Rhenium trioxide or rhenium(VI) oxide is an

inorganic compound In chemistry, an inorganic compound is typically a chemical compound that lacks carbon–hydrogen bonds, that is, a compound that is not an organic compound. The study of inorganic compounds is a subfield of chemistry known as '' inorganic chemi ...

with the formula ReO₃. It is a red solid with a metallic lustre that resembles

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish ...

in appearance. It is the only stable

trioxide A trioxide is a compound with three oxygen atoms. For metals with the M2O3 formula there are several common structures. Al2O3, Cr2O3, Fe2O3, and V2O3 adopt the corundum structure. Many rare earth oxides adopt the "A-type rare earth structure" w ...

of the Group 7 elements ( Mn, Tc, Re).

Preparation and structure

Rhenium trioxide can be formed by reducing

rhenium(VII) oxide Rhenium(VII) oxide is the inorganic compound with the formula Re2 O7. This yellowish solid is the anhydride of HOReO3. Perrhenic acid, Re2O7·2H2O, is closely related to Re2O7. Re2O7 is the raw material for all rhenium compounds, being the vola ...

with

carbon monoxide Carbon monoxide ( chemical formula CO) is a colorless, poisonous, odorless, tasteless, flammable gas that is slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the si ...

at 200 °C or elemental

rhenium Rhenium is a chemical element with the symbol Re and atomic number 75. It is a silvery-gray, 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 on ...

at 400 °C. :Re₂O₇ + CO → 2 ReO₃ + CO₂ :3 Re₂O₇ + Re → 7 ReO₃ Re₂O₇ can also be reduced with

dioxane 1,4-Dioxane () is a heterocyclic organic compound, classified as an ether. It is a colorless liquid with a faint sweet odor similar to that of diethyl ether. The compound is often called simply dioxane because the other dioxane isomers ( 1,2- ...

. Rhenium trioxide crystallizes with a

primitive Primitive may refer to: Mathematics * Primitive element (field theory) * Primitive element (finite field) * Primitive cell (crystallography) * Primitive notion, axiomatic systems * Primitive polynomial (disambiguation), one of two concepts * Pr ...

cubic Cubic may refer to: Science and mathematics * Cube (algebra), "cubic" measurement * Cube, a three-dimensional solid object bounded by six square faces, facets or sides, with three meeting at each vertex ** Cubic crystal system, a crystal system ...

unit cell In geometry, biology, mineralogy and solid state physics, a unit cell is a repeating unit formed by the vectors spanning the points of a lattice. Despite its suggestive name, the unit cell (unlike a unit vector, for example) does not necessari ...

, with a

lattice parameter A lattice constant or lattice parameter is one of the physical dimensions and angles that determine the geometry of the unit cells in a crystal lattice, and is proportional to the distance between atoms in the crystal. A simple cubic crystal has o ...

of 3.742 Å (374.2 pm). The structure of ReO₃ is similar to that of

perovskite Perovskite (pronunciation: ) is a calcium titanium oxide mineral composed of calcium titanate (chemical formula ). Its name is also applied to the class of compounds which have the same type of crystal structure In crystallography, crystal ...

(ABO₃), without the large A cation at the centre of the unit cell. Each rhenium center is surrounded by an

octahedron In geometry, an octahedron (plural: octahedra, octahedrons) is a polyhedron with eight faces. The term is most commonly used to refer to the regular octahedron, a Platonic solid composed of eight equilateral triangles, four of which meet at e ...

defined by six oxygen centers. These octahedra share corners to form the 3-dimensional structure. The coordination number of O is 2, because each oxygen atom has 2 neighbouring Re atoms., p. 1047.

Properties

Physical properties

ReO₃ is unusual for an oxide because it exhibits very low

resistivity Electrical resistivity (also called specific electrical resistance or volume resistivity) is a fundamental property of a material that measures how strongly it resists electric current. A low resistivity indicates a material that readily allows ...

. It behaves like a

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typi ...

in that its resistivity decreases as its temperature decreases. At 300 K, its resistivity is 100.0 nΩ·m, whereas at 100 K, this decreases to 6.0 nΩ·m, 17 times less than at 300 K.

Chemical properties

Rhenium trioxide is insoluble in water, as well as dilute acids and bases. Heating it in base results in

disproportionation In chemistry, disproportionation, sometimes called dismutation, is a redox reaction in which one compound of intermediate oxidation state converts to two compounds, one of higher and one of lower oxidation states. More generally, the term ca ...

to give and , while reaction with acid at high temperature affords . In concentrated nitric acid, it yields

perrhenic acid Perrhenic acid is the chemical compound with the formula . It is obtained by evaporating aqueous solutions of . Conventionally, perrhenic acid is considered to have the formula , and a species of this formula forms when rhenium(VII) oxide sublime ...

. Upon heating to 400 °C under vacuum, it undergoes

:G. Glemser "Rhenium (VI) Oxide" Handbook of Preparative Inorganic Chemistry, 2nd Ed. Edited by G. Brauer, Academic Press, 1963, NY. Vol. 2. p. 1482. : 3 ReO₃ → Re₂O₇ + ReO₂

Uses

Hydrogenation catalyst

Rhenium trioxide finds some use in

organic synthesis Organic synthesis is a special branch of chemical synthesis and is concerned with the intentional construction of organic compounds. Organic molecules are often more complex than inorganic compounds, and their synthesis has developed into one o ...

as a

catalyst Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...

for

amide reduction Amide reduction is a reaction in organic synthesis where an amide is reduced to either an amine or an aldehyde functional group. Catalytic hydrogenation Catalytic hydrogenation can be used to reduce amides to amines; however, the process often req ...

References

{{Oxides Rhenium compounds Hydrogenation catalysts Transition metal oxides