~History of Molybdenum~
A
Swedish chemist named Carl Wilhelm Scheele in 1778 conducted research on the
compound molybdenite (MoS2). Previous research had been done on
molybdenit
e
in 1754 by Bengt Qvist. After finding a sample of molybdenite in a Swedish mine,
Qvist conducted tests on the compound and found
that if gave off black smoke, sulfurous fumes, and left white crystals when
heated. Later on, Scheele also heated
molybdenite to find that if produced a white
powdery substance. Molybdenite had often been confused with lead or graphite but
the existence of the white powder ruled out the possibility of graphite in the
compound.
The actual element molybdenum however was not isolated and discovered until 1782 by Peter Jacob Hjelm in Uppsala, Sweden. Hjelm minimized the amount of oxygen that had been in the white powdery substance discovered by Scheele and was left with a dark grey powder: Molybdenite.
In the late 1800s, molybdenum first began to be used in alloys and in World War I it was effective in replacing tungsten as an alloying element in steel for weapons during the war. The biggest use of molybdenum today is still its use in alloys.