{"id":286,"date":"2020-04-09T10:15:40","date_gmt":"2020-04-09T10:15:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thechemicalelements.com\/?page_id=286"},"modified":"2023-08-15T13:20:26","modified_gmt":"2023-08-15T13:20:26","slug":"gadolinium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thechemicalelements.com\/gadolinium\/","title":{"rendered":"Gadolinium (Gd)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Gadolinium (Gd) is a chemical element with an atomic number of 64 in the periodic table of elements. There\u2019s about 6.2 mg\/kg of this soft metal occurring in Earth\u2019s crust. This makes gadolinium one of the most abundant rare-earth elements found in nature. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being a member of the lanthanides family of periodic table elements, gadolinium is a divalent element with strong conductive and ferromagnetic properties.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chemical and Physical Properties of Gadolinium<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Property<\/strong><\/td>Value<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Symbol<\/td>Gd<\/td><\/tr>
Atomic number<\/td>64<\/td><\/tr>
Atomic weight (mass)<\/td>157.25 g.mol-1<\/td><\/tr>
Group (number)<\/td>19 (Lanthanides)<\/td><\/tr>
Period<\/td>6<\/td><\/tr>
Color<\/td>A silvery-white lustrous metal<\/td><\/tr>
Physical state<\/td>Solid at room temperature<\/td><\/tr>
Half-life<\/td>From 0.4 s to 1.08\u00d71014 years<\/td><\/tr>
Electronegativity according to Pauling<\/td>1.1<\/td><\/tr>
Density<\/td>7.9 g.cm-3 at 20\u00b0C<\/td><\/tr>
Melting point<\/td>1313\u00b0C, 2395\u00b0F, 1586 K<\/td><\/tr>
Boiling point<\/td>3273\u00b0C, 5923\u00b0F, 3546 K<\/td><\/tr>
Van der Waals radius<\/td>273 pm<\/td><\/tr>
Ionic radius<\/td>2.54<\/td><\/tr>
Isotopes<\/td>17<\/td><\/tr>
Most characteristic isotope<\/td>158Gd<\/td><\/tr>
Electronic shell<\/td>[Xe] 4f75d16s2<\/td><\/tr>
The energy of the first ionization<\/td>591.4 kJ.mol-1<\/td><\/tr>
The energy of the second ionization<\/td>1165.5 kJ.mol-1<\/td><\/tr>
Discovery date<\/td>In 1880 by Charles Galissard de Marignac<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With the periodic table symbol (Gd), atomic number 64, atomic mass of 157.25 g.mol<\/span>-1<\/span>, and electron configuration [Xe] 4f<\/span>7<\/span>5d<\/span>1<\/span>6s<\/span>2<\/span>, gadolinium is a soft and slightly malleable silvery-white metal that reaches its boiling point at 3273\u00b0C (5923\u00b0F, 3546 K), while the melting point is achieved at 1313\u00b0C (2395\u00b0F, 1586 K). <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This member of the lanthanide family of elements has oxidation states of 1, 2, and 3, as well as an electronegativity of 1.1 according to Pauling. It\u2019s an excellent conductor of heat and electricity and possesses strong ferromagnetic properties when exposed to a temperature below its <\/span>Curie point<\/span><\/i> of 20 \u00b0C (68 \u00b0F). <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, gadolinium crystallizes in a hexagonal, close-packed alpha form at room temperature. Upon exposure to a temperature of 1235\u00b0C, this rare-earth metal adopts the body-centered cubic beta form. Being relatively stable in dry air, gadolinium metal tarnishes when it comes into contact with humid air and is soluble by diluted acid. As a strong reducing agent, gadolinium reduces oxides of several metals into their elements.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How Was Gadolinium Discovered?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The path of gadolinium\u2019s discovery begins in 1880, in a laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland. That year, the Swiss chemist Charles Galissard de Marignac (1817 \u2013 1894) decided to clarify his suspicion on the prior results obtained by Carl Mosander. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Namely, he was convinced that what Mosander thought was a new element labeled as didymium, was in fact a chemical compound. His scientific doubts were reinforced by the results obtained by the French chemists Marc Delafontaine and Paul-\u00c9mile Lecoq de Boisbaudran. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two years earlier, these two scientists had successfully separated samarium<\/a> from didymium, extracted from the mineral samarskite. Delafontaine and de Boisbaudran attempted spectroscopy on the sample found in the Urals. Their experiment uncovered the most vital information – the spectral lines of the analyzed sample were unlike the source they were produced from. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based upon the scientific results obtained by his French colleagues, as well as upon his personal analysis, de Marignac managed to confirm that the previously unknown spectroscopic lines in an oxide preparation taken from the mineral samarskite were a property of the new chemical element – gadolinium.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1935, the French chemist and engineer Felix Trombe (1906\u20131985) succeeded in isolating the pure form of gadolinium for the first time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How Did Gadolinium Get Its Name?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This lanthanide got its name after the mineral ore in which it occurs, the gadolinite. Moreover, the mineral gadolinite was named after the Finnish chemist, physicist, and mineralogist Johan Gadolin (1760 \u2013 1852) – the founder of Finnish chemistry research, as well as a distinguished member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Gadolin was also one of the first chemists who provided practical experience to his students by allowing them to use his laboratory.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Where Can You Find Gadolinium?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The minerals monazite and bastnasite are the main natural sources of gadolinium. The chemical processes involving ion-exchange and the solvent extraction techniques make this rare-earth metal even more commercially available today. Most often, the synthetically produced gadolinium is made by reduction of the anhydrous fluoride with metallic calcium<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Gadolinium Use in Everyday Life<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This chemical is not commonly used in everyday life. However, it has several specialized applications, among which we can list the following:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n