064Lanthanide · Group 3 · Period 6

Gadolinium

Gadolinium (Gd) is element 64, a lanthanide in the f-block — group 3, period 6. It is a solid at room temperature with 6 electron shells (2, 8, 18, 25, 9, 2) and an atomic mass of 157.253 u.

Atomic mass: 157.3 u
Phase · STP: solid
Melting: 1585 K · 1312 °C
Boiling: 3273 K · 3000 °C
Electronegativity: 1.2
Density: 7.9 g/cm³

Photograph — Jurii, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, source: https://images-of-elements.com/gadolinium.php

Identity

Atomic number: 64
Standard atomic weight: 157.3 u
Category: Lanthanide
Group: 3
Period: 6
Block: f-block
Oxidation states: +3

Physical properties

Melting point: 1585 K · 1312 °C
Boiling point: 3273 K · 3000 °C
Density: 7.9 g/cm³
Molar heat capacity: 37.03 J/(mol·K)
Atomic radius: 237 pm
Electron affinity: 13.22 kJ/mol

Atomic structure

64protons

93neutrons

64electrons

2valence e⁻

Noble-gas notation: [Xe] 4f7 5d1 6s2
Full configuration: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d10 4p6 5s2 4d10 5p6 6s2 4f7 5d1
Electrons per shell: 2, 8, 18, 25, 9, 2

Periodic trends

Where Gadolinium ranks across all 118 elements.

Electronegativity1.2

Ionization energy593.4 kJ/mol

Electron affinity13.22 kJ/mol

Density7.9 g/cm³

Atomic radius237 pm

Ionization energies

Energy to remove each successive electron (kJ/mol).

593.4

1.2k

2.0k

4.3k

Successive ionization energies (kJ/mol, log scale).

Discovery

Discovered: 1880
Discovered by: Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac
Named by: —
Appearance: silvery white