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Subfield · Chemistry

Spectroscopy research

Spectroscopy is a subfield of Chemistry. Science Explorer counts 517k research works in it since 1950. 16.9% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: measurement and interpretation of interactions between matter and electromagnetic radiation of varying frequencies.

Research works
517k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
87k
per year above
Top-10% rate
16.9%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
12
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
-4%
the tick is no change

What is Spectroscopy research about, and what is growing?

By the world's output in 2019–23, its most used keywords are Mass Spectrometry, Proteomics, Chiral Separation, Liquid Chromatography, Fluorescent Chemosensors, Ion Detection. Gaining share since 2009–13: Aerogels, Synthesis, Fluorescent Chemosensors, Ion Detection. Losing share: Superacid-Catalyzed Reactions, Superelectrophiles, Aqueous Solutions, Diffusion Coefficients.

▲ 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 26 words, with their numbers
  1. Mass Spectrometry14k◆ 0.93×2 topics
  2. Proteomics14k◆ 0.93×2 topics
  3. Chiral Separation13k▼ 0.76×1 topic
  4. Liquid Chromatography13k▼ 0.76×1 topic
  5. Fluorescent Chemosensors11k▲ 1.71×1 topic
  6. Ion Detection11k▲ 1.71×1 topic
  7. Electrospray9,720◆ 0.94×1 topic
  8. Ionization9,720◆ 0.94×1 topic
  9. Spectroscopic Databases7,189◆ 1.06×1 topic
  10. Terahertz Quantum-Cascade Lasers7,189◆ 1.06×1 topic
  11. Protein Identification4,389◆ 0.91×1 topic
  12. Quantitative Analysis4,389◆ 0.91×1 topic
  13. NMR Spectroscopy4,374◆ 0.99×1 topic
  14. Solid-State NMR4,374◆ 0.99×1 topic
  15. Aerogels4,010▲ 2.2×1 topic
  16. Synthesis4,010▲ 2.2×1 topic
  17. Absolute Configuration3,382▼ 0.84×1 topic
  18. Chiroptical Spectroscopy3,382▼ 0.84×1 topic
  19. Molecular Structure2,175▼ 0.80×1 topic
  20. Rotational Spectroscopy2,175▼ 0.80×1 topic
  21. Surface Characterization1,050▼ 0.79×1 topic
  22. Thermodynamic Parameters1,050▼ 0.79×1 topic
  23. Superacid-Catalyzed Reactions275▼ 0.35×1 topic
  24. Superelectrophiles275▼ 0.35×1 topic
  25. Aqueous Solutions133▼ 0.73×1 topic
  26. Diffusion Coefficients133▼ 0.73×1 topic

Which countries lead Spectroscopy research?

On research quality in 2022–2025, China, the United States and Germany rank highest in Spectroscopy. By volume, China and the United States publish the most (13k and 6.8k works in 2022–2025).

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China · #2 all time 20.6% top 10% · 13k works
  2. 2 United States · #1 all time 15.8% top 10% · 6.8k works
  3. 3 Germany · #3 all time 16.4% top 10% · 2.4k works
  4. 4 India · #13 all time 11.6% top 10% · 3.6k works
  5. 5 United Kingdom · #4 all time 19.8% top 10% · 1.4k works
  6. 6 France · #5 all time 12.1% top 10% · 1.8k works
  7. 7 Japan · #6 all time 8.4% top 10% · 1.9k works
  8. 8 Italy · #10 all time 16.4% top 10% · 1k works
  9. 9 Spain · #12 all time 16.6% top 10% · 856 works
  10. 10 Canada · #7 all time 14.7% top 10% · 750 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 35 countries ranked in Spectroscopy. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Spectroscopy

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China 13k works
  2. 2 United States 6.8k works
  3. 3 India 3.6k works
  4. 4 Germany 2.4k works
  5. 5 Russia 2.1k works
  6. 6 Japan 1.9k works
  7. 7 France 1.8k works
  8. 8 United Kingdom 1.4k works
  9. 9 Italy 1k works
  10. 10 Spain 856 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: 38.0%United States: 19.3%India: 10.3%Germany: 6.7%6 others listed: 25.6%38%largest
China13k · 38.0%United States6,768 · 19.3%India3,621 · 10.3%Germany2,354 · 6.7%6 others listed8,990 · 25.6%

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

Which institutions lead Spectroscopy research?

Harbin Institute of Technology (China) ranks first in Spectroscopy on research quality in 2022–2025, followed by Chinese Academy of Sciences and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Harbin Institute of Technology China · Harbin · #96 all time 33.9% top 10% · 110 works
  2. 2 Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing · #21 all time 20.0% top 10% · 341 works
  3. 3 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique France · Paris · #12 all time 14.5% top 10% · 271 works
  4. 4 Donghua University China · Shanghai 39.5% top 10% · 64 works
  5. 5 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing 19.8% top 10% · 207 works
  6. 6 Nankai University China · Tianjin · #81 all time 31.0% top 10% · 90 works
  7. 7 Zhengzhou University China · Zhengzhou 24.7% top 10% · 103 works
  8. 8 Zhejiang University China · Hangzhou · #66 all time 24.3% top 10% · 117 works
  9. 9 University of Wisconsin–Madison United States · Madison · #7 all time 21.4% top 10% · 116 works
  10. 10 University of Science and Technology of China China · Hefei 21.3% top 10% · 142 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 66 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Spectroscopy.

