Mechanism of Microwave Activation on Molybdenite

The effect of microwave activation on the properties of oxidation roasting for molybdenite was investigated under the protection of inert gas, and the specific surface area, the oxidation properties, lattice constant, microstructure, and shape of molybdenite were analyzed and characterized by a laser particle size analyzer, thermogravimetry (TG), X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that microwave activation could effectively reduce the residual amount of sulfur in the molybdenum calcine and decrease the average particle size of molybdenite while increasing the specific surface area of molybdenite. On increasing the microwave activation power, the crystal cell volume and grain size of MoS₂ reduced, and the microstrain increased slightly. At the same time, the surface shape of molybdenite became looser, but the layered structure is not changed. In addition, the oxidation property changed significantly; microwave activation promoted the oxidation reaction of molybdenite above 538 °C, and the rate of weight loss increased from 6.177% to 7.718% at 620 °C.