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2D Materials and Applications

2D Materials and Applications is a research topic within Materials Chemistry. Science Explorer counts 38k research works in it since 1953. 24.3% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers covers a wide range of research on two-dimensional materials, including semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides like monolayer MoS2 and black phosphorus. It explores topics such as van der Waals heterostructures, excitonic effects, photoluminescence, electronic structure, and the development of optoelectronic devices based on atomically thin semiconductors.

  • Two-Dimensional Materials
  • Van der Waals Heterostructures
  • Semiconducting Transition Metal Dichalcogenides
  • Monolayer MoS2
  • Black Phosphorus
  • Excitonic Effects
  • Photoluminescence
  • Electronic Structure
  • Optoelectronic Devices
  • Atomically Thin Semiconductors
Research works
38k
fractional, since 1953
In the world top 10%
9.3k
per year above
Top-10% rate
24.3%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+138%
the tick is no change

Which countries lead 2D Materials and Applications research?

By volume, China and the United States publish the most (6.4k and 1.3k works in 2022–2025).

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China 6.4k works
  2. 2 United States 1.3k works
  3. 3 India 1.3k works
  4. 4 South Korea 648 works
  5. 5 Germany 417 works
  6. 6 Japan 397 works
  7. 7 Iran 256 works
  8. 8 Taiwan 231 works
  9. 9 France 229 works
  10. 10 Russia 213 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: 56.1%United States: 11.6%India: 11.3%South Korea: 5.7%6 others listed: 15.3%56%largest
China6,385 · 56.1%United States1,321 · 11.6%India1,284 · 11.3%South Korea648 · 5.7%6 others listed1,743 · 15.3%

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

Which institutions lead 2D Materials and Applications research?

By volume in 2022–2025, Chinese Academy of Sciences publishes the most 2D Materials and Applications research, followed by University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and National Institute for Materials Science.

Who are the leading researchers in 2D Materials and Applications?

The most-cited researchers publishing on 2D Materials and Applications include Zhong Lin Wang, Kenji Watanabe and Takashi Taniguchi.

  1. 1 Zhong Lin Wang United States 11k citations
  2. 2 Kenji Watanabe Japan 6.4k citations
  3. 3 Takashi Taniguchi Japan 6.2k citations
  4. 4 Hua Zhang Singapore 5.9k citations
  5. 5 Wei Huang China 5.5k citations
  6. 6 Rodney S. Ruoff United States 5.5k citations
  7. 7 David J. Singh United States 5.1k citations
  8. 8 Yury Gogotsi United States 5.1k citations
  9. 9 Marvin L. Cohen United States 4.7k citations
  10. 10 J. A. Wilson United Kingdom 4.5k citations

Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.

Where is 2D Materials and Applications research done?

The largest centres of 2D Materials and Applications research in 2022–2025 are Beijing (China), Nanjing (China), Shanghai (China) and Xi'an (China). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Jinan, Xiangtan and San Sebastian.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beijing China 1k works
  2. 2 Nanjing China 398 works
  3. 3 Shanghai China 369 works
  4. 4 Xi'an China 339 works
  5. 5 Seoul South Korea 321 works
  6. 6 Wuhan China 303 works
  7. 7 Changsha China 207 works
  8. 8 Hefei China 205 works
  9. 9 Guangzhou China 194 works
  10. 10 Shenzhen China 187 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. Jinan21.3 works26×
  2. XiangtanCN · 80.1 works12×
  3. San SebastianES · 20.9 works12×
← less than its size predictsmore →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in 2D Materials and Applications than the world average.

See 2D Materials and Applications on the map

Where is the best place to study 2D Materials and Applications?

Among universities, judged by research, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Sejong University and Hunan 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 28.63%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Singapore University of Technology and Design: 14, 34.6%Sejong University: 21, 35.1%Hunan University: 84, 20.2%Sungkyunkwan University: 63, 20.5%Xiangtan University: 63, 12.7%Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications: 55, 16.5%Drexel University: 16, 46.4%Southwest University: 47, 29.2%City University of Hong Kong: 28, 35.2%City University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen Research Institute: 9, 35.9%Sejong UniversitySingapore University…Sungkyunkwan Univers…Hunan 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
1 Singapore University of Technology and DesignSingapore 68.634.6%10.9×14 +626.3%
2 Sejong UniversitySouth Korea 64.535.1%8.1×21 +408.6%
3 Hunan UniversityChina 64.420.2%8.7×84 +1012.3%
4 Sungkyunkwan UniversitySouth Korea 62.320.5%8.3×63 +640.6%
5 Xiangtan UniversityChina 61.012.7%18.9×63 +313.5%
6 Nanjing University of Posts and TelecommunicationsChina 60.416.5%9.2×55 +845.6%
7 Drexel UniversityUnited States 60.046.4%5.4×16 +362.1%
8 Southwest UniversityChina 58.729.2%6.2×47 +432.3%
9 City University of Hong KongHong Kong 57.535.2%3.5×28 +350.4%
10 City University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen Research InstituteChina 57.535.9%9.4×9

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 2D Materials and Applications research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 138% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are 2D Materials 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.