Rhenium is a chemical element with symbol Re and atomic number 75. It is a silvery-white, heavy, third-row transition metal in group 7 of the periodic table. With an estimated average concentration of 1 part per billion (ppb), rhenium is one of the rarest elements in the Earth's crust.
Three reasons Rhenium stands out
- 1
Used in jet engines due to its ability to withstand heat.
- 2
It has the highest boiling point of any element, at approximately 5,596 °C.
- 3
It was the last stable non-radioactive element to be discovered, only identified in 1925.
A scarce ingredient in jet-engine heat
Rhenium is among the rarest elements in Earth’s crust. Added to nickel superalloys, it helps turbine blades resist creep inside the hottest parts of jet engines. Rhenium catalysts also reform petroleum molecules, while its extreme melting and boiling points reflect unusually strong metallic bonding.