Rhenium (Re) – Periodic Table [Element Information & More]

Rhenium element (Re) is in group 7 and period 6 of a periodic table. Rhenium is in the d-block and it is classified as a transition element on the periodic table.

There is a lot more information related to rhenium which is mentioned in the Information Table given below.

So let’s dive right into it!

Table of contents

• Rhenium element (Information Table)
• Rhenium element in Periodic table
• Facts about Rhenium
• Properties of Rhenium
• Uses of Rhenium

Rhenium Element (Information Table)

The important data related to rhenium element is given in the table below.

Appearance of rhenium	Silvery gray metallic appearance
Atomic number of rhenium	75
Symbol of rhenium	Re
Atomic mass of rhenium (most stable isotope)	186.21 u
Protons, Neutrons & Electrons in rhenium	Protons: 75, Neutrons: 111, Electrons: 75
State of rhenium (at STP)	Solid
Group number of rhenium in periodic table	7
Period number of rhenium in periodic table	6
Block of rhenium in periodic table	d-block
Category of rhenium	Transition metal
Bohr model or Electrons per shell or Electrons arrangement in rhenium	2, 8, 18, 32, 13, 2
Electron configuration of rhenium	[Xe] 4f14 5d5 6s2
Orbital diagram of rhenium
Electronegativity of rhenium (on pauling scale)	1.9
Atomic radius of rhenium (van der Waals radius)	217 picometers
Density of rhenium	21.02 g/cm3
1st ionization energy of rhenium	7.88 eV
Melting point of rhenium	3459 K or 3186 °C or 5767 °F
Boiling point of rhenium	5903 K or 5630 °C or 10170 °F
Crystal structure of rhenium	Hexagonal Close Packing (HCP)
Discovery of rhenium	By Otto Berg, Walter Noddack, Ida Noddack (in 1925)

Also see: Interactive Periodic Table (It has rotating bohr models as well as many other details of all the 118 elements in a single periodic table).

Rhenium element in Periodic table

The Rhenium element (Re) has the atomic number 75 and is located in group 7 and period 6. Rhenium is a metal and it is classified as a transition element.

Click on above elements in the periodic table to see their information.

Facts about rhenium

Here are a few interesting facts about the rhenium element.

1. Otto Berg, Walter Noddack and Ida Noddack discovered rhenium in the year 1925.
2. Rhenium was given its name from the Latin word “Rhenus” which means Rhine river, which is in Germany.
3. Only 40 to 50 tons of rhenium is produced worldwide annually.
4. Rhenium is very rare in the earth’s crust and it is only 7 parts per billion by weight.
5. Rhenium is the 4^th most dense element present on the periodic table.

Properties of rhenium

Here is a list of some physical properties and chemical properties of rhenium.

Physical properties of rhenium

• Rhenium has a silvery gray appearance.
• Rhenium has a high density (21.02 g/cm³) and its atomic mass is 186.21 amu.
• The melting point and boiling point of rhenium is 3459 K and 5903 K respectively.
• Rhenium has many isotopes and the most abundant isotope is ¹⁸⁷Re.
• Rhenium has HCP crystal structure.

Chemical properties of rhenium

• Rhenium does not react with alkalis and dilute acids at room temperatures.
• Rhenium starts to tarnish in the air if kept open for a longer time.
• The electron configuration of rhenium is [Xe] 4f¹⁴ 5d⁵ 6s² and it has incomplete d-orbitals.

Uses of rhenium

Here are some uses of the rhenium element.

• Rhenium is used to make alloys that can resist high temperatures and requires strength.
• Rhenium and platinum are used as a catalyst in production of high-octane gasoline.
• Rhenium is also used to make alloy that is used in jet engine parts.

External resources:

1. Periodic Table of Elements: Los Alamos National Laboratory. (n.d.). Periodic Table of Elements: Los Alamos National Laboratory. https://periodic.lanl.gov/75.shtml
2. James A. M. & Lord M. P. (1992). Macmillan’s chemical and physical data. Macmillan.
3. Bedford, et al. (1996, April 1). Recommended values of temperature on the International Temperature Scale of 1990 for a selected set of secondary reference points. Metrologia, 33(2), 133–154. https://doi.org/10.1088/0026-1394/33/2/3
4. Allred, A. (1961, June). Electronegativity values from thermochemical data. Journal of Inorganic and Nuclear Chemistry, 17(3–4), 215–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1902(61)80142-5
5. Atomic Weight of Rhenium | Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights. (n.d.). Atomic Weight of Rhenium | Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights. https://ciaaw.org/rhenium.htm
6. Atomic Data for Rhenium (Re). (n.d.). Atomic Data for Rhenium (Re). https://physics.nist.gov/PhysRefData/Handbook/Tables/rheniumtable1.htm
7. Possolo, et al. (2018, January 4). Interpreting and propagating the uncertainty of the standard atomic weights (IUPAC Technical Report). Pure and Applied Chemistry, 90(2), 395–424. https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2016-0402
8. Emsley, J. (2011). Nature’s Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements. United Kingdom: OUP Oxford.
9. Haynes, W. M. (Ed.). (2014, June 4). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. https://doi.org/10.1201/b17118
10. Electronic structure of the elements. (2000, March). The European Physical Journal C, 15(1–4), 78–79. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02683401
11. Rhenium – Element information, properties and uses | Periodic Table. (n.d.). Rhenium – Element Information, Properties and Uses | Periodic Table. https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/75/rhenium
12. Rhenium – Wikipedia. (2011, May 25). Rhenium – Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhenium
13. P. (n.d.). Rhenium | Re (Element) – PubChem. Rhenium | Re (Element) – PubChem. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/element/Rhenium
14. It’s Elemental – The Element Rhenium. (n.d.). It’s Elemental – the Element Rhenium. https://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele075.html
15. C&EN: IT’S ELEMENTAL: THE PERIODIC TABLE – RHENIUM. (n.d.). C&EN: IT’S ELEMENTAL: THE PERIODIC TABLE – RHENIUM. https://pubsapp.acs.org/cen/80th/rhenium.html?