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Subfield · Materials Science

Materials Chemistry research

Materials Chemistry is a subfield of Materials Science. Science Explorer counts 2.3M research works in it since 1950. 17.9% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: study of the synthesis, structure, and properties of solid phase materials.

Research works
2.3M
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
419k
per year above
Top-10% rate
17.9%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
69
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+21%
the tick is no change

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

By the world's output in 2019–23, its most used keywords are Nanoparticles, Catalysis, Two-Dimensional Materials, Biomedical Applications, Nanocrystals, Bioimaging. Gaining share since 2009–13: Semiconducting Transition Metal Dichalcogenides, Van der Waals Heterostructures, Electrochemical Properties, Energy Storage, Green Synthesis. Losing share: Functionalization, Self-Assembly, Nanostructures, Synthesis.

▲ 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 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Nanoparticles73k◆ 0.95×9 topics
  2. Catalysis63k◆ 0.93×8 topics
  3. Two-Dimensional Materials61k▲ 1.79×4 topics
  4. Biomedical Applications52k▲ 1.47×6 topics
  5. Nanocrystals48k▲ 1.37×3 topics
  6. Bioimaging46k▲ 1.16×4 topics
  7. Nanostructures45k▼ 0.80×7 topics
  8. Nanocomposites45k◆ 0.93×5 topics
  9. Transparent Conductors38k▼ 0.85×2 topics
  10. Raman Spectroscopy38k◆ 0.91×3 topics
  11. Synthesis37k▼ 0.83×7 topics
  12. Nanomaterials36k▲ 1.25×5 topics
  13. Green Synthesis30k▲ 2.8×3 topics
  14. Graphene29k◆ 1.08×2 topics
  15. Ceria27k◆ 0.93×1 topic
  16. Oxidation27k◆ 0.93×1 topic
  17. Electronic Structure26k▲ 1.84×2 topics
  18. Materials23k◆ 1.01×4 topics
  19. Carbon Nanotubes22k◆ 1.04×1 topic
  20. Chemical Vapor Deposition22k◆ 1.04×1 topic
  21. Antimicrobial22k▲ 2.4×2 topics
  22. Electrocatalysis21k▲ 1.78×2 topics
  23. Nanosheets21k▲ 2.6×2 topics
  24. Microstructure21k▼ 0.83×5 topics
  25. Quantum Dots20k◆ 0.94×2 topics
  26. Photoluminescence20k▲ 1.80×2 topics
  27. Characterization19k◆ 1.10×3 topics
  28. Mechanical Properties19k◆ 0.96×4 topics
  29. Photovoltaics19k◆ 0.99×1 topic
  30. Semiconductor Nanocrystals19k◆ 0.99×1 topic
  31. Self-Assembly19k▼ 0.71×4 topics
  32. Energy Storage18k▲ 2.9×2 topics
  33. Silver18k▲ 2.2×1 topic
  34. Toxicity18k▲ 2.2×1 topic
  35. Crystal Structure18k◆ 1.13×3 topics
  36. Hydrogen Storage17k▲ 1.76×2 topics
  37. Functionalization17k▼ 0.46×3 topics
  38. Semiconducting Transition Metal Dichalcogenides17k▲ 7.5×1 topic
  39. Van der Waals Heterostructures17k▲ 7.5×1 topic
  40. Electrochemical Properties17k▲ 3.9×1 topic

Which countries lead Materials Chemistry research?

On research quality in 2022–2025, China, the United States and India rank highest in Materials Chemistry. By volume, China and India publish the most (158k and 38k works in 2022–2025).

