Uses of Rhenium

By: Want To Know It

Rhenium is a metal with an atomic number of 75 and is represented by the chemical symbol Re. It was first discovered in 1925. It is one of the rarest naturally occurring elements in the world. It also has one of the highest melting points of any element. This attribute is one of the main reasons that rhenium is an important element in many industries.

Uses of rhenium

• Rhenium is an important part of many superalloys. These alloys may contain about 3-6% of the metal. They are most commonly used in the aerospace industry as turbine blades for jet engines. Rhenium also improves the properties of tungsten and these two metals are commonly alloyed together. This alloy is most commonly used as the target in medical X-ray tubes because it is stable, strong and crack resistant.
• Rhenium is also an important catalyst (a substance that causes and/or speeds up a chemical reaction). It is a popular choice because the catalyst reaction is not affected by nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus. It is commonly used in the petroleum industry to produce high-octane unleaded gasoline.
• Rhenium is also used in self-cleaning electrical contacts, mass spectrometers, ion gauges, and in photography flashes.
• Two radioactive isotopes of rhenium, ¹⁸⁸Re and ¹⁸⁶Re, are used to treat liver cancer.

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