Molybdenum
Transition Metal
Molybdenum (Mo) is a chemical element with atomic number 42, classified as a transition metal. At room temperature it is a solid. It was discovered in 1778 by Carl Wilhelm Scheele.
Properties
- Atomic number
- 42
- Atomic mass
- 95.95 u
- Category
- Transition Metal
- Group
- 6
- Period
- 5
- Block
- d-block
- Electron configuration
- [Kr] 4d⁵ 5s¹
- Phase at STP
- Solid
- Density
- 10.22 g/cm³
- Melting point
- 2896 K (2622.8 °C)
- Boiling point
- 4912 K (4638.9 °C)
- Electronegativity
- 2.16
- Atomic radius
- 190 pm
- Ionization energy
- 7.092 eV
- Discovery
- 1778 · Carl Wilhelm Scheele
Common uses
Steel alloys, catalysts, lubricants, pigments
Did you know?
Essential trace element for life and has the highest melting point of any element in group 6.
Experiment with the elements
Molybdenum doesn't form any compounds in our lab yet, but the periodic table sandbox lets you combine dozens of other real elements into real compounds — water, table salt, ammonia and many more — with their true chemical formulas.