What is Gadolinium? O gadolinium (chemical symbol Gd, atomic number 64) is a silvery white metallic element. It is a member of the lanthanide series of chemical elements. It is considered one of the “rare earth metals”.
Compounds containing gadolinium can be found in technologies such as microwave ovens, televisions, nuclear propulsion systems, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and emission tomography positrons (TEP).
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In nature, gadolinium is found not as a free element, but in various minerals. Examples are monazite and bastnasite. It occurs in only trace amounts in the mineral gadolinite. Both gadolinium and gadolinite are named after the Finnish chemist and geologist Johan Gadolin.
Today, gadolinium is isolated by techniques such as ion exchange and solvent extraction. Also by reducing its anhydrous fluorine with metallic calcium.
In 1880, Swiss chemist Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac examined samples of didymium and gadolinite by spectroscopy and observed the unique spectral lines produced by gadolinium.
French chemist Paul Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran separated gadolinia, gadolinium oxide, from Mosander's yttria in 1886. The element itself was only recently isolated.
Gadolinium is an internal transition metal (or lanthanide). It is found in period 6 of the periodic table, between europium and terbium. It is malleable and ductile. Unlike other rare earth elements, gadolinium is relatively stable in dry air.
However, it tarnishes quickly in humid air and forms a loosely adherent oxide that sloughs off and further exposes the surface to oxidation. Gadolinium reacts slowly with water and is soluble in dilute acid.
At room temperature, gadolinium crystallizes to produce its “alpha” form. It has a hexagonal and compact structure. When heated to 1508 Kelvin, it transforms into its “beta” form. She has a body-centric cubic structure.
The element has the largest thermal neutron capture cross-section of any (known) element. It also has a rapid depletion rate, limiting its usefulness as a material for nuclear control rods.
Gadolinium becomes a superconductor below a critical temperature of 1083 K. It is strongly magnetic at room temperature and exhibits ferromagnetic properties below room temperature.
Gadolinium demonstrates a magenetocaloric effect whereby its temperature increases when it enters a magnetic field and decreases when it leaves the magnetic field. The effect is considerably stronger for the gadolinium alloy.
Read too: Periodic Table complete and updated 2020
