Novel Pathway to Prepare Mo Nanopowder via Hydrogen Reduction of MoO2 Containing Mo Nanoseeds Produced by Reducing MoO3 with Carbon Black

A novel pathway for the preparation of nanoscale Mo powder has been developed. Ultrafine MoO2 powder containing different amounts of Mo nanoscale nuclei was synthesized via temperature-programed reduction of commercial MoO3 with carbon black at C/MoO3 molar ratio of 0.5-1.5 and final temperature of 920 degrees C, followed by hydrogen reduction at 750-900 degrees C. In the absence of Mo nanoseeds, the Mo powder retained its original morphology and particle size (several hundred nanometers). However, the presence of Mo nanoseeds resulted in successful preparation of Mo nanopowder with residual carbon content as low as 0.016%. This method could potentially be extended to large-scale industrial production of nanoscale Mo powder.