Most commonly used in heating elements, MoSi2 is finding a wider range of uses suited to its properties.

Heating Elements
Because of its ability to reach high temperature, MoSi2 elements are widely used in glass production. They are also often utilized in advanced ceramics applications, and can be found heating small furnaces for Research and Development testing, as well as large production furnaces. Many different styles of furnace are available for a wide range of applications. In a heater element, MoSi2 withstands oxidation at high temperatures because a protective siliceous coating forms on the surface.

High Temperature Structural Applications
MoSi2 has been investigated for use in high temperature structural applications. It appears to show promise in this area, with its high melting point and moderate density. Work has been going on since the early 1990s to develop composites which overcome the two main difficulties, low toughness at low temperatures and high creep rates at high temperatures. Several possible uses for such materials have been suggested; for example turbine airfoils, missile nozzles and industrial gas burners.

Aerospace Applications
During the 1950's the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) carried out a series of experiments on MoSi2 relating to flight applications.

Work had begun on a nuclear powered aircraft in the 1940s, in the both the United States and the Soviet Union. The US project was cancelled by President Kennedy in 1961, due to the fact that about $1billion had been spent over 15 years, and the likelihood of ever producing such an aircraft was still remote. A 1953 NACA report considers the possible use of Molybdenum Disilicide Fuel elements for an air-cycle nuclear reactor. The report concluded that MoSi2 was suitable for this use.

In 1958, it was investigated as a coating for molybdenum parts for use in a supersonic heated-air jet, where its thermal properties protected the molybdenum for 470 seconds at 3,100F. An uncoated model was virtually destroyed in less than 6 seconds.

Research in MoSi2 as a potential aircraft component has been used in more recent times. In the late 1990s, MoSi2 composites were investigated at Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio as a potential material for aircraft engine components. Currently, these are made from nickel based super alloys. The most promising composites contained Si3N4 particles. Although MoSi2 exhibits many of the same properties as the super alloys, the low fracture toughness and high creep referred to earlier in this article have to be overcome before it can be used successfully in this application. A further problem, that of pesting, where the substance disintegrates into powder due to increased oxidisation, also needed to be solved. Finding the correct ration of Si3N4 to MoSi2 appears to have overcome all of these obstacles. It has the effect of doubling room-temperature hardness and results in the formation of a protective Si2ON2 scale that resists pesting. Furthermore, high temperature creep strength is almost 105 times that of pure MoSi2.

Pyrolitic Paint
MoSi2 can be used as a conductor in a pyrolytic paint - that is a paint which generates heat when an electrical current is applied. On the 15 October 2003, Oki Electric issued a press release announcing a new product of this type. The main advantage of this type of paint is it replaces metal plate heat sinks in electrical equipment. When applied to components, it dissipates heat via conduction and radiation. It allows for the manufacture of smaller units, and could be used in any device that currently employs a heat sink, for example lighting and automobiles.

Ion Emitting Hairdryer
On October 28th 2003, a US patent was granted for an Ion emitting hot air blower. This is for use in a hairdryer, where it is claimed, the positive ions promote grooming and rapid drying of the user's hair. The heating element is made from MoSi2, which it is claimed produces a large amount of positive ions when heated.