Interesting Gadolinium Element Facts

Interesting Gadolinium Element Facts Gadolinium is one of the light rare earth elements belonging to the lanthanide series. Here are some interesting facts about this metal: Gadolinium is silvery, malleable, ductile metal with a metallic sheen. It is fluorescent and tends to have a faintly yellowish tint.Gadolinium, like other rare earths, is not found in pure form in nature. The primary source of the element is the mineral gadolinite. It is also found in other rare earth ores, such as monazite and bastnasite.At low temperatures, gadolinium is more ferromagnetic than iron.Gadolinium has superconductive properties.Gadolinium is magnetocaloric, which means its temperature increases when it is placed in a magnetic field and decreases when it is removed from the field.Lecoq de Boisbaudran separated gadolinium from its oxide in 1886. He named the element for  Finnish Chemist Johan Gadolin, the discoverer of the first rare earth element.French chemist and engineer  Felix Trombe was the first to purify gadolinium in 1935.Gadolinium has the highest thermal neutron cross section of all the elements.Gadolinium is used in nuclear reactor control rods to regular fission. The element is injected into MRI patients to increase image contrast.Other uses of gadolinium include manufacture of certain iron and chromium alloys, computer chips and CDs, microwave ovens, and televisions.The pure metal is fairly stable in air, but tarnishes in moist air. It slowly reacts in water and dissolves in dilute acid. At high temperatures, gadolinium reacts with oxygen. Gadolinium Chemical and Physical Properties Element Name: GadoliniumAtomic Number: 64Symbol: GdAtomic Weight: 157.25Discovery: Jean de Marignac 1880 (Switzerland)Electron Configuration: [Xe] 4f7 5d1 6s2Element Classification: Rare Earth (Lanthanide)Word Origin: Named after the mineral gadolinite.Density (g/cc): 7.900Melting Point (K): 1586Boiling Point (K): 3539Appearance: soft, ductile, silvery-white metalAtomic Radius (pm): 179Atomic Volume (cc/mol): 19.9Covalent Radius (pm): 161Ionic Radius: 93.8 (3e)Specific Heat (20 °C J/g mol): 0.230Evaporation Heat (kJ/mol): 398Pauling Negativity Number: 1.20First Ionizing Energy (kJ/mol): 594.2Oxidation States: 3Lattice Structure: HexagonalLattice Constant (Ã…): 3.640Lattice C/A Ratio: 1.588 References Los Alamos National Laboratory (2001), Crescent Chemical Company (2001), Langes Handbook of Chemistry (1952), CRC Handbook of Chemistry Physics (18th Ed.)