Sodium molybdate was first synthesized by the method of hydration.

Sodium molybdate has been used in industrial water treatment as a corrosion inhibitor.

However, care must be taken because at a level of 0.3 ppm sodium molybdate can cause copper deficiencies in animals, particularly cattle.

Sodium molybdate, NaMoO, is useful as a source of molybdenum.

Sodium molybdate reacts with the acids of dithiophosphates:

Sodium molybdate is incompatible with alkali metals, most common metals and oxidizing agents.

By utilizing lower concentrations of sodium molybdate, conductivity is kept at a minimum and thus galvanic corrosion potentials are decreased.

Corrosion inhibitors such as sodium nitrite or sodium molybdate can be injected into these systems to reduce the galvanic potential.

The laboratory synthesis entails the acidification of aqueous solutions of sodium molybdate with perchloric acid:

In industrial water treatment applications where galvanic corrosion is a potential due to bimetallic construction, the application of sodium molybdate is preferred over sodium nitrite.

Common additives include sodium silicate, disodium phosphate, sodium molybdate, sodium borate, and dextrin (hydroxyethyl starch).

While highly soluble molybdates like e.g. sodium molybdate are toxic in higher doses, zinc molybdate is essentially non-toxic because of its insolubility in water.

Sodium molybdate has the advantage in that the dosing of lower ppm's of molybdate allow for lower conductivity of the circulating water.

This should not be confused with Folin-Ciocalteu reagent, which is a mixture of sodium tungstate and sodium molybdate that is used to detect phenolic compounds.

It can be synthesized by mixing aqueous solutions of sodium molybdate and zinc chloride: the insoluble zinc molybdate will crystallize from this mixture.

It is composed of a mixture of molybdic acid or sodium molybdate and hot, concentrated sulfuric acid, which is then dripped onto the substance being tested.

The addition of sodium molybdate significantly reduces the nitrite requirement of fluids inhibited with nitrite-amine, and improves the corrosion protection of carboxylate salt fluids.

Sodium molybdate at levels of 50-100 ppm offer the same levels of corrosion inhibition that sodium nitrite at levels of 800+ offer.

A study exploring the properties of a compound formed in water from sodium molybdate (NaMoO.2HO) and iminodiacetic acid also revealed evidence of aromaticity, but this compound has actually been isolated.