additive to tungsten and molybdenum-based alloys to impart useful properties filaments for mass spectrographs and ion gauges rhenium-molybdenum alloys superconduct at 10K electrical contact material, as it has good wear resistance and withstands arc corrosion thermocouples made of Re-W are used for measuring temperatures up to 2200°C rhenium wire is used in flash lamps for photography rhenium catalysts are exceptionally resistant to poisoning from nitrogen, sulphur, and phosphorus, and are used for hydrogenation of fine chemicals, hydrocracking, reforming, and the disproportionation of alkenes