Courses
Courses for Kids
Free study material
Offline Centres
More
Store Icon
Store

Give reason for the following :
Molybdenum is used in the manufacture of ammonia

seo-qna
SearchIcon
Answer
VerifiedVerified
377.4k+ views
Hint: Ammonia is a colorless gas with a strong pungent odour. It’s a common nitrogenous waste, particularly among aquatic organisms, and it helps terrestrial organisms meet their nutritional needs by acting as a precursor to food and fertilizers.

Complete answer:
Molybdenum is a chemical element with the symbol \[Mo\] and the atomic number \[42\] . Molybdenum is only present in different oxidation states in minerals and does not occur naturally as a free metal on Earth.
Molybdenum tubing is highly resistant to mineral acid corrosion when no oxidizing agents are present. Many liquid metals and most molten glasses are also resistant to it. Furthermore, since molybdenum has a unique ability to form stable complexes with nitrogen atoms, it works well in biological reactions.
The Haber process which is also known as the Haber-Bosch process is an artificial nitrogen fixation process that is currently used to produce ammonia in industry. It was created in the first decade of the twentieth century by German chemists Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch and is named after them. A metal catalyst is used in the reaction with hydrogen to convert atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia at high temperatures and pressures.
Molybdenum is used in the production of ammonia because it serves as a promoter in Haber’s process, increasing the efficiency of the catalyst Iron and resulting in a higher ammonia yield.

Note:
Molybdenum dust and fumes produced by mining or metalworking can be poisonous if consumed. Eye and skin irritation can occur at low levels of prolonged exposure. Molybdenum and its oxides can never be inhaled or consumed directly.