060Lanthanide · Group 3 · Period 6

Neodymium

Neodymium (Nd) is element 60, a lanthanide in the f-block — group 3, period 6. It is a solid at room temperature with 6 electron shells (2, 8, 18, 22, 8, 2) and an atomic mass of 144.2423 u.

Atomic mass: 144.2 u
Phase · STP: solid
Melting: 1297 K · 1024 °C
Boiling: 3347 K · 3074 °C
Electronegativity: 1.14
Density: 7.01 g/cm³

Photograph — Hi-Res Images ofChemical Elements, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, source: https://images-of-elements.com/neodymium.php

Identity

Atomic number: 60
Standard atomic weight: 144.2 u
Category: Lanthanide
Group: 3
Period: 6
Block: f-block
Oxidation states: +3

Physical properties

Melting point: 1297 K · 1024 °C
Boiling point: 3347 K · 3074 °C
Density: 7.01 g/cm³
Molar heat capacity: 27.45 J/(mol·K)
Atomic radius: 229 pm
Electron affinity: 184.87 kJ/mol

Atomic structure

60protons

84neutrons

60electrons

2valence e⁻

Noble-gas notation: [Xe] 4f4 6s2
Full configuration: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d10 4p6 5s2 4d10 5p6 6s2 4f4
Electrons per shell: 2, 8, 18, 22, 8, 2

Periodic trends

Where Neodymium ranks across all 118 elements.

Electronegativity1.14

Ionization energy533.1 kJ/mol

Electron affinity184.87 kJ/mol

Density7.01 g/cm³

Atomic radius229 pm

Ionization energies

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

533.1

1.0k

2.1k

3.9k

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

Discovery

Discovered: 1885
Discovered by: Carl Auer von Welsbach
Named by: —
Appearance: silvery white