Moscovium

Moscovium (Mc) — 10-Year Trends

As of 2026-09-25 · the last 10 years

Research intensity has climbed to about 98% of the element's own all-time peak, with that peak occurring within this window.

Research intensity ran from about 22% of the element's own all-time peak in 2016 to about 98% in 2026 — a net rise with setbacks along the way, and the all-time peak (2026) falls inside this window. The trajectory is characterized as an uneven climb, with fluctuations in attention levels across the decade. Among the 118 elements, moscovium has one of the smaller research literatures of any element.

The number of papers involving the element rose from about 10 in 2016 to about 18 in 2025 (1.8x). 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 dominant research community is Superheavy Nuclei, Heavy-Ion Collisions, and Nuclear Structure. This group focuses on the synthesis and nuclear properties of superheavy elements, with moscovium appearing in work on element synthesis, dynamics superheavy, synthesis reactions, and sequential fission. Moscovium is a minor presence in a much larger community, with under 1% of its papers involving moscovium. However, it accounts for about 93% of moscovium’s recent research, a share that has been rising from about 87% in the previous period. A key paper in this area, "Manifestation of relativistic effects in the chemical properties of nihonium and moscovium revealed by gas chromatography studies" (2024), is cited about 19 times. Another significant study, "Colliding heavy nuclei take multiple identities on the path to fusion" (2023), is cited about 25 times.

A smaller, emerging community is Transition-Metal Catalysts for Olefin Metathesis and Ethylene Polymerization. While moscovium is a minor presence here as well, its share of recent research has risen from 0% to about 7%. The anchor paper, "The Group 15 elements" (2025), is not yet cited.

Two other communities, Radioligand Therapy and Molecular Imaging for Prostate and Neuroendocrine Cancers and Rhodium Hydroformylation and Bismuth Main-Group Catalysis, have seen their share of moscovium research decline to 0% from about 7% in the earlier period. The former includes a 2018 paper on a generator for homolog studies, cited about 11 times, while the latter features a 2018 study on relativistic effects, also cited about 11 times.

The composition of moscovium’s research has consolidated heavily around superheavy nuclei and nuclear structure, while its presence in catalysis and radiotherapy contexts has diminished or shifted. For a deeper look at the element's current standing, see the Last 12 Months report or Executive Brief.