CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 What is Molybdenum?
Molybdenum is a naturally-occurring metal that can be found in small amounts in rocks and soils. It is also present in plants, animals and bacteria. The element was discovered in 1778 by Carl Wilhelm Scheele. This element is a silvery-white (Fig. 2) high melting metal and classified as a ‘Transition Metal’ and is located in group 6 and period 5 of the periodic table, it has an atomic number of 42 and atomic mass of 95.96 amu as seen in Fig.1. Transition metals are generally described as ductile, malleable and able to conduct electricity and heat.