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. The free element has the third-highest melting point and highest boiling point of any element, at 5,869 K (10,105 °F). Rhenium resembles manganese and technetium chemically and is obtained as a by-product of molybdenum and copper ore's extraction and refinement.
Discovered in 1925, rhenium was the last stable element to be discovered. It was named after the river Rhine in Europe.
Nickel-based superalloys of rhenium are used in the combustion chambers, turbine blades, and exhaust nozzles of jet engines. These alloys contain up to 6% rhenium, making jet engine construction the largest single use for the element, about 70% of worldwide rhenium production Because of the low availability relative to demand, rhenium is among the most expensive of metals, with an average price of approximately US$2,750 per kilogram (US$85.53 per troy ounce) as of April 2015; it is also of critical strategic military importance, for its use in high performance military jet and rocket engines. Another major application is in platinum–rhenium catalysts, which are primarily used in making lead-free, high-octane gasoline.