Direct, one-step synthesis of molybdenum blue using an electrochemical method, and characterization studies

•Molybdenum blue was synthesized in the solid state by electrochemical method.•Molybdenum blue was synthesized without the reducing any chemical agent.•Characterization of molybdenum blue was performed by different techniques.•Molybdenum blue was successfully tested in the determination of phosphate.

This article is the first to report the direct, one-step synthesis of molybdenum blue (MB) in solid state, via application of cyclic voltammetry. Electrochemical synthesis of MB was carried out in a three-electrode cell in 1.0 M sulfuric acid and at the appropriate amount of sodium molybdate dihydrate. Both a pencil graphite electrode and a platinum plate electrode were used as working electrodes. The structure of electrochemically synthesized MB was characterized using such techniques as Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Resonance Raman Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy, X-Ray Powder Diffraction, X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy, and X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy. In addition, the electrochemical behavior of the synthesized MB was examined via cyclic voltammetry. Finally, the determination of phosphate was conducted using a UV-vis spectrometer with electrochemically synthesized MB.

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