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Subfield · Materials Science

Surfaces, Coatings and Films research

Surfaces, Coatings and Films is a subfield of Materials Science. Science Explorer counts 167k research works in it since 1950. 17.7% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: any adherent layer that covers a surface.

Research works
167k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
30k
per year above
Top-10% rate
17.7%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
4
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+5%
the tick is no change

What is Surfaces, Coatings and Films research about, and what is growing?

By the world's output in 2019–23, its most used keywords are Bioinspired Design, Superhydrophobic Surfaces, Mussel-Inspired, Surface Chemistry, Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy. Gaining share since 2009–13: Bioinspired Design, Superhydrophobic Surfaces. Losing share: Antireflective Coatings, Nanostructures, Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy.

▲ 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 8 words, with their numbers
  1. Bioinspired Design11k▲ 1.72×1 topic
  2. Superhydrophobic Surfaces11k▲ 1.72×1 topic
  3. Mussel-Inspired5,915▼ 0.86×1 topic
  4. Surface Chemistry5,915▼ 0.86×1 topic
  5. Scanning Electron Microscopy5,125▼ 0.78×1 topic
  6. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy5,125▼ 0.78×1 topic
  7. Antireflective Coatings4,025▼ 0.64×1 topic
  8. Nanostructures4,025▼ 0.64×1 topic

Which countries lead Surfaces, Coatings and Films research?

On research quality in 2022–2025, China, the United States and India rank highest in Surfaces, Coatings and Films. By volume, China and the United States publish the most (8k and 2.6k works in 2022–2025).

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China · #2 all time 21.8% top 10% · 8k works
  2. 2 United States · #1 all time 12.3% top 10% · 2.6k works
  3. 3 India · #13 all time 12.7% top 10% · 886 works
  4. 4 United Kingdom · #4 all time 16.2% top 10% · 548 works
  5. 5 Germany · #3 all time 10.5% top 10% · 1k works
  6. 6 Japan · #6 all time 6.3% top 10% · 1k works
  7. 7 Canada · #7 all time 16.4% top 10% · 379 works
  8. 8 South Korea · #11 all time 12.6% top 10% · 644 works
  9. 9 France · #5 all time 9.3% top 10% · 679 works
  10. 10 Iran · #20 all time 18.6% top 10% · 294 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 19 countries ranked in Surfaces, Coatings and Films. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Surfaces, Coatings and Films

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China 8k works
  2. 2 United States 2.6k works
  3. 3 Japan 1k works
  4. 4 Germany 1k works
  5. 5 India 886 works
  6. 6 France 679 works
  7. 7 South Korea 644 works
  8. 8 Russia 584 works
  9. 9 United Kingdom 548 works
  10. 10 Canada 379 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: 48.7%United States: 16.2%Japan: 6.2%Germany: 6.2%6 others listed: 22.8%49%largest
China7,951 · 48.7%United States2,636 · 16.2%Japan1,008 · 6.2%Germany1,004 · 6.2%6 others listed3,720 · 22.8%

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

Which institutions lead Surfaces, Coatings and Films research?

Chinese Academy of Sciences (China) ranks first in Surfaces, Coatings and Films on research quality in 2022–2025, followed by Tsinghua University and Donghua University.

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing · #2 all time 23.6% top 10% · 225 works
  2. 2 Tsinghua University China · Beijing · #10 all time 22.7% top 10% · 139 works
  3. 3 Donghua University China · Shanghai · #38 all time 29.6% top 10% · 97 works
  4. 4 Sichuan University China · Chengdu · #35 all time 25.6% top 10% · 120 works
  5. 5 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences China · Beijing · #52 all time 18.4% top 10% · 132 works
  6. 6 Harbin Institute of Technology China · Harbin · #39 all time 27.0% top 10% · 95 works
  7. 7 Beihang University China · Beijing · #36 all time 27.9% top 10% · 66 works
  8. 8 Xi'an Jiaotong University China · Xi'an · #64 all time 23.0% top 10% · 117 works
  9. 9 South China University of Technology China · Guangzhou · #53 all time 26.1% top 10% · 106 works
  10. 10 Jilin University China · Changchun · #47 all time 25.9% top 10% · 86 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 24 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Surfaces, Coatings and Films.

Top 100 Surfaces, Coatings and Films institutions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 225 works
  2. 2 Tsinghua UniversityChina 139 works
  3. 3 University of Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 132 works
  4. 4 Sichuan UniversityChina 120 works
  5. 5 Xi'an Jiaotong UniversityChina 117 works
  6. 6 Zhejiang UniversityChina 108 works
  7. 7 South China University of TechnologyChina 106 works
  8. 8 Donghua UniversityChina 97 works
  9. 9 Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueFrance 97 works
  10. 10 Harbin Institute of TechnologyChina 95 works

Who are the leading researchers in Surfaces, Coatings and Films?

