Gadolinium Aluminide

See more Aluminum products. Aluminum (or Aluminium) (atomic symbol: Al, atomic number: 13) is a Block P, Group 13, Period 3 element with an atomic weight of 26.9815386. It is the third most abundant element in the earth's crust and the most abundant metallic element. Aluminum's name is derived from alumina, the mineral from which Sir Humphrey Davy attempted to refine it from in 1812. Aluminum was first predicted by Antoine Lavoisier 1787 and first isolated by Hans Christian Øersted in 1825. Aluminum is a silvery gray metal that possesses many desirable characteristics. It is light, nonmagnetic and non-sparking. It stands second among metals in the scale of malleability, and sixth in ductility. It is extensively used in many industrial applications where a strong, light, easily constructed material is needed. Although it has only 60% of the electrical conductivity of copper, it is used in electrical transmission lines because of its light weight. Pure aluminum is soft and lacks strength, but alloyed with small amounts of copper, magnesium, silicon, manganese, or other elements, it imparts a variety of useful properties.

See more Gadolinium products. Gadolinium (atomic symbol: Gd, atomic number: 64) is a Block F, Group 3, Period 6 element with an atomic radius of 157.25. The number of electrons in each of Gadolinium's shells is [2, 8, 18, 25, 9, 2] and its electron configuration is [Xe] 4f⁷ 5d¹ 6s². The gadolinium atom has a radius of 180 pm and a Van der Waals radius of 237 pm. Gadolinium was discovered by Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac in 1880 and first isolated by Lecoq de Boisbaudran in 1886. In its elemental form, gadolinium has a silvery-white appearance. Gadolinium is a rare earth or lanthanide element that possesses unique properties advantageous to specialized applications such as semiconductor fabrication and nuclear reactor shielding. It is utilized for both its high magnetic moment (7.94μ B) and in phosphors and scintillator crystals. When complexed with EDTA ligands, it is used as an injectable contrast agent for MRIs. The element is named after the Finnish chemist and geologist Johan Gadolin.