Gadolinium(III) nitrate is an inorganic compound of

gadolinium Gadolinium is a chemical element with the symbol Gd and atomic number 64. Gadolinium is a silvery-white metal when oxidation is removed. It is only slightly malleable and is a ductile rare-earth element. Gadolinium reacts with atmospheric oxygen ...

. This salt is used as a water-soluble

neutron poison In applications such as nuclear reactors, a neutron poison (also called a neutron absorber or a nuclear poison) is a substance with a large neutron absorption cross-section. In such applications, absorbing neutrons is normally an undesirable eff ...

nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat from nu ...

s. Gadolinium nitrate, like all nitrate salts, is an

oxidizing agent An oxidizing agent (also known as an oxidant, oxidizer, electron recipient, or electron acceptor) is a substance in a redox chemical reaction that gains or "Electron acceptor, accepts"/"receives" an electron from a (called the , , or ). In ot ...

. The most common form of this substance is hexahydrate Gd(NO₃)₃•6H₂O with molecular weight 451.36 g/mol and CAS Number: 19598-90-

Use

Gadolinium nitrate was used at the

Savannah River Site The Savannah River Site (SRS) is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reservation in the United States in the state of South Carolina, located on land in Aiken, Allendale, and Barnwell counties adjacent to the Savannah River, southeast of August ...

heavy water nuclear reactors and had to be separated from the heavy water for storage or reuse. The Canadian

CANDU reactor The CANDU (Canada Deuterium Uranium) is a Canadian pressurized heavy-water reactor design used to generate electric power. The acronym refers to its deuterium oxide ( heavy water) moderator and its use of (originally, natural) uranium fuel. C ...

, a pressurized heavy water reactor, also uses gadolinium nitrate as a water-soluble neutron poison in heavy water. Gadolinium nitrate is also used as a raw material in the production of other gadolinium compounds, for production of specialty glasses and ceramics and as a

phosphor A phosphor is a substance that exhibits the phenomenon of luminescence; it emits light when exposed to some type of radiant energy. The term is used both for fluorescent or phosphorescent substances which glow on exposure to ultraviolet or vi ...

References

{{Gadolinium compounds Gadolinium compounds Nitrates Neutron poisons