tungsten than that of chromium. An example is the instability of molybdenum(III) and tungsten(III) compounds as compared with the stability of the chromium(III) compounds. The highest oxidation state is common in the molybdenum(VI) oxide (MoO3), whereas the normal sulfur compound is molybdenum disulfide MoS2.

Molybdenum(VI) oxide is soluble in strong alkaline water, forming molybdates (MoO42−). Molybdates are weaker oxidants than chromates, but they show a similar tendency to form complex oxyanions by condensation at lower pH values, such as [Mo7O24]6− and [Mo8O26]4−. Polymolybdates can incorporate other ions into their structure, forming polyoxometalates. The dark-blue phosphorus-containing heteropolymolybdate P[Mo12O40]3− is used for the spectroscopic detection of phosphorus.
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