Californium

Californium (Cf) — 10-Year Trends

As of 2026-09-11 · the last 10 years

Californium’s research intensity currently stands at about 23% of its own all-time peak, a level that has remained essentially flat over the last decade.

Research intensity ran from about 25% of the element's own all-time peak in 2016 to about 23% in 2026 — essentially flat across the window, and the all-time peak (1976) lies before this window. Over the same span its share of research attention across all elements held steady. Among the 118 elements, californium has one of the smaller research literatures of any element.

The number of papers involving the element held roughly level from about 132 in 2016 to about 135 in 2025. That is slower than the literature as a whole grew over the same years, so the element lost ground in the wider body of research.

The core of californium’s recent literature belongs to Actinide Chemistry and Nuclear Fuel Materials. In this community, californium is a minor presence, appearing in about 1% of its papers, yet it accounts for about 24% of californium’s own recent research. The work here focuses on the isolation of californium and its complexes with berkelium, with a steady share over the last five years. A 2026 paper on actinide complexes with polyoxometalates, cited about 5 times, represents the current high-impact work in this area, while a 2025 review on molecular complexes of low-valent f-elements, cited about 10 times, provides broader context.

A distinct subcommunity focuses on Californium Neutron Sources for Detector Calibration. Here, californium-252 is utilized as a compact neutron source to calibrate and test neutron detectors within nuclear reactor systems. Although californium is a minor presence in the broader community of advanced nuclear reactor materials, it holds about 16% of californium’s recent research share, which has remained steady. Key work includes a 2020 study on evaluating time-dependent strengths of californium neutron sources, cited about 13 times, and a 2024 paper on production at the High Flux Isotope Reactor, cited about 3 times.

Another stable area is Californium Ion Source and Beam Production, where papers focus on the technical generation of californium ion beams for nuclear experiments. This subcommunity holds about 15% of the element’s recent research, a share that has held steady. The most cited work in this area is a 2017 review on nuclear fission, cited over 200 times, which sits within this community’s broader scope of heavy-ion collision physics.

The most significant shift in the literature mix is the decline of Californium-252 Neutron Source for Intracavitary Brachytherapy. This community, which explores using californium-252 for intracavitary brachytherapy and external beam radiotherapy, has seen its share of californium research drop from about 12% to 3%. While californium is a minor presence in the broader field of boron neutron capture therapy, this specific application has lost ground. A 2022 paper on neutron-induced fission cross sections, cited about 16 times, and a 2017 clinical study on cervical cancer, cited about 15 times, anchor this declining area.

Finally, a small cluster of work on congestion control, internet things, and cloud services has disappeared from the recent literature, dropping from a 6% share to zero. This decline reflects a consolidation of californium research into its core nuclear and chemical applications, while the "Other research communities" band has risen to hold about 42% of the element's recent work.

For a deeper look at the element's current standing, see the Last 12 Months and Executive Brief reports.