Characterization of Orthorhombic alpha-MoO3 Microplates Produced by a Microwave Plasma Process

Orthorhombic alpha-MoO3 microplates were produced from (NH4) 6Mo7O24 center dot 4H(2)O solid powder by a 900 W microwave plasma for 40, 50, and 60 min. Phase, morphologies, and vibration modes were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Raman and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Sixty min processing resulted in the best crystallization of the alpha-MoO3 phase, with photoluminescence (PL) in a wavelength range of 430-440 nm.