Molybdenum gets its unusual name from the Greek word molibdos, meaning lead. Miners at first mistook molybdenite, a dark mineral containing this metal, for the main lead ore. This element is much harder than lead, so it is easy to distinguish them when they are pure. Molybdenite is soft and slippery, and is the main molybdenum ore. Pure molybdenum is mainly used to make corrosion-resistant alloys. These are light, making them ideal for building bicycle frames, but they are also hard enough to make tough tools.
Resumen de propiedades (Mo)
| Atomic weight | 95.95(1) |
| Discoverer (year) | Scheele, Karl (1781) |
| Natural form | metallic solid (body centered cubic) |
| Electron configuration | [Kr] 4d5 5s1 |
| Melting point (ºC) | 2617 |
| Boiling point (ºC) | 4612 |
| Abundance in earth's crust (ppm) | 1.2 |
| Isotope (abundance) | 92Mo (14.649), 94Mo (9.187), 95Mo (15.873), 96Mo (16.673), 97Mo (9.582), 98Mo (24.292), 100Mo (9.744) |
| Density g/cm3 | 10.22 |
| Van der Waals radius (pm) | 217 |
| Covalent radius (pm) | 146 |
| Electronegativity (Pauling) | 2.16 |
| Vaporization enthalpy (kJ/mol) | 594.10 |
| Enthalpy of fusion (kJ/mol) | 37.48 |
| Specific heat capacity (J/g·K) at 25ºC and 1 atm | 0.25 |
| Thermal conductivity (W/cm·K) at 25ºC and 1 atm | 1.380 |
| Oxidation state | +6 |
| Electron affinity (eV) | 0.75 |
| 1st Ionization potential (eV) | 7.0924 |
