Gadolinium Facts: Learn More About This Silvery White Metal

Gadolinium is a silvery-white metal without oxidation.

Gadolinium element has the atomic number 64 and Gd as its symbol. The malleability of this metal is low and has rare ductility.

The exposure of this metal to oxygen leads to a black coating on its utility. The metal turns paramagnetic after a certain point.

It is usually found in oxidized form with impurities due to related chemical properties. The element is never found in the purest form on the Earth's surface. The main additive in gadolinium is mineral gadolinite and is also found in rare Earth metals like bastnasite and monazite.

The temperature of gadolinium increases in magnetic fields and decreases when removed from it. Hence, it is known as magnetocaloric. Gadolinium was firstly purified in 1935 by Felix Trombe. It is injected in MRI reports for an increase in contracts of images. It reacts with oxygen at high temperatures with water reaction in diluting acid.

For holding rods in continuous fission, gadolinium is utilized in a nuclear reactor. Gadolinium holds a cross-section of all thermal elements with the elevated neutron of thermal.

It is a non-toxic element. Though it is friendly to plants and animals its salt may cause skin irritation.

Classification Of Gadolinium As A Chemical Element

To form its derivation with third Gd, gadolinium combines with most of the elements. For binary gadolinium compounds, combination at high temperatures with phosphorus, sulfur, carbon, arsenic, silicon, and nitrogen.

In comparison with other elements, gadolinium in its metallic form has vitality in dry air. It also acts as a reducing agent by reduction of oxides from silver metals in the elements.

The oxidation state of gadolinium is +3. The solid state constitutes gadolinium in reduced form.

The layered graphite-looking structure is formed by gadolinium chloride platelets.

Anhydrous gadolinium fluoride is a white solid that is very soluble in water. Gadolinium chloride is also a white solid, but it is less soluble in water.

Discovery And History Of Gadolinium

Geologist Johan Gadolin and Chemist Finnish named gadolinium after the foundation of gadolinite.

Johan Gadolin (1760-1852) was the first scientist who discovered an unknown element which he named 'yttrium' after Ytterby, a village where the occurrence of yttrium was high.

In samples of gadolinite and identical cerite mineral, it was observed that spectroscopic lines are visible in gadolinium and the mineral was found to have more elements with the emergence of recent spectral lines.

The oxide of a new element was founded by De Marignac with the separation of mineral oxide from cerite. That oxide was later known as 'gadolinia' and the separation of gadolinium from gadolinia was made by a French chemist, Paul-Emile Lecoq De Boishbaudran in 1886.

As one of the rare earth metals, it is found in minerals such as monazite and bastnasite. As with other metals of the same group, gadolinium rarely occurs in its free form on Earth’s crust because it forms compounds instead.

When exposed to air at room temperature, this silvery-white metal begins to tarnish slowly into a yellowish oxide coating and then develops a greenish-black coating when exposed for longer periods of time.

The most commonly used alloys containing this element are iron-gadolinite (Fe-Gd), which is an alloy that has high magnetic properties; and gadolinium gallium garnet (GGG), which is used as a crystal in microwave applications.

Other alloys containing this element are also used in superconductors, color television picture tubes, and phosphors.

Chemical Properties Of Gadolinium

Gadolinium is not a reactive metal unless it is reacted with oxygen at elevated temperatures. For reaction, it is to be added with acid and cold water.

Element gadolinium is a silvery-white metal that has no smell and a density of only about 0.29 oz per cu in (0.50 g per cu cm). However, it’s very brittle and difficult to work with, so much so that large-scale industrial applications for the gadolinium element are currently limited.

Gadolinium's magnetic properties make it highly useful in the electricity industry. The element is also used to produce specific magnetic alloys, like those found in hard drives and magnetic resonance imaging machines.

Uses Of Gadolinium

Element gadolinium has some remarkable properties. It is one of the few metals that expands as it solidifies and cools, while most other metals shrink when they undergo this process. The metal also has a high thermal neutron absorption cross-section and can be used in nuclear control rods to absorb neutrons from fission reactions.

Gadolinium in its phosphorus form can be used in microwaves and colored television. For imitating diamonds, the usage of gadolinium gallium garnet is done. Due to its high resistance, it is used in high tempered devices.

For the cure of tumors and conducting therapies of neurons, isotopes of gadolinium element (chemical symbol Gd and atomic number 64) are used.

For controlling rods, it is frequently used in nuclear power plants as nuclear power reactors.

For the manufacture of electronic and magnetic devices, alloys of gadolinium are wielded.

Gadolinium comprises 5.2 parts per million of the Earth's crust by weight. 68 F (20 C) is the curie point of gadolinium metal. The compound form of Gadolinium is found in the trivalent form.

Both properties of malleability and ductility are displayed by gadolinium. For getting protection from oxidation by the formation of white oxide in moist air.

By mixture with nitrogen, sulfur, carbon, selenium, boron, arsenic, and other elements, binary compounding of gadolinium is done.

These elements have various uses with their special usage in MRIs. The doctors get access to the scanning of abnormal tissues.

It is programmatic in nature and specializes in the reduction of longitudinal time relaxation for the creation of sharp images. The reactivity of gadolinium is less with other chemicals. Gadolinium is marked as suitable heavy metal on the Earth.

Did You Know...

The toxicity of gadolinium depends on the amount introduced to your body.

In small amounts, this metal is not harmful. In fact, if it were not toxic at all, gadolinium would be used in your body as a substitute for iron. However, in larger quantities, gadolinium can be harmful to your health.

Medical professionals who can treat gadolinium poisoning include emergency room doctors, internal medicine specialists, and toxicologists.

Treatment for gadolinium poisoning usually includes stopping the person from absorbing any more gadolinium, removing the gadolinium from their body if possible, and supportive care. In some cases, dialysis may be necessary to remove gadolinium from the body.

There is no specific antidote for gadolinium poisoning, so treatment is aimed at supporting the person's health and helping the body to remove the gadolinium.

It has been linked to numerous health concerns, including the development of a rare and incurable disease called nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF).

NSF can cause thickening of the skin, tightening of the joints, and damage to internal organs. There is no known cure for NSF, but there are treatments available.

The chemical and physical properties depend on the physical state of gadolinium at room temperature.

Speaking of physical properties, a thin film of this rare earth metal with atomic number 64 and chemical symbol Gd completely absorbs all light that hits it from the blue end of the spectrum, as well as about half that hits it from the red end of the spectrum, making it opaque to red light.

Gadolinium solvent extraction is a technique used in the separation of gadolinium from other elements. The oxidation states of the element are +3.

Gadolinium isotopes and properties have an abundance of about 8.21% in the Earth's crust and are so low you need a Radiation Survey Meter to detect them.

The magnetic field moment of gadolinium is 2, or one-half of that for iron (Fe). The low-value magnetic field derives from the fact that there are only five unpaired electrons in gadolinium and all magnetic moments of these five electrons destroy each other.

Gadolinium electron affinity is 8.61 electron volts. This electron affinity makes gadolinium a more electropositive element than calcium atom, thus making it easier to lose electrons.

Gadolinium chromium alloys are used in nuclear reactors, oil refining process catalysts, petroleum cracking, hydrogen purification technology, and chromate pigments.

The boiling point of chemicals works the opposite way to more commonly known substances, with a boiling point being how hot it can get while still remaining a liquid.

A gadolinium curie point is the melting point of gadolinium. The element has a curie point (melting point) of 2,394 F (1,312.2 C).

Gadolinium minerals monazite occur naturally, but can be found not only in the minerals themselves but also in their contact zones.