64GdGadolinium157.253[Xe] 4f⁷ 5d¹ 6s²
lanthanide

Gadolinium

Gadolinium is a chemical element with symbol Gd and atomic number 64. It is a silvery-white, malleable and ductile rare-earth metal. It is found in nature only in combined (salt) form.

Properties

At a glance

Atomic number
64
Atomic mass
157.253 u
Phase
Solid
Density
7.9 g/cm³
Melting point
1,585 K
Boiling point
3,273 K
First ionization energy
593.4 kJ/mol
Electronegativity
1.2
Electron affinity
13.22 kJ/mol
Molar heat capacity
37.03 J/(mol·K)
Period
6
Appearance
silvery white

Conditions and isotopes affect measured properties. Some properties of short-lived elements are predicted. Electronegativity uses the Pauling scale.

Electronic structure

Gadolinium’s orbitals use a hydrogen-like approximation. Every orbital of each visible subshell is shown: in Shapes as the surface holding half its probability, with light and dark shades for opposite signs of the wavefunction; in Cloud as dots where its electrons are likely to be. Sizes are stepped by shell, like the Shell model.

Electrons by shell
Electron configuration

54 is the [Xe] core total across five shells.

Preparing the orbital view…

64 protons94 neutrons

Gadolinium-158: its most common form in nature, or its longest-lived if it has none. The nucleus is drawn far too big: it’s about 100,000 times smaller than the atom.

States of matter

Turn up the heat

298 KK stands for kelvin, the temperature scale used in science. It starts at absolute zero (0 K), the coldest temperature possible, so it has no negative numbers and no degree sign.

A step of 1 K is the same size as 1 °C, so the two scales are always 273.15 apart. Fahrenheit is different: its degrees are smaller and it starts elsewhere, so water freezes at 273.15 K, 0 °C and 32 °F.25 °C · 77 °FSolid

At this temperature, gadolinium is a solid.

At normal atmospheric pressure (1 atm). The temperature scale is logarithmic. The particle box is schematic: real samples hold vastly more atoms, and spacing and speeds are not to scale.

Ionization energy

Pull the electrons off

Gd

GdNeutral atom · no charge

A neutral gadolinium atom. Removing its first electron takes 593 kJ/mol.

Gadolinium’s outer shell holds 2 electrons. Electron 3 is the first from an inner shell: it sits closer to the nucleus with less shielding, so removing it takes 1.7× as much energy as the one before. Each dashed line on the chart marks another jump, into a shell even closer to the nucleus.

Shell 1Shell 2Shell 3Shell 4Shell 5Shell 6MeasuredEstimated or calculatedEnergy in kJ/molkJ/mol (kilojoules per mole) is the energy to remove that electron from every atom in a mole of them: about 602 sextillion (6.02 × 10²³) atoms. For a single atom, divide by 96.485 to get electronvolts (eV). Gadolinium’s first electron takes about 6.2 eV.
1001,00010,000100,0001,000,00010,000,000Shell 5Shell 4Shell 3Shell 2×1.7×1.2×1.7×2.2×4.1151015202530354045505560
Show the values as a table
ElectronShellEnergy (kJ/mol)× previousValue
16593–Measured
261,1652Estimated
351,9821.7Estimated
454,2882.2Estimated
556,2521.5Estimated
658,5871.4Calculated
7510,2271.2Calculated
8511,8681.2Calculated
9513,8941.2Calculated
10515,9201.1Calculated
11517,6571.1Calculated
12420,5511.2Calculated
13423,7351.2Calculated
14425,8581.1Calculated
15427,7881.1Calculated
16430,7791.1Calculated
17433,9631.1Calculated
18437,0891.1Calculated
19454,5141.5Calculated
20457,9881.1Calculated
21461,6541.1Calculated
22465,6101.1Calculated
23469,3731.1Calculated
24473,4251.1Calculated
25478,1531.1Calculated
26482,1091.1Calculated
27486,3541.1Calculated
28490,4071Calculated
294106,1341.2Calculated
304110,1861Calculated
314114,7211Calculated
324118,9661Calculated
334127,4571.1Calculated
344131,9921Calculated
354142,8951.1Calculated
364147,8441Estimated
373252,8881.7Calculated
383262,4401Calculated
393272,7641Calculated
403283,7631Calculated
413294,2801Calculated
423304,8941Calculated
433319,5591Calculated
443330,3661Calculated
453342,1371Calculated
463353,1361Calculated
473384,0121.1Calculated
483393,6601Calculated
493404,3701Calculated
503414,3081Calculated
513441,7101.1Calculated
523452,8061Calculated
533474,1291Calculated
543484,8391Calculated
5521,087,6792.2Calculated
5621,114,5991Calculated
5721,144,4131Calculated
5821,172,0071Calculated
5921,271,9661.1Calculated
6021,304,5781Calculated
6121,345,2951Calculated
6221,372,4621Calculated
6315,575,3004.1Calculated
6415,698,9581Calculated

Successive ionization energies of gas-phase atoms and ions from the NIST Atomic Spectra Database. Solid bars are measured; hatched bars were estimated from nearby measurements or calculated from quantum theory, as is usual for highly charged ions. Electrons are taken from the outermost shell first, a simplification: electrons in different subshells of the same shell also differ in energy. On the log scale each gridline is 10 times the one below.

Compared with other elements

How does it compare?

GadoliniumOther lanthanidesOther elements

Density

7.9 g/cm³42nd highest of 99

Gd

Melting point

1,585 K34th highest of 96

Gd

Boiling point

3,273 K32nd highest of 97

Gd

Electronegativity

1.221st lowest of 96

Gd

First ionization energy

593 kJ/mol32nd lowest of 99

Gd

Elements 1–99 from the reference data; heavier elements are left out because only a few atoms have ever been made, so their bulk properties are predictions. First ionization energies come from NIST. Density uses a logarithmic scale, because gases are around a thousand times less dense than solids; gas densities are at 0 °C and 1 atm. Melting and boiling points are at normal pressure. Everyday temperatures and light sources in the pictures are approximate. Hover over a dot to see the element, or click it to compare.

Keep exploring

Explore the stories, imagery, and reference data in more depth. Properties with no value in the reference are marked unavailable.