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Subfield · Chemistry

Inorganic Chemistry research

Inorganic Chemistry is a subfield of Chemistry. Science Explorer counts 402k research works in it since 1950. 16.1% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: study of the synthesis and behavior of inorganic and organometallic compounds.

Research works
402k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
65k
per year above
Top-10% rate
16.1%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
12
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+7%
the tick is no change

What is Inorganic Chemistry research about, and what is growing?

By the world's output in 2019–23, its most used keywords are Catalysis, Metal-Organic Frameworks, Porous Materials, Coordination Chemistry, Actinides, Uranium. Gaining share since 2009–13: Coconut, Virgin Coconut Oil, Metal-Organic Frameworks, Porous Materials, Catalysis. Losing share: Crystal Structure Refinement, Hirshfeld Surface Analysis, Coordination Chemistry, Covalent Radii.

▲ gaining share of this field◆ holding its share▼ losing share

Size is the world's fractional works in 2019–23 in the topics tagged with each word; colour compares the word's share of this field with 2009–13. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 27 words, with their numbers
  1. Catalysis26k▲ 1.42×3 topics
  2. Metal-Organic Frameworks19k▲ 1.81×1 topic
  3. Porous Materials19k▲ 1.81×1 topic
  4. Coordination Chemistry12k▼ 0.61×2 topics
  5. Actinides8,971▼ 0.80×1 topic
  6. Uranium8,971▼ 0.80×1 topic
  7. Crystal Structure6,789◆ 1.09×2 topics
  8. Asymmetric Catalysis6,626▼ 0.86×1 topic
  9. Hydrogenation6,626▼ 0.86×1 topic
  10. Mesoporous Materials5,270◆ 1.10×1 topic
  11. Zeolites5,270◆ 1.10×1 topic
  12. Inorganic Pigments3,689▲ 1.33×1 topic
  13. Synthesis3,689▲ 1.33×1 topic
  14. Coconut3,663▲ 3.3×1 topic
  15. Virgin Coconut Oil3,663▲ 3.3×1 topic
  16. Fluoride Ion Batteries3,652◆ 0.93×1 topic
  17. Noble Gas Compounds3,652◆ 0.93×1 topic
  18. Inorganic Clusters3,100◆ 0.90×1 topic
  19. Oxynitride Perovskites3,100◆ 0.90×1 topic
  20. Crystal Structure Refinement3,074▼ 0.36×1 topic
  21. Hirshfeld Surface Analysis3,074▼ 0.36×1 topic
  22. Dioxygen Activation2,722▼ 0.70×1 topic
  23. Metalloenzyme2,722▼ 0.70×1 topic
  24. Covalent Radii1,990▼ 0.63×1 topic
  25. Main Group Chemistry1,990▼ 0.63×1 topic
  26. Chemistry1,266▼ 0.69×1 topic
  27. Vanadium1,266▼ 0.69×1 topic

Which countries lead Inorganic Chemistry research?

On research quality in 2022–2025, China, the United States and India rank highest in Inorganic Chemistry. By volume, China and the United States publish the most (20k and 4.5k works in 2022–2025).

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China · #2 all time 20.7% top 10% · 20k works
  2. 2 United States · #1 all time 14.2% top 10% · 4.5k works
  3. 3 India · #7 all time 12.6% top 10% · 4.4k works
  4. 4 Germany · #3 all time 11.5% top 10% · 2.2k works
  5. 5 France · #6 all time 10.6% top 10% · 1.5k works
  6. 6 Saudi Arabia · #16 all time 23.7% top 10% · 579 works
  7. 7 United Kingdom · #4 all time 15.7% top 10% · 1.1k works
  8. 8 Iran · #20 all time 17.8% top 10% · 1k works
  9. 9 Australia · #13 all time 19.3% top 10% · 490 works
  10. 10 Spain · #9 all time 13.6% top 10% · 928 works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 34 countries ranked in Inorganic Chemistry. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Inorganic Chemistry

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China 20k works
  2. 2 United States 4.5k works
  3. 3 India 4.4k works
  4. 4 Russia 2.4k works
  5. 5 Germany 2.2k works
  6. 6 Japan 1.9k works
  7. 7 Indonesia 1.6k works
  8. 8 France 1.5k works
  9. 9 United Kingdom 1.1k works
  10. 10 Iran 1k works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

China: 48.6%United States: 11.2%India: 11.0%Russia: 5.9%6 others listed: 23.3%49%largest
China20k · 48.6%United States4,513 · 11.2%India4,438 · 11.0%Russia2,384 · 5.9%6 others listed9,365 · 23.3%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Inorganic Chemistry research?

