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Topic · Spectroscopy

Aerogels and thermal insulation

Aerogels and thermal insulation is a research topic within Spectroscopy. Science Explorer counts 16k research works in it since 1950. 17.8% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers focuses on the chemistry, synthesis, properties, and diverse applications of aerogels, including silica and carbon aerogels. It covers topics such as thermal insulation, nanocomposites, biodegradable carriers for drug delivery systems, and the potential use of aerogels in various industries.

  • Aerogels
  • Synthesis
  • Properties
  • Applications
  • Thermal Insulation
  • Silica
  • Carbon
  • Nanocomposites
  • Biodegradable Carriers
  • Drug Delivery Systems
Research works
16k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
2.8k
per year above
Top-10% rate
17.8%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+48%
the tick is no change

Which countries lead Aerogels and thermal insulation research?

By volume, China and the United States publish the most (2k and 230 works in 2022–2025).

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China 2k works
  2. 2 United States 230 works
  3. 3 India 199 works
  4. 4 Russia 135 works
  5. 5 South Korea 94 works
  6. 6 Japan 91 works
  7. 7 France 88 works
  8. 8 Germany 85 works
  9. 9 Indonesia 72 works
  10. 10 Türkiye 72 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: 65.6%United States: 7.4%India: 6.4%Russia: 4.3%6 others listed: 16.2%66%largest
China2,029 · 65.6%United States230 · 7.4%India199 · 6.4%Russia135 · 4.3%6 others listed503 · 16.2%

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

Which institutions lead Aerogels and thermal insulation research?

By volume in 2022–2025, Donghua University publishes the most Aerogels and thermal insulation research, followed by South China University of Technology and Harbin Institute of Technology.

Who are the leading researchers in Aerogels and thermal insulation?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Aerogels and thermal insulation include Han Zhang, Markus Antonietti and Kai Wang.

  1. 1 Han Zhang China 3.2k citations
  2. 2 Markus Antonietti Germany 3.2k citations
  3. 3 Kai Wang China 3.1k citations

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

Where is Aerogels and thermal insulation research done?

The largest centres of Aerogels and thermal insulation 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 Changzhou.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beijing China 257 works
  2. 2 Shanghai China 148 works
  3. 3 Nanjing China 125 works
  4. 4 Xi'an China 109 works
  5. 5 Wuhan China 94 works
  6. 6 Tianjin China 84 works
  7. 7 Harbin China 73 works
  8. 8 Chengdu China 69 works
  9. 9 Guangzhou China 66 works
  10. 10 Changsha China 61 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. ChangzhouCN · 22.5 works12×
← less than its size predictsmore →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Aerogels and thermal insulation than the world average.

See Aerogels and thermal insulation on the map

Where is the best place to study Aerogels and thermal insulation?

Among universities, judged by research, Donghua University, Nanjing Forestry University and University of Science and Technology of China 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%25%50%mean 43.71%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Donghua University: 47, 47.8%Nanjing Forestry University: 27, 44.1%University of Science and Technology of China: 20, 59.0%Nanjing Tech University: 32, 35.8%Jiangnan University: 21, 49.3%Northeast Forestry University: 18, 44.5%Harbin Institute of Technology: 35, 43.5%Wuhan Textile University: 14, 39.2%Sichuan University: 34, 36.0%Qingdao University: 17, 37.9%University of Scienc…Donghua UniversityNanjing Forestry Uni…Nanjing Tech Univers…
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 Donghua UniversityChina 75.347.8%32.1×47 +22.1%
2 Nanjing Forestry UniversityChina 68.944.1%15.0×27
3 University of Science and Technology of ChinaChina 65.459.0%4.3×20 +170.8%
4 Nanjing Tech UniversityChina 63.635.8%16.5×32 +18.0%
5 Jiangnan UniversityChina 63.349.3%8.8×21 +21.2%
6 Northeast Forestry UniversityChina 60.944.5%15.0×18 +18.7%
7 Harbin Institute of TechnologyChina 57.843.5%5.4×35 +48.3%
8 Wuhan Textile UniversityChina 57.539.2%23.1×14
9 Sichuan UniversityChina 54.436.0%5.2×34 +79.4%
10 Qingdao UniversityChina 53.837.9%7.8×17 +68.2%

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 Aerogels and thermal insulation research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 48% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Aerogels and thermal insulation.

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.