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 |
Chemical Properties
99.9% - 99.99%
Physical Properties
3-6 mm pieces, slug, foil, wire, rod, 325 mesh by down powder
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