Mechanochemical Reduction of MoS₂ by Zn in Presence of Lime to Produce Nano-CaMoO₄ and -ZnS Simultaneously

This research introduces a novel and solid-state free sulfur emission route to roast MoS₂. For this purpose, MoS₂ was milled in presence of Zn and CaO exposed to the air atmosphere. Results showed that after the synthesis process, the products consisted of CaMoO₄ and ZnS, which were successfully separated from each other using a simple hot water leaching. Our results revealed that the main synthesis process consisted of two different steps. At the first step, the zincothermic reduction of MoS₂ led to synthesize the elemental Mo. Subsequently in the second step, CaMoO₄ was synthesized from the reaction of Mo by CaO in presence of air. In order to investigate the progress of the reaction during the milling process, the milled powders were characterized using X-ray diffraction analysis. Scanning electron microscopy, dynamic laser scattering, and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy techniques were also used to characterize the synthesized powders. Moreover, the PL spectroscopy of the products demonstrated that CaMoO₄ and ZnS have PL properties.