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China · #2 all time 20.5% top 10% · 158k works
  2. 2 United States · #1 all time 15.3% top 10% · 33k works
  3. 3 India · #7 all time 14.0% top 10% · 38k works
  4. 4 South Korea · #8 all time 16.8% top 10% · 12k works
  5. 5 United Kingdom · #5 all time 17.9% top 10% · 7.4k works
  6. 6 Germany · #3 all time 13.0% top 10% · 12k works
  7. 7 Australia · #9 all time 24.2% top 10% · 3.8k works
  8. 8 Saudi Arabia · #22 all time 22.4% top 10% · 5.8k works
  9. 9 Japan · #4 all time 8.1% top 10% · 15k works
  10. 10 France · #6 all time 10.8% top 10% · 9.8k 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 74 countries ranked in Materials Chemistry. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Materials Chemistry

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China 158k works
  2. 2 India 38k works
  3. 3 United States 33k works
  4. 4 Russia 17k works
  5. 5 Japan 15k works
  6. 6 South Korea 12k works
  7. 7 Germany 12k works
  8. 8 France 9.8k works
  9. 9 Iran 7.7k works
  10. 10 United Kingdom 7.4k 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: 50.9%India: 12.3%United States: 10.8%Russia: 5.4%6 others listed: 20.6%51%largest
China158k · 50.9%India38k · 12.3%United States33k · 10.8%Russia17k · 5.4%6 others listed64k · 20.6%

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

Which institutions lead Materials Chemistry research?

Chinese Academy of Sciences (China) ranks first in Materials Chemistry on research quality in 2022–2025, followed by Tsinghua University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing · #1 all time 23.3% top 10% · 4k works
  2. 2 Tsinghua University China · Beijing · #5 all time 25.3% top 10% · 1.8k works
  3. 3 Shanghai Jiao Tong University China · Shanghai · #21 all time 25.4% top 10% · 1.6k works
  4. 4 Central South University China · Changsha · #17 all time 24.8% top 10% · 1.6k works
  5. 5 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing · #30 all time 23.4% top 10% · 1.8k works
  6. 6 Northwestern Polytechnical University China · Xi'an · #40 all time 25.9% top 10% · 1.4k works
  7. 7 University of Science and Technology Beijing China · Beijing · #43 all time 20.6% top 10% · 1.8k works
  8. 8 University of Science and Technology of China China · Hefei · #26 all time 22.9% top 10% · 1.6k works
  9. 9 Zhejiang University China · Hangzhou · #35 all time 25.2% top 10% · 1.4k works
  10. 10 Xi'an Jiaotong University China · Xi'an · #27 all time 20.6% top 10% · 2.2k 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 1,556 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Materials Chemistry.

Top 100 Materials Chemistry institutions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 4k works
  2. 2 Xi'an Jiaotong UniversityChina 2.2k works
  3. 3 University of Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 1.8k works
  4. 4 Tsinghua UniversityChina 1.8k works
  5. 5 University of Science and Technology BeijingChina 1.8k works
  6. 6 Harbin Institute of TechnologyChina 1.8k works
  7. 7 Central South UniversityChina 1.6k works
  8. 8 University of Science and Technology of ChinaChina 1.6k works
  9. 9 Shanghai Jiao Tong UniversityChina 1.6k works
  10. 10 Sichuan UniversityChina 1.5k works

Who are the leading researchers in Materials Chemistry?

Among the most productive authors in Materials Chemistry, J. Häfner, Jens K. Nørskov and David Vanderbilt rank highest on the composite score.

  1. 1 J. Häfner Austria · #81 worldwide 11k citations · 132 works
  2. 2 Jens K. Nørskov Denmark · #84 worldwide 9.8k citations · 144 works
  3. 3 David Vanderbilt United States · #102 worldwide 7.3k citations · 143 works
  4. 4 Georg Kresse Austria · #163 worldwide 24k citations · 113 works
  5. 5 Michele Parrinello Switzerland · #191 worldwide 5.6k citations · 175 works
  6. 6 Henry J. Snaith United Kingdom · #217 worldwide 6.6k citations · 125 works
  7. 7 Donald G. Truhlar United States · #255 worldwide 8.4k citations · 315 works
  8. 8 Moungi G. Bawendi United States · #653 worldwide 4.1k citations · 131 works
  9. 9 Rodney S. Ruoff United States · #685 worldwide 5.5k citations · 134 works
  10. 10 Hongjie Dai United States · #840 worldwide 5.8k citations · 100 works

Re-ranked on the composite score from the 5,734 highest-output authors in Materials Chemistry. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Materials Chemistry researchers

Where is Materials Chemistry research done?

