Preparation of industrial grade MoO2 by the reaction between industrial grade MoO3 and activated carbon

Abstract

In this study, the reaction between industrial grade molybdenum trioxide powders and activated carbon has been investigated in order to produce industrial grade molybdenum dioxide (MoO2). Effects of activation carbon addition and reaction temperature on the product compositions are both illustrated. Increasing the reaction temperature can significantly improve the reaction rate. It is difficult for them to react completely when the temperature is lower than 550 °C. However, industrial grade MoO2 powders can be obtained when the temperature is up to 650 °C. It is also found that there is no intermediate product Mo4O11 formed during the reaction process of MoO3 by activated carbon, which is different from the case of hydrogen reduction of MoO3 to MoO2. The crystalline size of the obtained MoO2 becomes very small relative to that of the raw material MoO3.