Barium molybdenum oxides are ceramic materials with numerous applications in electronics, catalysis, scintillators, and phosphors. They often require high temperatures and extended time to be prepared by the ceramic method. For example the synthesis of Ba2Mo2O7 requires over 300 hours at 500˚C. Higher temperatures cannot be used due to disproportionation into BaMoO4 and MoO3. We have developed a low-temperature rapid synthesis for this material via a single source precursor route. Barium benzilate was reacted with molybdenum trioxide to produce a compound that contained a cis-molybdenyl moiety complexed by two doubly-deprotonated benzilate ions. Two of the resulting anions were complexed to barium via one of their molybdenyl oxo groups. Thermal decomposition of this precursor produces Ba2Mo2O7 with considerable energy savings over the ceramic method. Using a similar approach, it was also possible to prepare the metastable phase, beta-NiMoO4, an important catalyst material.

Single source precursor approach to metastable molybdate phases

249th National Meeting (2015)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.