Manganese

Manganese (Mn) — 10-Year Trends

As of 2026-09-25 · the last 10 years

Research intensity is currently at about 98% of the element's all-time peak, which occurred in 2025 within this window.

Research intensity ran from about 80% 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 (2025) falls inside this window. Over the same span its share of research attention across all elements rose. Among the 118 elements, manganese has a larger-than-average research literature.

The number of papers involving the element rose from about 20,965 in 2016 to about 51,898 in 2025 (2.48x). That matches the growth of the literature as a whole over the same years: the general tide of scientific output, not a surge specific to the element.

Manganese research is distributed across several distinct communities, with the largest share belonging to work on toxicity and ecological risk. The community focused on Manganese Toxicity and Ecological Risk in Crops assesses manganese toxicity, heavy metal contamination, and ecological risks in crops like wheat, distinguishing it from the community's focus on cadmium and rice. Manganese is a minor presence in this much larger community, appearing in about 4% of its papers. It holds a steady share of about 7.5% of manganese's recent research. A key paper in this area, "Comprehensive analysis of heavy metal soil contamination in mining Environments," was cited over 250 times.

Another significant area is Manganese Neurotoxicity and Trace Element Homeostasis, where papers examine manganese-induced neurotoxicity and blood levels in the context of zinc and copper trace element metabolism. Here, manganese is also a minor presence, involved in about 10% of the community's papers. This community holds a steady share of about 5.0% of the element's recent research. Recent work, such as "Homeostasis and metabolism of iron and other metal ions in neurodegenerative diseases," has been cited over 200 times.

In energy storage, Manganese Oxide Electrodes for Asymmetric Supercapacitors involves the synthesis of manganese oxide and mixed-metal layered double hydroxides as high-performance electrode materials. Manganese is a minor presence in this community, appearing in about 9% of its papers. It holds a steady share of about 3.6% of the element's recent research. A foundational paper, "Understanding and Calibration of Charge Storage Mechanism in Cyclic Voltammetry Curves," was cited over 960 times.

Overall, the composition of manganese research has remained stable across the two five-year periods, with the remainder of the literature holding a steady share of about 84%. For a deeper look at the current standing of manganese research, see the Last 12 Months and Executive Brief reports.