Science Explorer Interactive view Map

Surface Modification and Superhydrophobicity

Surface Modification and Superhydrophobicity is a research topic within Surfaces, Coatings and Films. Science Explorer counts 42k research works in it since 1950. 20.9% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers focuses on the advances in superhydrophobic surface technology, including bioinspired design, wetting and spreading behavior, self-cleaning coatings, and applications in oil/water separation. The research explores nanotextured surfaces, bioinspired materials, the role of surface roughness, and strategies for creating liquid-repellent surfaces.

  • Superhydrophobic Surfaces
  • Bioinspired Design
  • Wetting and Spreading
  • Self-Cleaning Coatings
  • Oil/Water Separation
  • Nanotextured Surfaces
  • Bioinspired Materials
  • Hydrophobicity
  • Surface Roughness
  • Liquid Repellent
Research works
42k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
8.8k
per year above
Top-10% rate
20.9%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+41%
the tick is no change

Which countries lead Surface Modification and Superhydrophobicity research?

By volume, China and the United States publish the most (5k and 720 works in 2022–2025).

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 China 5k works
  2. 2 United States 720 works
  3. 3 India 470 works
  4. 4 Japan 306 works
  5. 5 South Korea 305 works
  6. 6 Germany 280 works
  7. 7 France 197 works
  8. 8 United Kingdom 195 works
  9. 9 Canada 182 works
  10. 10 Russia 177 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: 64.0%United States: 9.2%India: 6.0%Japan: 3.9%6 others listed: 17.0%64%largest
China5,037 · 64.0%United States720 · 9.2%India470 · 6.0%Japan306 · 3.9%6 others listed1,335 · 17.0%

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

Which institutions lead Surface Modification and Superhydrophobicity research?

By volume in 2022–2025, Chinese Academy of Sciences publishes the most Surface Modification and Superhydrophobicity research, followed by Donghua University and Xi'an Jiaotong University.

Who are the leading researchers in Surface Modification and Superhydrophobicity?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Surface Modification and Superhydrophobicity include Seeram Ramakrishna, Huan Liu and George M. Whitesides.

  1. 1 Seeram Ramakrishna Singapore 5.1k citations
  2. 2 Huan Liu Australia 4.9k citations
  3. 3 George M. Whitesides United States 4.8k citations
  4. 4 P. G. de Gennes France 4.3k citations
  5. 5 Liming Dai United States 4.2k citations
  6. 6 Ralph B. D’Agostino United States 3.8k citations
  7. 7 Lei Jiang China 3.8k citations
  8. 8 Paul K. Chu Hong Kong 3.7k citations

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

Where is Surface Modification and Superhydrophobicity research done?

The largest centres of Surface Modification and Superhydrophobicity 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 Mianyang and Changzhou.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Beijing China 796 works
  2. 2 Shanghai China 304 works
  3. 3 Xi'an China 243 works
  4. 4 Nanjing China 242 works
  5. 5 Wuhan China 211 works
  6. 6 Chengdu China 205 works
  7. 7 Tianjin China 188 works
  8. 8 Guangzhou China 180 works
  9. 9 Qingdao China 172 works
  10. 10 Hangzhou China 168 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. MianyangCN · 56.3 works11×
  2. ChangzhouCN · 44.5 works9.8×
← less than its size predictsmore →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Surface Modification and Superhydrophobicity than the world average.

See Surface Modification and Superhydrophobicity on the map

Where is the best place to study Surface Modification and Superhydrophobicity?

Among universities, judged by research, Hubei University, Nanjing Forestry University and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals 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%50%100%mean 32.54%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Hubei University: 28, 32.6%Nanjing Forestry University: 41, 33.1%King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals: 29, 24.2%Southwest Petroleum University: 34, 24.5%Donghua University: 82, 31.5%China University of Petroleum, East China: 41, 17.4%Zhejiang Sci-Tech University: 34, 19.6%Nanchang Hangkong University: 10, 78.9%Northeast Petroleum University: 13, 26.3%Qingdao University: 34, 37.3%Nanjing Forestry Uni…Hubei UniversitySouthwest Petroleum …King Fahd 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 Hubei UniversityChina 63.932.6%15.6×28 +269.3%
2 Nanjing Forestry UniversityChina 62.433.1%9.5×41 +152.3%
3 King Fahd University of Petroleum and MineralsSaudi Arabia 61.424.2%8.9×29 +500.3%
4 Southwest Petroleum UniversityChina 60.924.5%11.3×34 +411.6%
5 Donghua UniversityChina 58.931.5%23.9×82 +1.5%
6 China University of Petroleum, East ChinaChina 57.617.4%9.2×41 +298.8%
7 Zhejiang Sci-Tech UniversityChina 56.419.6%11.8×34 +153.6%
8 Nanchang Hangkong UniversityChina 55.078.9%8.5×10 -17.9%
9 Northeast Petroleum UniversityChina 54.726.3%11.7×13 +359.0%
10 Qingdao UniversityChina 54.437.3%6.7×34 +153.3%

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 Surface Modification and Superhydrophobicity research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 41% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Surface Modification and Superhydrophobicity.

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.