The largest centres of Materials Chemistry research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Shanghai (China), Xi'an (China) and Nanjing (China). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Berlin.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beijing China 25k works
  2. 2 Shanghai China 9.5k works
  3. 3 Xi'an China 8.1k works
  4. 4 Nanjing China 7.8k works
  5. 5 Wuhan China 6.4k works
  6. 6 Moscow Russia 5.7k works
  7. 7 Guangzhou China 5.4k works
  8. 8 Seoul South Korea 4.8k works
  9. 9 Tianjin China 4.8k works
  10. 10 Chengdu China 4.7k works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. BerlinDE · 44.9 works12×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

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

See Materials Chemistry on the map

Materials Chemistry research by country

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

Where is the best place to study Materials Chemistry?

Among universities, judged by research, King Khalid University, Shenzhen University and Southern 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 25.5%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →King Khalid University: 505, 25.6%Shenzhen University: 824, 26.6%Southern University of Science and Technology: 658, 26.6%Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University: 351, 22.8%University of Chinese Academy of Sciences: 1,813, 23.4%University of Science and Technology Beijing: 1,796, 20.6%City University of Hong Kong: 524, 32.6%Xi'an Jiaotong University: 2,206, 20.6%Nanjing Forestry University: 438, 25.7%King Abdullah University of Science and Technology: 328, 30.5%Shenzhen UniversitySouthern University …King Khalid UniversityPrincess Nourah bint…
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 King Khalid UniversitySaudi Arabia 58.425.6%3.4×505 +430.4%
2 Shenzhen UniversityChina 55.726.6%2.8×824 +202.6%
3 Southern University of Science and TechnologyChina 55.726.6%3.0×658 +990.0%
4 Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman UniversitySaudi Arabia 53.622.8%3.4×351 +264.7%
5 University of Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 51.923.4%2.7×1,813 +110.9%
6 University of Science and Technology BeijingChina 50.520.6%5.7×1,796 +14.9%
7 City University of Hong KongHong Kong 49.532.6%2.2×524 -0.4%
8 Xi'an Jiaotong UniversityChina 49.220.6%3.4×2,206 +63.4%
9 Nanjing Forestry UniversityChina 48.825.7%2.4×438 +200.0%
10 King Abdullah University of Science and TechnologySaudi Arabia 48.730.5%2.9×328 +66.9%

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 Materials Chemistry research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 21% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Nanoparticles: synthesis and applications, MXene and MAX Phase Materials and Graphene research and applications.

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. Nanoparticles: synthesis and applications+581%
  2. MXene and MAX Phase Materials+356%
  3. Graphene research and applications+201%
  4. Luminescence and Fluorescent Materials+174%
  5. Copper-based nanomaterials and applications+166%
  6. Quantum Dots Synthesis And Properties+110%
  7. Carbon Nanotubes in Composites-8%
  8. Mesoporous Materials and Catalysis-10%
  9. Enzyme Structure and Function-13%
  10. Material Dynamics and Properties-14%
← shrinkingno changegrowing →

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

What does Materials Chemistry include?

Catalytic Processes in M…131kCatalytic Processes in Materials Science: 131k fractional worksGraphene research and ap…83kGraphene research and applications: 83k fractional worksZnO doping and properties: 75k fractional worksQuantum Dots Synthesis And Properties: 75k fractional worksCorrosion Behavior and I…61kCorrosion Behavior and Inhibition: 61k fractional worksDiamond and Carbon-based Materials Research: 61k fractional worksLuminescence Properties of Advanced Materials: 58k fractional worksFerroelectric and Piezoelectric Materials: 56k fractional worksNuclear Materials and Properties: 55k fractional worksEnzyme Structure and Function: 54k fractional worksSolid-state spectroscopy and crystallography: 53k fractional worksPorphyrin and Phthalocyanine Chemistry: 49k fractional works

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