Gadolinium
Lanthanidesolidblock f
A lanthanide that turns ferromagnetic just below room temperature and whose chelates are injected as the contrast agent in most MRI scans.
| Atomic number | 64 |
| Standard atomic weight | 157.25 g/mol ± 0.01 |
| Group · period | f-block series · 6 |
| Electron configuration | [Xe] 4f⁷ 5d¹ 6s² |
About Gadolinium
Gadolinium is the third classic f-block anomaly: a half-filled 4f⁷ shell is stable enough that the next electron goes into 5d rather than pairing up, giving [Xe] 4f⁷ 5d¹ 6s². Those seven unpaired electrons make the free ion the most paramagnetic thing in the periodic table, which is exactly what an MRI contrast agent needs — the Gd³⁺ ion shortens the relaxation time of nearby water protons and lights up the tissue it has reached. Because the free ion is toxic it is always caged in a chelate such as DOTA or DTPA. Gadolinium metal is also ferromagnetic below 20 °C, making it the standard working material in magnetocaloric refrigeration research, and gadolinium-157 has the largest thermal neutron capture cross-section of any known nuclide.
Moles from Mass (n = m/M)
Opens with M = 157.25 g/mol already filled in
Gas Density from Molar Mass
Opens with M = 157.25 g/mol already filled in
Faraday's Law of Electrolysis (m = QM/nF)
Opens with M = 157.25 g/mol already filled in
Ion Concentration as CaCO₃ Equivalent
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Acid Feed to Reduce Alkalinity
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