The inorganic and coordination chemistry of both rhenium and technetium is described in a condensed way with presentation of significant and typical compounds and reactions and applications in nuclear medicine and catalysis. After an Introduction, with properties of those elements and their sources, a description of binary compounds (for example oxides, sulfides, halides, and nitrides), their syntheses, structures, and selected reactions are given. This is followed by a treatment of the coordination chemistry of those metals, comprising hydrides, metal–metal bonded species and complexes with ligands coordinated by donor‐atoms mainly of the following periodic groups: 15 (commonly nitrogen and phosphorus, including dinitrogen, nitrile, nitric oxide and related ligands, hydrazides, diazenides, nitride, imides, pyrazolylborates, and phosphine ligands), 16 (mainly oxo, thio, and other O‐ or S‐ligands), and 17 (halide ligands); the metal–carbon (group 14) bond complexes are usually not covered since they are dealt with separately. Preparative methods, structures, and reactivities are illustrated for those types of complexes.
Selected complexes of
99 m
Tc and
186
Re (or
188
Re) are described and their applications in nuclear medicine illustrated, as radiopharmaceuticals normally for clinical diagnosis. The application of inorganic rhenium complexes in catalysis constitutes a currently expanding area of high potential and their use as catalysts for the following reactions is reviewed: oxygen atom transfer (OAT) and related reactions; isomerization or etherification of allylic or propargylic alcohols; Beckmann rearrangement of oximes; dehydration of primary amides and aldoximes; dehydrogenation of alkanes, unconventional reduction of aldehydes and ketones; aldol‐type reactions; and photo‐ and electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide. A few catalytic applications of technetium compounds are also indicated.