Gadolinium (Gd) – Periodic Table [Element Information & More]

Gadolinium element (Gd) is in period 6 of a periodic table. Gadolinium is in the f-block and it is classified as a lanthanide on the periodic table.

There is a lot more information related to gadolinium which is mentioned in the Information Table given below.

So let’s dive right into it!

Table of contents

• Gadolinium element (Information Table)
• Gadolinium element in Periodic table
• Facts about Gadolinium
• Properties of Gadolinium
• Uses of Gadolinium

Gadolinium Element (Information Table)

The important data related to gadolinium element is given in the table below.

Appearance of gadolinium	Silvery white appearance
Atomic number of gadolinium	64
Symbol of gadolinium	Gd
Atomic mass of gadolinium	157.25 u
Protons, Neutrons & Electrons in gadolinium	Protons: 64, Neutrons: 93, Electrons: 64
State of gadolinium (at STP)	Solid
Period number of gadolinium in periodic table	6
Block of gadolinium in periodic table	f-block
Category of gadolinium	Inner transition metals
Bohr model or Electrons per shell or Electrons arrangement in gadolinium	2, 8, 18, 25, 9, 2
Electron configuration of gadolinium	[Xe] 4f7 5d1 6s2
Orbital diagram of gadolinium
Electronegativity of gadolinium (on pauling scale)	1.2
Atomic radius of gadolinium (van der Waals radius)	237 picometers
Density of gadolinium	7.9 g/cm3
1st ionization energy of gadolinium	6.150 eV
Main isotope of gadolinium	158Gd
Melting point of gadolinium	1585 K or 1312 °C or 2394 °F
Boiling point of gadolinium	3273 K or 3000 °C or 5432 °F
Crystal structure of gadolinium	Hexagonal Close Packing (HCP)
Discovery of gadolinium	By Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac in 1880

Also see: Interactive Periodic Table (It has rotating bohr models as well as many other details of all the 118 elements in a single periodic table).

Gadolinium element in Periodic table

The Gadolinium element (Gd) has the atomic number 64 and is located in period 6. Gadolinium is a metal and it is classified as a lanthanide group element.

Click on above elements in the periodic table to see their information.

Facts about gadolinium

Here are a few interesting facts about the gadolinium element.

1. The earth’s crust contains 5.2 ppm (by weight) of gadolinium.
2. Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac discovered gadolinium in the year 1880.
3. Gadolinium metal is not available from one place on the earth. But it is evenly spread on the earth.
4. Gadolinium has the greatest ability to absorb the neutrons than any other elements on the periodic table.
5. Gadolinite is the main ore of gadolinium that is found from the earth’s crust.

Properties of gadolinium

Here is a list of some physical properties and chemical properties of gadolinium.

Physical properties of gadolinium

• Gadolinium has a silvery white metallic appearance.
• Gadolinium has HCP crystal structure at room temperature.
• There are many isotopes of gadolinium and out of these isotopes, the most abundant isotope is ¹⁵⁸Gd.
• The melting point and boiling point of gadolinium is 1585 K and 3273 K respectively.

Chemical properties of gadolinium

• Gadolinium is a reactive metal and hence it always exists as a compound with other elements in the earth’s crust.
• Gadolinium is easily soluble in dilute acids.
• Gadolinium reacts with the oxygen of the atmosphere and it starts tarnishing.
• Gadolinium also reacts with water.
• The most common oxidation state of gadolinium is +3.

Uses of gadolinium

Here are some uses of the gadolinium element.

• Gadolinium is present in some proportions in the color TV picture tubes.
• Some compounds of gadolinium are also used in microwave applications.
• Gadolinium is also used as a neutron absorber in nuclear power plants.
• The workability of iron and chromium can be improved by adding gadolinium to them.

External resources:

1. Atomic Weight of Gadolinium | Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights. (n.d.). Atomic Weight of Gadolinium | Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights. https://ciaaw.org/gadolinium.htm
2. Atomic Data for Gadolinium (Gd). (n.d.). Atomic Data for Gadolinium (Gd). https://physics.nist.gov/PhysRefData/Handbook/Tables/gadoliniumtable1.htm
3. C&EN: IT’S ELEMENTAL: THE PERIODIC TABLE – THE LANTHANIDES. (n.d.). C&EN: IT’S ELEMENTAL: THE PERIODIC TABLE – THE LANTHANIDES. https://pubsapp.acs.org/cen/80th/lanthanides.html?
4. Gadolinium – Element information, properties and uses | Periodic Table. (n.d.). Gadolinium – Element Information, Properties and Uses | Periodic Table. https://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/element/64/gadolinium
5. James A. M. & Lord M. P. (1992). Macmillan’s chemical and physical data. Macmillan.
6. Bedford, et al. (1996, April 1). Recommended values of temperature on the International Temperature Scale of 1990 for a selected set of secondary reference points. Metrologia, 33(2), 133–154. https://doi.org/10.1088/0026-1394/33/2/3
7. Allred, A. (1961, June). Electronegativity values from thermochemical data. Journal of Inorganic and Nuclear Chemistry, 17(3–4), 215–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1902(61)80142-5
8. Gadolinium – Wikipedia. (2009, June 6). Gadolinium – Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadolinium
9. Gadolinium | chemical element. (n.d.). Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/gadolinium
10. P. (n.d.). Gadolinium | Gd (Element) – PubChem. Gadolinium | Gd (Element) – PubChem. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/element/Gadolinium
11. It’s Elemental – The Element Gadolinium. (n.d.). It’s Elemental – the Element Gadolinium. https://education.jlab.org/itselemental/ele064.html
12. Periodic Table of Elements: Los Alamos National Laboratory. (n.d.). Periodic Table of Elements: Los Alamos National Laboratory. https://periodic.lanl.gov/64.shtml
13. Possolo, et al. (2018, January 4). Interpreting and propagating the uncertainty of the standard atomic weights (IUPAC Technical Report). Pure and Applied Chemistry, 90(2), 395–424. https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2016-0402
14. Emsley, J. (2011). Nature’s Building Blocks: An A-Z Guide to the Elements. United Kingdom: OUP Oxford.
15. Haynes, W. M. (Ed.). (2014, June 4). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. https://doi.org/10.1201/b17118
16. Electronic structure of the elements. (2000, March). The European Physical Journal C, 15(1–4), 78–79. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02683401