Chinese Academy of Sciences (China) ranks first in Inorganic Chemistry on research quality in 2022–2025, followed by University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Nankai University.

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing · #1 all time 23.7% top 10% · 564 works
  2. 2 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing · #39 all time 25.7% top 10% · 324 works
  3. 3 Nankai University China · Tianjin · #10 all time 27.8% top 10% · 246 works
  4. 4 Zhejiang University China · Hangzhou · #21 all time 29.0% top 10% · 208 works
  5. 5 Tsinghua University China · Beijing · #34 all time 27.3% top 10% · 176 works
  6. 6 University of Science and Technology of China China · Hefei · #54 all time 26.7% top 10% · 165 works
  7. 7 Sichuan University China · Chengdu · #92 all time 20.9% top 10% · 236 works
  8. 8 Sun Yat-sen University China · Guangzhou · #23 all time 25.7% top 10% · 160 works
  9. 9 Jilin University China · Changchun · #30 all time 23.2% top 10% · 187 works
  10. 10 National University of Singapore Singapore · Singapore · #18 all time 37.6% top 10% · 87 works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 127 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Inorganic Chemistry.

Top 100 Inorganic Chemistry institutions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 564 works
  2. 2 University of Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 324 works
  3. 3 Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueFrance 256 works
  4. 4 Nankai UniversityChina 246 works
  5. 5 Sichuan UniversityChina 236 works
  6. 6 Zhejiang UniversityChina 207 works
  7. 7 Nanjing Tech UniversityChina 193 works
  8. 8 Zhengzhou UniversityChina 189 works
  9. 9 Jilin UniversityChina 187 works
  10. 10 Tsinghua UniversityChina 177 works

Who are the leading researchers in Inorganic Chemistry?

Among the most productive authors in Inorganic Chemistry, Donald G. Truhlar, K. Barry Sharpless and Michael J. S. Dewar rank highest on the composite score.

  1. 1 Donald G. Truhlar United States · #255 worldwide 8.4k citations · 315 works
  2. 2 K. Barry Sharpless United States · #863 worldwide 3.3k citations · 145 works
  3. 3 Michael J. S. Dewar United States · #993 worldwide 4.3k citations · 217 works
  4. 4 Fujio Izumi Japan · #1,117 worldwide 5.8k citations · 88 works
  5. 5 Irwin Fridovich United States · #1,216 worldwide 4.1k citations · 87 works
  6. 6 Christopher J. Cramer United States · #1,385 worldwide 3.3k citations · 92 works
  7. 7 Derek R. Lovley United States · #1,727 worldwide 2.2k citations · 87 works
  8. 8 George M. Whitesides United States · #1,739 worldwide 4.8k citations · 265 works
  9. 9 Julian D. Gale Australia · #2,323 worldwide 3.1k citations · 85 works
  10. 10 Omar M. Yaghi United States · #2,440 worldwide 5.5k citations · 71 works

Re-ranked on the composite score from the 5,752 highest-output authors in Inorganic Chemistry. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Inorganic Chemistry researchers

Where is Inorganic Chemistry research done?

