| Symbol | Gd |
| Atomic number | 64 |
| Group | - |
| Period | 6 |
| Block | f |
| Classification | Lanthanide |
| Appearance | Silvery white |
| Color | Silver |
| Number of protons | 64 p+ |
| Number of neutrons | 93 n0 |
| Number of electrons | 64 e- |
| Phase at STP | Solid |
| Density | 7.9 g/cm3 |
| Atomic weight | 157.253 u |
| Melting point | 1585 K 1311.85 °C 2393.33 °F |
| Boiling point | 3273 K 2999.85 °C 5431.73 °F |
| Heat of vaporization | 311.71 kJ/mol |
| Electronegativity (Pauling Scale) | 1.2 |
| Electron affinity | 13.22 kJ/mol |
| Oxidation states | 0, +1, +2, +3 (a mildly basic oxide) |
| Ionization energies |
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| Discovery | Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac (1880) |
| First isolation | Lecoq de Boisbaudran (1886) |
Discovery of gadolinium Gadolinium is named after the mineral gadolinite, in turn named after Finnish chemist and geologist Johan Gadolin. In 1880, the Swiss chemist Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac observed the spectroscopic lines from gadolinium in samples of gadolinite (which actually contains relatively little gadolinium, but enough to show a spectrum) and in the separate mineral cerite. The latter mineral proved to contain far more of the element with the new spectral line. De Marignac eventually separated a mineral oxide from cerite, which he realized was the oxide of this new element. He named the oxide "gadolinia". Because he realized that "gadolinia" was the oxide of a new element, he is credited with the discovery of gadolinium. The French chemist Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran carried out the separation of gadolinium metal from gadolinia in 1886. | |