Symbol: Re
Date of Discovery: 1925
Name Origin: Rhines provinces Germany
Appearance: silverish
Discoverer: Walter Noddack
Obtained From: gadolinite, molybdenite

Melting Point: 3453 K
Boiling Point: 5900 K
Density[kg/m3]: 21020
Molar Volume: 8.86 × 10-6 m3/mol
Protons/Electrons: 75
Neutrons: 111
Shell Structure: 2,8,18,32,13,2
Electron Configuration: [Xe]4f145d56s2
Oxidation State: 6,4,±2
Crystal Structure: hexagonal

Rhenium, a silver, lustrous metal, has one of the highest melting points of all elements, with only tungsten and platinum being higher. Trace amounts of the element rhenium were discovered spectro- scopically in platinum ores in the minerals columbite, gadolinite, molybdenite and in platinum ores by the German chemists I. Tacke-Noddack, W. Noddack and O. C. Berg in 1925. The element is commercially used in a powder form; however, rhenium can be solidified by pressing or resistance-sintering in a vacuum or hydrogen atmosphere, creating a contact shape. Rhenium is most often used in platinum- rhenium catalysts to make lead-free, high-octane gasoline and to make jet engine parts. The element is also used in flash lamps for photography and for fila- ments in mass spectrographs. Rhenium was the last naturally-occurring element to be discovered to date.

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