All practice pages/Interatomic theory/Elements
Element 64, a lanthanide
The metal that makes MRI scans sharper, and one that turns magnetic on a cold day.
Period 6, in the lanthanide row set below the main table. The other lanthanides are tinted, and every cell opens its own article.
Gadolinium gives up three electrons to form Gd³⁺, which keeps seven unpaired f electrons. Those unpaired electrons make it strongly magnetic, the property MRI contrast agents rely on.
Found in monazite and bastnäsite, mostly mined in China.
Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac detected it in 1880, and Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran separated its oxide in 1886. It was named after the mineral gadolinite, which honors Johan Gadolin, the Finnish chemist who first analyzed ore from Ytterby.
Gadolinium compounds injected before an MRI scan make blood vessels and tumors stand out. Gadolinium absorbs neutrons better than any other stable element, so it helps control some nuclear reactors, and it goes into phosphors, magnetic refrigeration research and data storage.