the.com/molybdate
The oxyanion that makes steel tough and your blood tests mildly jealous of chromium.
means A molybdate is a salt or ion (MoO4²⁻) containing molybdenum bonded to oxygen, used in alloys, pigments, and as a trace nutrient in enzymes.
from Traces back to Greek 'molybdos,' meaning lead — because molybdenite ore, the mineral molybdenum was first identified in, was long confused with lead ore (and with graphite) thanks to its soft, dark, streaky look. Chemists eventually realized it was a distinct element, named it molybdenum after that lead-mistaken root, and 'molybdate' simply tacks on the standard '-ate' suffix marking an oxygen-bearing salt of the element.
- formula
- MoO4 2-, molybdenum wrapped in four oxygens
- steel role
- hardens alloys without rusting like chromium does
- biology cameo
- essential cofactor in enzymes that process sulfur and nitrogen
- pigment past
- molybdate orange once colored paints and plastics