Molybdenum / CAS 7439-98-7

Molybdenum was first discovered in 1778, in a sulfide ore called the molybdenite, which has often been confused with a galena, which refers to ‘black lead’ since ancient times. The name of the element molybdenum comes from the Greek word molybdos, meaning lead.

Usage of molybdenum
Molybdenum is used primarily as an alloy of steel, which is very hard, rusty, and does not recede at high temperatures, making it very important for many applications. Molybdenum is also an important catalyst for desulfurization in the petrochemical industry.

Molybdenum acts as a trace essential element in almost all living things.
Molybdenum is present in the activation site of various enzymes.
The enzymes that contain molybdenum are involved in biological nitrogen fixation by some bacteria, or act as electronic transmitters of various oxidation-reduction reactions in plants, and also catalyze various oxidation processes in animal metabolism.
The amount of nitrogen that is biologically fixed by the molybdenum enzyme is similar to the amount that is industrially fixed.
It is also believed that the full-fledged evolution of eukaryotic organisms in the history of the Earth stems from the flourishing of microbes that use them as the amount of molybdenum melts in the sea increases.

Isn’t it amazing?