Electroreduction of Mo(VI) Compounds in Ammonium–Acetate Solutions

The kinetics of cathodic reactions in ammonium acetate solutions proposed for electrodeposition of metallic molybdenum was studied. The reduction of molybdenum compounds in the oxidation state +6 was found to occur stepwise according to the scheme Mo(VI) → Mo(V) → Mo(III). The waves observed on the polarograms are complicated by adsorption effects. The reduction of molybdenum to the metallic state is possible only at high negative potentials of the cathode; under the polarographic analysis conditions, this wave was not recorded. The deposit that formed on the surface of the solid cathode during cathodic polarization ( i = 0.5 A cm –2 ) contains both molybdenum in the metallic state and molybdenum oxides. The ratio between the electrolysis products depends on the temperature of solution: a decrease in the temperature leads to an increase in the amount of metallic molybdenum.