Re2O7
Rhenium(VII) oxide · Dirhenium heptoxide
Rhenium(VII) oxide is a stable, insulating binary oxide used primarily as a catalyst and a chemical precursor for synthesizing advanced materials.

About Rhenium(VII) oxide
Rhenium(VII) oxide is a thermodynamically stable binary oxide that functions as a wide-gap insulator. Its unique electronic structure and chemical reactivity make it a critical component in various catalytic processes and a foundational material for synthesizing other rhenium-based compounds. The compound is characterized by its significant structural diversity, with numerous reported crystalline arrangements documented across scientific databases. This structural flexibility supports its utility in specialized industrial applications where precise chemical pathways are required.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Rhenium(VII) oxide, aggregated across 3 databases.
Band GapEnergy needed to move an electron from the valence band to the conduction band. Lower or zero values tend to behave more metallic; larger gaps are more insulating or semiconducting.
Energy Above HullThermodynamic distance from the most stable set of competing phases. 0 eV/atom is on the convex hull; small positive values may still be experimentally accessible.
StabilityA plain-language summary of the best reported energy-above-hull result. It reflects whether the lowest-energy structure is on, near, or far from the stability hull.
StructuresCount of reported calculated crystal structures for this formula, including alternate polymorphs, source databases, and observed space groups.
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for Re2O7, ranked by energy above hull.
| Space GroupSymmetry classification of the crystal arrangement. The number is the international space-group index. | Crystal SystemBroad lattice family, such as cubic, tetragonal, monoclinic, or triclinic, derived from unit-cell symmetry. | Band Gap (eV)Electronic gap calculated for this specific reported structure, measured in electronvolts. | E above hull (eV/atom)Thermodynamic distance from the convex hull for this structure, normalized per atom. Lower is generally more stable. | E/atom (eV)Computed total energy normalized per atom. Use energy above hull, not this value alone, when comparing stability. | Density (g/cm³)Mass per relaxed crystal volume, reported in grams per cubic centimeter. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P212121 (No. 19) | orthorhombic | 2.73 | 0.0000 | -8.641 | 5.84 |
| Cmc21 (No. 36) | orthorhombic | 3.46 | 0.0388 | -8.602 | 3.84 |
| Cmcm (No. 63) | orthorhombic | 0.00 | 0.1213 | -8.519 | 6.18 |
| I41md (No. 109) | tetragonal | 0.00 | 0.6345 | -8.006 | 5.94 |
| Cmcm (No. 63) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cmcm (No. 63) | Orthorhombic | — | — | — | 6.29 |
| Cmcm (No. 63) | Orthorhombic | — | — | — | 6.70 |
| Cmc21 (No. 36) | Orthorhombic | — | — | — | 3.84 |
| Cmc21 (No. 36) | Orthorhombic | — | — | — | 3.89 |
| Cmc21 (No. 36) | Orthorhombic | — | — | — | 4.13 |
| Cmcm (No. 63) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cmcm (No. 63) | Orthorhombic | — | — | — | 6.18 |
Applications
Where Rhenium(VII) oxide is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Rhenium(VII) oxide, answered from cross-validated data.
What is Re2O7?
Rhenium(VII) oxide is a stable, insulating binary oxide used primarily as a catalyst and a chemical precursor for synthesizing advanced materials.
What is Re2O7 used for?
What is the band gap of Re2O7?
Is Re2O7 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is Re2O7 thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of Re2O7?
What is the density of Re2O7?
How many polymorphs of Re2O7 are known?
What elements does Re2O7 contain?
Where does the data for Re2O7 come from?
How It Compares
As a prominent binary oxide of rhenium, this compound serves as a primary reference point for the study of high-oxidation-state transition metal oxides. It is valued for its stability and predictable behavior in chemical reactions, distinguishing it as a reliable reagent compared to less stable or more volatile metal oxide counterparts.
Data sources & attribution
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
- jarvis — Data from JARVIS (NIST). Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020).
- mpaloe — Data from mpaloe.
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