As of 2026-09-11 · the last 10 years
Krypton’s research intensity has fallen to about 26% of its own all-time peak, a steady decline from the 43% level seen at the start of this window.
Research intensity ran from about 43% of the element's own all-time peak in 2016 to about 26% in 2026 — a steady decline, and the all-time peak (1996) lies before this window. Over the same span its share of research attention across all elements fell. Among the 118 elements, krypton has a mid-sized research literature.
The number of papers involving the element rose from about 1,313 in 2016 to about 1,789 in 2025 (1.36x). 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 even as its own count rose.
The largest share of krypton research belongs to Krypton Propellant Diagnostics in Hall Thruster Research, a community where krypton is a minor presence in a much larger community -- about 6% of its papers involve krypton. These papers use laser-induced fluorescence and tagging velocimetry to measure krypton flow and ionization within magnetically shielded electric propulsion systems. This community holds about 28% of the element's recent research and has remained steady in share over the last decade. A key anchor is a 2017 paper on experimental evidence for quantum tunneling time, cited over 210 times, alongside more recent work on plasma thruster starting modes.
A rapidly growing area is Krypton Separation from Xenon in MOFs, where krypton is a minor presence in a much larger community -- about 2% of its papers involve krypton. This work focuses on designing hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks to selectively capture and separate krypton from xenon mixtures. Its share of krypton research has risen from about 7% to about 14% over the window. This community is anchored by a 2017 review on gas/vapour separation using ultra-microporous metal–organic frameworks, cited over 1,300 times, and recent 2025 work on nanospace engineering for adsorptive gas separation, cited about 46 times.
Krypton Interactions in Noble Gas Mixtures and Solids represents a smaller, steady segment of the literature, holding about 6% of recent research. Here, krypton is a minor presence in a much larger community -- about 6% of its papers involve krypton. These studies model the potentials and transport properties of krypton mixed with xenon, argon, and neon, and its solid phase behavior. Representative work includes a 2024 paper on crystal nucleation in supercooled atomic liquids, cited about 23 times.
Overall, the composition of krypton research is shifting: the share of work in propellant diagnostics has held steady, while the share in noble gas physics has remained stable but small. The most significant change is the rise in share for krypton separation from xenon in MOFs, which has gained ground from the remainder of the field. The remainder of krypton research, comprising other smaller communities, has seen its combined share decline from about 58% to about 52% over the window.
The most cited paper in this window, a 2017 study on gas/vapour separation using ultra-microporous metal–organic frameworks, is already noted within the separation community discussion.
For a deeper look at krypton’s current standing, see the Last 12 Months and Executive Brief reports.
What changed in the past year: new papers, shifting applications, emerging collaborators. See the momentum over a shorter window than the decade view.
Personal →See recent trends — Personal.
A by-topic status read of what changed and what's new — built for decision-makers, not search engines. Citation clusters, emerging applications, and the papers that matter most.
Professional →See the executive read — Professional.
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Showing Krypton's three strongest connections. Personal opens the slider and the whole 118-element graph.