The largest centres of Inorganic Chemistry research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Shanghai (China), Moscow (Russia) and Nanjing (China). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Bagnols-sur-Cèze, Mülheim and Kāsaragod.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beijing China 3.1k works
  2. 2 Shanghai China 1.1k works
  3. 3 Moscow Russia 920 works
  4. 4 Nanjing China 869 works
  5. 5 Tianjin China 786 works
  6. 6 Guangzhou China 662 works
  7. 7 Wuhan China 645 works
  8. 8 Hangzhou China 630 works
  9. 9 Xi'an China 579 works
  10. 10 Tokyo Japan 508 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. Bagnols-sur-CèzeFR · 22.3 works41×
  2. MülheimDE · 55.9 works21×
  3. KāsaragodIN · 42.1 works16×
  4. KālpākkamIN · 34.6 works16×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Inorganic Chemistry than the world average.

See Inorganic Chemistry on the map

Inorganic Chemistry research by country

The best places for Inorganic Chemistry research inside each country, with that country's researchers and world standing.

Where is the best place to study Inorganic Chemistry?

Among universities, judged by research, East China University of Technology, Southern University of Science and Technology and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%mean 25.52%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →East China University of Technology: 153, 24.0%Southern University of Science and Technology: 102, 28.0%King Abdullah University of Science and Technology: 62, 31.7%Nankai University: 246, 27.8%Quzhou University: 36, 29.3%Southwest University of Science and Technology: 105, 21.6%Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune: 28, 25.1%University of Chinese Academy of Sciences: 324, 25.7%University of South China: 144, 19.7%Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata: 35, 22.3%King Abdullah Univer…Southern University …Nankai UniversityEast China Universit…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1 East China University of TechnologyChina 64.624.0%32.9×153 +117.7%
2 Southern University of Science and TechnologyChina 56.328.0%3.7×102 +1214.8%
3 King Abdullah University of Science and TechnologySaudi Arabia 56.331.7%4.4×62 +129.7%
4 Nankai UniversityChina 56.127.8%7.2×246 -14.1%
5 Quzhou UniversityChina 55.729.3%10.2×36 —
6 Southwest University of Science and TechnologyChina 54.821.6%9.1×105 +64.6%
7 Indian Institute of Science Education and Research PuneIndia 54.625.1%9.7×28 +120.7%
8 University of Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 53.625.7%3.8×324 +81.4%
9 University of South ChinaChina 53.519.7%11.0×144 -0.2%
10 Indian Institute of Science Education and Research KolkataIndia 52.622.3%9.7×35 +100.3%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Inorganic Chemistry research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 7% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Coconut Research and Applications, Metal-Organic Frameworks: Synthesis and Applications and Pigment Synthesis and Properties.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

  1. Coconut Research and Applications+247%
  2. Metal-Organic Frameworks: Synthesis and Applications+93%
  3. Pigment Synthesis and Properties+56%
  4. Asymmetric Hydrogenation and Catalysis+20%
  5. Zeolite Catalysis and Synthesis+6%
  6. Inorganic Fluorides and Related Compounds+4%
  7. Radioactive element chemistry and processing-16%
  8. Inorganic Chemistry and Materials-21%
  9. Synthesis and characterization of novel inorganic/organometallic compounds-39%
  10. Crystal structures of chemical compounds-50%
← shrinkingno changegrowing →

Growth in output from 2005–09 to 2015–19. Every topic is a page of its own.

What does Inorganic Chemistry include?

Metal-Organic Frameworks: Synthesis and Applications: 64k fractional worksRadioactive element chemistry and processing: 63k fractional worksAsymmetric Hydrogenation…47kAsymmetric Hydrogenation and Catalysis: 47k fractional worksInorganic Fluorides and …38kInorganic Fluorides and Related Compounds: 38k fractional worksZeolite Catalysis and Synthesis: 35k fractional worksCrystal structures of chemical compounds: 32k fractional worksInorganic Chemistry and …29kInorganic Chemistry and Materials: 29k fractional worksSynthesis and characterization of novel inorganic/organometallic compounds: 28k fractional worksMetal-Catalyzed Oxygenation Mechanisms: 24k fractional worksPigment Synthesis and Properties: 18k fractional worksVanadium and Halogenation Chemistry: 12k fractional worksCoconut Research and Applications: 10k fractional works

Area is fractional works in that topic. Every name below is a page of its own.