Rapid synthesis and characterization of micro and nanostructures of molybdenum trioxide

Micro - and nanostructures of molybdenum trioxide (MoO₃) have been investigated intensively for sensorial and electrochromic systems. MoO₃ nanostructures were grown by a rapid thermal oxidation of molybdenum at 1000 °C in oxygen environment. Its structural, morphological and optical properties were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), micro-Raman and optical transmission techniques. This work presents a new technique for facile synthesis of MoO₃ nanostructures via thermal oxidation, and the results of exploration of their properties. MoO₃ is found to consist of stratified long micro/nano-ribbons and nanowires promising for applications in sensor and other device structures.