Equally important, molybdenum is necessary in plant nutrition and is found in certain enzymes, such as xanthene oxidase. X-ray photoelectron (XPS) experiments at normal and grazing emission are performed, demonstrating the labile nature of the anatase TiO2(101) surface after argon cluster ion sputtering and the propensity of oxygen vacancies to migrate subsurface at room temperature. Molybdenum also serves as a catalyst in the petroleum industry, extracting organic sulfurs from petroleum products. Today, a large percentage of all molybdenum is used in notably high-strength alloys and high-temperature steels for aircrafts and missiles. Molybdenum was rarely used until the turn of the twentieth century when a French company, Schneider and Co., discovered it as a beneficial alloy agent in armor plates.
In fact, the element is named after the Greek molubdos, meaning 'leadlike'. Until the eighteenth century, compounds of molybdenum were mistaken as other elements, such as lead. Molybdenum, a silvery white, very hard, transition metal has one of the highest melting points of all pure elements.