Top 100 Spectroscopy institutions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Chinese Academy of Sciences China 341 works
  2. 2 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique France 271 works
  3. 3 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences China 207 works
  4. 4 University of Science and Technology of China China 141 works
  5. 5 ETH Zurich Switzerland 136 works
  6. 6 Lomonosov Moscow State University Russia 136 works
  7. 7 Sichuan University China 130 works
  8. 8 Tsinghua University China 128 works
  9. 9 Jilin University China 127 works
  10. 10 Zhejiang University China 117 works

Who are the leading researchers in Spectroscopy?

Among the most productive authors in Spectroscopy, John A. Pople, Matthias Mann and Peter A. Kollman rank highest on the composite score.

  1. 1 John A. Pople United States · #77 worldwide 11k citations · 142 works
  2. 2 Matthias Mann Germany · #116 worldwide 5.1k citations · 154 works
  3. 3 Peter A. Kollman United States · #128 worldwide 6.3k citations · 134 works
  4. 4 Michele Parrinello Switzerland · #191 worldwide 5.6k citations · 175 works
  5. 5 William L. Jorgensen United States · #209 worldwide 4.5k citations · 119 works
  6. 6 Donald G. Truhlar United States · #255 worldwide 8.4k citations · 315 works
  7. 7 Elaine R. Mardis United States · #424 worldwide 3k citations · 123 works
  8. 8 J. Andrew McCammon United States · #959 worldwide 3.4k citations · 160 works
  9. 9 Michael J. S. Dewar United States · #993 worldwide 4.3k citations · 217 works
  10. 10 Corwin Hansch United States · #1,127 worldwide 2.9k citations · 94 works

Re-ranked on the composite score from the 5,687 highest-output authors in Spectroscopy. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Spectroscopy researchers

Where is Spectroscopy research done?

The largest centres of Spectroscopy 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 Milford and Ivanovo.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beijing China 2.1k works
  2. 2 Shanghai China 933 works
  3. 3 Moscow Russia 765 works
  4. 4 Nanjing China 637 works
  5. 5 Paris France 590 works
  6. 6 Tokyo Japan 523 works
  7. 7 Wuhan China 478 works
  8. 8 Hangzhou China 470 works
  9. 9 Tianjin China 435 works
  10. 10 Guangzhou China 433 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. MilfordUS · 33.9 works67×
  2. IvanovoRU · 84.1 works19×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

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

See Spectroscopy on the map

Spectroscopy research by country

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

Where is the best place to study Spectroscopy?

Among universities, judged by research, Nanjing Forestry University, Maastricht University and Shanxi University 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 30.42%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Nanjing Forestry University: 76, 34.1%Maastricht University: 24, 42.2%Shanxi University: 72, 34.1%Lanzhou Jiaotong University: 37, 38.0%Qilu University of Technology: 60, 21.7%Southern University of Science and Technology: 50, 29.3%University of Jinan: 64, 22.3%China Pharmaceutical University: 75, 25.6%Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University: 27, 17.4%Donghua University: 64, 39.5%Maastricht UniversityLanzhou Jiaotong Uni…Nanjing Forestry Uni…Shanxi University
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
1Nanjing Forestry University China 57.934.1%3.7×76 +207.9%
2Maastricht University Netherlands 54.542.2%1.6×24 +518.8%
3Shanxi University China 54.334.1%6.1×72 +48.9%
4Lanzhou Jiaotong University China 52.338.0%3.5×37 +188.9%
5Qilu University of Technology China 52.021.7%5.6×60 +444.1%
6Southern University of Science and Technology China 49.529.3%2.1×50 +2361.0%
7University of Jinan China 49.122.3%4.8×64 +180.0%
8China Pharmaceutical University China 49.025.6%7.8×75 -12.4%
9Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University China 48.217.4%8.0×27 +441.1%
10Donghua University China 47.939.5%3.9×64 -14.3%

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 Spectroscopy research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 4% lower than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2007. The fastest-growing topics are Diffusion Coefficients in Liquids, Aerogels and thermal insulation and Molecular Sensors and Ion Detection.

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. Diffusion Coefficients in Liquids+109%
  2. Aerogels and thermal insulation+105%
  3. Molecular Sensors and Ion Detection+84%
  4. Spectroscopy and Laser Applications+5%
  5. Mass Spectrometry Techniques and Applications+5%
  6. Advanced Proteomics Techniques and Applications+2%
  7. Molecular spectroscopy and chirality-26%
  8. Molecular Spectroscopy and Structure-26%
  9. Adsorption, diffusion, and thermodynamic properties of materials-32%
  10. Organic and Inorganic Chemical Reactions-48%
← shrinkingno changegrowing →

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

What does Spectroscopy include?

Analytical Chemistry and…136kAnalytical Chemistry and Chromatography: 136k fractional worksMass Spectrometry Techniques and Applications: 86k fractional worksSpectroscopy and Laser Applications: 63k fractional worksMolecular Sensors and Ion Detection: 51k fractional worksAdvanced NMR Techniques and Applications: 44k fractional worksMolecular spectroscopy a…43kMolecular spectroscopy and chirality: 43k fractional worksMolecular Spectroscopy and Structure: 27k fractional worksAdvanced Proteomics Techniques and Applications: 27k fractional worksAerogels and thermal insulation: 16k fractional worksAdsorption, diffusion, and thermodynamic properties of materials: 12k fractional worksOrganic and Inorganic Chemical Reactions: 7,643 fractional worksDiffusion Coefficients in Liquids: 4,125 fractional works

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