Discovered in 1880 by J.C. Galissard in Geneva, Switzerland, and isolated by P.E. Lecoq de Boisbaudran in 1886 in Paris, France. Gadolinium is a member of the lanthanide group of elements, and is obtained from the same sources as europium (its abundance in the Earth's crust is 7.7 ppm). It is a silvery white metal which is ductile and malleable. It is stable in a dry atmosphere but forms an oxide coating when exposed to moist air. It reacts slowly with water and is soluble in acids. Gadolinium has limited uses as a pure metal, but when alloyed with chromium, iron or similar metals, the resulting alloys have improved workability and corrosion resistance. Due to its magnetic properties, gadolinium is used in the manufacture of magnets, recording heads and electrical components.Powder - Small particles with an approximately defined size range. Those materials described as alloy precursors are not true alloys - they are made by sintering a blend of powders of the component metals to achieve alloying by diffusion. The resultant cake is ground and sieved to the required particle size range. Unless otherwise stated, the particle sizes shown are for guidance only. We do not guarantee either any particular size distribution between the quoted minimum and maximum sizes, or a specific particle shape.
