Description

Retaining its crystalline structure at temperatures up to its melting point, rhenium is gray to black in powder form, silvery-white and lustrous as a solid. It does not occur naturally. Rhenium has one of the highest densities, exceeded only by platinum, iridium, and osmium. Only tungsten and carbon have higher melting points. Rhenium has good wear resistance and it can withstand arc corrosion. Rhenium's range of valences exceeds that of all other elements. We are a global leader in providing Rhenium chemicals required by manufacturers for critical parts and components. They are widely used in the production of high density, high temperature parts for aerospace, defense, energy and X-ray device industries. We supply three standard powders, Rhenium, Molybdenum-Rhenium and Tungsten-Rhenium.
Chemical Name: Rhenium
Chemical Formula: Re

Specifications

Atomic Number	75
Molecular Weight (g/mol.)	186.2
Apparent Density (g/cm3)	21.00 to 21.02
Electronegativity  (Pauling scale)	1.9
Specific Heat @25°C (cal/g-°C)	0.033
Melting Point (°C)	3157 to 3181
Boiling Point (°C)	5900
Thermal Conductivity (cal/s-cm°C)	0.095
Electrical Resistivity	18.7 to 20.0
Fracture Toughness	120 to 150
Poisson Ratio	0.3
Mohs hardness	7
Crystallography	hexagonal structure

Trace impurities (%, max)
Element	4N Grade	5N Grade	Element	4N Grade	5N Grade
Na	0.0010	0.0001	Ni	0.0001	0.00001
Mg	0.0001	0.00001	Cu	0.0001	0.00001
Al	0.0001	0.00001	Zn	0.0001	0.00001
Si	0.0005	0.00005	As	0.0001	0.00001
P	0.0001	0.00005	Zr	0.0001	0.00001
K	0.0010	0.0001	Mo	0.0010	0.0002
Ca	0.0005	0.00005	Cd	0.0001	0.00001
Ti	0.0001	0.00001	Sn	0.0001	0.00001
V	0.0001	0.00001	Sb	0.0001	0.00001
Cr	0.0001	0.00001	Ta	0.0001	0.00001
Mn	0.0001	0.00001	W	0.0010	0.0002
Fe	0.0005	0.00005	Pb	0.0001	0.00001
Co	0.0001	0.00001	Bi	0.0001	0.00001
Se	0.0001	0.00001	Tl	0.0001	0.00001
Gas element (%, max)
O	0.1	0.06	C	0.005	0.002
N	0.003	0.003	H	0.002	0.002

Chemical Properties

Physical Properties

Typical Applications

Rhenium is used in platinum-rhenium catalysts which in turn are primarily used in making lead-free, high-octane gasoline and in high-temperature superalloys that are used to make jet engine parts. Other uses:
1) Widely used as filaments in mass spectrographs and in ion gauges.
2) An additive to tungsten and molybdenum-based alloys to increase ductility in these alloys.
3) An additive to tungsten in some x-ray sources.
4) Rhenium catalysts are very resistant to chemical poisoning, and so are used in certain kinds of hydrogenation reactions.
5) Electrical contact material due to its good wear resistance and ability to withstand arc corrosion.
6) Thermocouples containing alloys of rhenium and tungsten are used to measure temperatures up to 2200 °C.
7) Rhenium wire is used in photoflash lamps in photography.
8) Rhenium forms rhenium diboride with boron.
9) It is a compound noted for its extreme hardness.
10) Isotopes of rhenium are radioactive. The 188 isotope, with a half-life of 69 days, has been tested for treatment of liver cancer. The 188 isotope may be obtained in the form of a generator.
11) Related by periodic trends, rhenium has a similar chemistry with technetium; work done to label rhenium onto target compounds can often be translated to technetium. This is useful for radiopharmacy, where it is difficult to work with technetium - especially the 99m isotope used in medicine - due to its expense and short half-life.
12) For use in booster rocket engines

Packaging

Usually to customer specification