Californium

Californium (Cf) — 10-Year Trends

As of 2026-09-25 · the last 10 years

Californium’s research intensity currently sits at about 22% of its own all-time peak, a level that has remained flat over the last decade despite the element’s historical high occurring in 1976.

Research intensity ran from about 25% of the element's own all-time peak in 2016 to about 22% in 2026 — flat overall, with some movement in between, and the all-time peak (1976) lies before this window. Over the same span its share of research attention across all elements fell. 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 research in this window belongs to Lanthanide and Actinide Coordination Chemistry for Magnetic and Optical Applications. Here, californium is a minor presence in a much larger community, with under 1% of its papers involving the element. The work focuses on the isolation of californium complexes and their comparison with berkelium, accounting for about 23% of the element's recent research and holding steady over the last two five-year periods. A key paper in this area, "Molecular complexes of low-valent f-elements from lanthanum to californium," published in 2025, has been cited about 10 times.

A second major area is Superheavy Nuclei, Heavy-Ion Collisions, and Nuclear Structure. Again, californium is a minor presence, comprising under 1% of this community's work. Research here involves beam ion and electron beam interactions, representing about 22% of californium's recent research and remaining steady. The field’s most cited work, "Nuclear fission: a review of experimental advances and phenomenology" (2017), has been cited over 210 times.

Nuclear Fuel, Coolant and Structural Materials for Advanced Reactor Systems forms the third significant group. Californium is a minor presence here as well, under 1% of the community's focus. The research centers on californium-252 production and its use as a neutron source, holding about 16% of the element's recent research share with a steady direction. A 2024 study on "Californium-252 production at the High Flux Isotope Reactor" has been cited about 4 times.

A distinct subcommunity, Californium-252 Neutron Source for Intracavitary Radiotherapy, utilizes californium-252 for intracavitary brachytherapy and external beam radiotherapy. While californium is a minor presence in the broader radiotherapy field (about 1% of papers), it accounts for about 4% of californium's recent research. This area is declining, having dropped from about 12% of the element's research in the previous period. A 2017 clinical study on "Californium-252 neutron brachytherapy" has been cited about 15 times.

Finally, a small group of papers related to internet things, cloud services, and congestion control has disappeared from the element's current research profile, declining from about 6% to 0% of its recent work. The remainder of californium's research, which includes other smaller groups, has risen to about 35% of the element's recent literature.

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