- Materials
- Forms
- Reference Materials
-
Services
-
Services
-
-
Sectors
-
Supporting cutting edge research and development with advanced materials to your needs.
High performance materials for extreme conditions.
Innovative and lightweight materials with high mechanical properties and durability.
Materials used in chemical engineering from consumables to innovative solutions.
Advanced materials characterized by high electrical or insulation performance.
High quality materials for renewable energy.
Biocompatible and biodegradable materials to the highest standards.
High purity, biocompatible materials for high performance devices and applications.
High purity metals and alloys in various forms and crucibles suitable to your needs.
State of the art materials for the next generation of technologies.
High performance materials for extreme conditions.
Durable materials for corrosive environments.
Foils, disks or windows across a range of materials to facilitate your innovation.
Polymers, metal foils, and sustainable materials for your packaging needs.
Your requirements for unique products and attributes will be met across our 170,000+ product range and customization capabilities.
High-quality materials across branded products in various forms including rods, wires, and foils support space technology needs.
Highest quality materials to support your need for small-quantity specialist materials such as graphite and lithium compounds.
High purity materials to improve the reproducibility and reliability of your evaporation processes.
-
- Product Ranges
-
Resources
-
Find out our latest news.
Read our latest insights, and opinions.
Discover our Innovation Discovered podcasts on innovation, products, interesting topics, and more.
Find out how we've worked with our partners
Our latest updates on what we are doing, find out more.
Find out more about us and the great roles we have available for talented individuals. Find out more.
Take a look at our global distributors.
Explore our FAQ resource to help answer your key questions.
Gain a clearer picture of the language used in scientific study
-
- About Us
Molybdenum Rod
Available Configurations
Properties common to all products in this list
| Purity | Diameter | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 99.9% (3N) to 99.98% (3N8) | 1.25 mm to 100 mm | 10 mm to 2000 mm |
Need custom configurations? Please contact us.
Key Features
Molybdenum Rod is available in purities from 99.9% (3N) to 99.98% (3N8), combining a melting point of 2,617 °C, low thermal expansion, and good thermal conductivity in a machinable format:
Melting Point 2,617 °C
Combined with low vapour pressure at elevated temperatures, this supports sustained high-temperature service in vacuum and controlled-atmosphere environments as furnace heating element mandrels, X-ray tube anode targets, and high-temperature structural elements.
Low Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (5.1 × 10⁻⁶ K⁻¹)
Closely matched to silicon and several technical ceramics, making molybdenum rod the standard material for glass-to-metal seal support components and heat spreader elements in high-power electronics where dimensional stability under thermal cycling is critical.
Density 10.22 g/cm³ and Good Thermal Conductivity
Supports efficient heat removal from X-ray tube focal spots and heat spreader elements in high-power electronics assemblies.
Purity Range: 3N for Industrial, 3N8 for Precision Applications
3N grades suit furnace components, vacuum chamber electrodes, and high-temperature structural elements. 3N8 is selected for X-ray tube targets and semiconductor process equipment where trace impurities affect surface chemistry or performance.
Industrial Applications
Molybdenum Rod is used across high-temperature furnace construction, X-ray tube manufacture, power electronics, and research wherever its melting point, low CTE, and purity range determine material selection:
- ✦ X-Ray Tube Rotating Anode Targets
- The standard material for X-ray tube rotating anodes. The 2,617 °C melting point and good thermal conductivity sustain anode integrity and X-ray output under continuous electron beam bombardment.
- ✦ Furnace Heating Element Mandrels
- Used as mandrel material for winding tungsten and molybdenum heating elements, where low CTE maintains mandrel geometry through high-temperature processing cycles.
- ✦ Glass-to-Metal Seal Support
- Applied as structural support in glass-to-metal seals, where the CTE closely matched to hard glass compositions minimizes thermally induced interfacial stress.
- ✦ Heat Spreader Elements
- Used in high-power device assemblies where dimensional stability under thermal cycling and good thermal conductivity support reliable thermal management.
- ✦ Semiconductor Process Equipment
- 3N8 grade is specified where trace impurity levels at the component surface must be minimized to avoid process contamination.
- ✦ EDM Electrode Blanks
- Machined into EDM electrodes for precision machining of hardened materials, and used as stock in refractory metal studies characterizing the Mo-TZM alloy system.
Material Properties
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Atomic number | 42 |
| Crystal structure | Body centred cubic |
| Electronic structure | Kr 4d⁵ 5s¹ |
| Valences shown | 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |
| Atomic weight( amu ) | 95.94 |
| Thermal neutron absorption cross-section( Barns ) | 2.65 |
| Photo-electric work function( eV ) | 4.2 |
| Natural isotope distribution( Mass No./% ) | 95/ 15.9 |
| Natural isotope distribution( Mass No./% ) | 96/ 16.7 |
| Natural isotope distribution( Mass No./% ) | 98/ 24.1 |
| Natural isotope distribution( Mass No./% ) | 97/ 9.6 |
| Natural isotope distribution( Mass No./% ) | 92/ 14.8 |
| Natural isotope distribution( Mass No./% ) | 94/ 9.3 |
| Natural isotope distribution( Mass No./% ) | 100/ 9.6 |
| Atomic radius - Goldschmidt( nm ) | 0.14 |
| Ionisation potential( No./eV ) | 2/ 16.15 |
| Ionisation potential( No./eV ) | 5/ 61.2 |
| Ionisation potential( No./eV ) | 68 |
| Ionisation potential( No./eV ) | 1/ 7.10 |
| Ionisation potential( No./eV ) | 3/ 27.2 |
| Ionisation potential( No./eV ) | 4/ 46.4 |
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Material condition | Hard |
| Material condition | Soft |
| Poisson's ratio | 0.293 |
| Poisson's ratio | 0.293 |
| Bulk modulus( GPa ) | 261.2 |
| Bulk modulus( GPa ) | 261.2 |
| Tensile modulus( GPa ) | 324.8 |
| Tensile modulus( GPa ) | 324.8 |
| Hardness - Vickers( kgf mm⁻² ) | 250 |
| Hardness - Vickers( kgf mm⁻² ) | 200 |
| Tensile strength( MPa ) | 485-550 |
| Tensile strength( MPa ) | 620-690 |
| Yield strength( MPa ) | 550 |
| Yield strength( MPa ) | 415-450 |
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Electrical resistivity( µOhmcm ) | 5.7@20°C |
| Superconductivity critical temperature( K ) | 0.915 |
| Temperature coefficient( K⁻¹ ) | 0.00435@0-100°C |
| Thermal emf against Pt (cold 0C - hot 100C)( mV ) | 1.45 |
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Boiling point( C ) | 4612 |
| Density( gcm⁻³ ) | 10.22@20°C |
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Melting point( C ) | 2617 |
| Latent heat of evaporation( J g⁻¹ ) | 6153 |
| Latent heat of fusion( J g⁻¹ ) | 290 |
| Specific heat( J K⁻¹ kg⁻¹ ) | 251@25°C |
| Thermal conductivity( W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ ) | 138@0-100°C |
| Coefficient of thermal expansion( x10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ ) | 5.1@0-100°C |
Tolerances
| Diameter | =<10mm | ±10% |
|---|---|---|
| Diameter | >10mm | ±5% |
| Length | <100mm | ±1mm |
| Length | >=100mm | +5 / -1% |