Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Kinetics And Mechanism Of The Reaction Of Molybdenum(V) With Iodine, Oxygen And Nitrate, Ervin Park Guymon

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Molybdenum compounds present a series of baffling chemical puzzles. By no means are all of these yet even clearly defined and many may never be. This complexity results from the ability of molybdenum to form six different oxidation states, which can possess three different coordination numbers. Furthermore, molybdenum compounds readily disproportionate to yield mixed valence compounds; and finally, molybdate ions readily aggregate in solution to form a variety of polyions by polymerization-condensation reactions which are controlled by pH and the concentration of the system. Molybdenum's complexity can best be summed up in the words of the late Edgar Smith who …