Among the most productive authors in Surfaces, Coatings and Films, Edward J. Wollack, James Tobin and J. B. Pendry rank highest on the composite score.

  1. 1 Edward J. Wollack United States · #83 worldwide 7.2k citations · 212 works
  2. 2 James Tobin United States · #336 worldwide 3.1k citations · 172 works
  3. 3 J. B. Pendry United Kingdom · #926 worldwide 3.5k citations · 121 works
  4. 4 W. Kohn United States · #1,359 worldwide 15k citations · 81 works
  5. 5 David J. Norris Switzerland · #1,366 worldwide 2.4k citations · 97 works
  6. 6 Ralph B. D’Agostino United States · #1,370 worldwide 3.8k citations · 256 works
  7. 7 Ole Sigmund Denmark · #1,557 worldwide 2.9k citations · 137 works
  8. 8 George M. Whitesides United States · #1,739 worldwide 4.8k citations · 265 works
  9. 9 Róbert Langer United States · #1,884 worldwide 4.2k citations · 244 works
  10. 10 A. Paul Alivisatos United States · #2,072 worldwide 3.2k citations · 126 works

Re-ranked on the composite score from the 5,331 highest-output authors in Surfaces, Coatings and Films. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Surfaces, Coatings and Films researchers

Where is Surfaces, Coatings and Films research done?

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

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beijing China 1.4k works
  2. 2 Shanghai China 570 works
  3. 3 Nanjing China 389 works
  4. 4 Xi'an China 374 works
  5. 5 Tokyo Japan 317 works
  6. 6 Chengdu China 317 works
  7. 7 Wuhan China 316 works
  8. 8 Guangzhou China 314 works
  9. 9 Hangzhou China 307 works
  10. 10 Tianjin China 277 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. UptonUS · 22.8 works11×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Surfaces, Coatings and Films than the world average.

See Surfaces, Coatings and Films on the map

Surfaces, Coatings and Films research by country

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

Where is the best place to study Surfaces, Coatings and Films?

Among universities, judged by research, Changchun University of Technology, Donghua University and Hubei 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 26.3%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Changchun University of Technology: 26, 33.2%Donghua University: 97, 29.6%Hubei University: 31, 29.8%Tiangong University: 58, 23.3%Southwest Petroleum University: 38, 23.0%Suzhou University of Science and Technology: 24, 30.7%Zhejiang Sci-Tech University: 49, 19.4%Wuhan Textile University: 33, 20.3%King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals: 33, 23.0%Nanjing Forestry University: 47, 30.7%Changchun University…Hubei UniversityDonghua UniversityTiangong 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
1Changchun University of Technology?? 60.533.2%10.8×26 +888.8%
2 Donghua UniversityChina 57.829.6%13.2×97 +14.3%
3 Hubei UniversityChina 54.929.8%8.1×31 +164.1%
4 Tiangong UniversityChina 50.423.3%11.8×58 +2.1%
5 Southwest Petroleum UniversityChina 48.323.0%5.8×38 +224.6%
6 Suzhou University of Science and TechnologyChina 48.330.7%5.4×24 +292.0%
7 Zhejiang Sci-Tech UniversityChina 48.219.4%8.0×49 +97.4%
8 Wuhan Textile UniversityChina 47.820.3%10.9×33 +32.9%
9 King Fahd University of Petroleum and MineralsSaudi Arabia 47.723.0%4.6×33 +256.2%
10 Nanjing Forestry UniversityChina 46.930.7%5.2×47 +112.1%

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 Surfaces, Coatings and Films research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 5% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Surface Modification and Superhydrophobicity and Polymer Surface Interaction Studies.

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. Surface Modification and Superhydrophobicity+113%
  2. Polymer Surface Interaction Studies+28%
  3. Optical Coatings and Gratings-5%
  4. Electron and X-Ray Spectroscopy Techniques-9%
← shrinkingno changegrowing →

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

What does Surfaces, Coatings and Films include?

Electron and X-Ray Spect…61kElectron and X-Ray Spectroscopy Techniques: 61k fractional worksSurface Modification and…42kSurface Modification and Superhydrophobicity: 42k fractional worksOptical Coatings and Gratings: 32k fractional worksPolymer Surface Interaction Studies: 32k fractional works

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