Molybdenum oxide (MoO2) (18868-43-4)

Molybdenum(IV) Oxide (CAS NO.18868-43-4) is a violet-colored solid and is a metallic conductor. It crystallizes in a monoclinic cell, and has a distorted rutile, (TiO2) crystal structure. In MoO₂ the octahedra are distorted, the Mo atoms are off-centre, leading to alternating short and long Mo – Mo distances. The short Mo – Mo distance is 251 pm which is less than the Mo – Mo distance in the metal, 272.5 pm. The bond length is shorter than would be expected for a single bond. The bonding is complex and involves a delocalisation of some of the Mo electrons in a conductance band accounting for the metallic conductivity.

Reported in EPA TSCA Inventory.