Molybdenum

Molybdenum (Mo) — 10-Year Trends

As of 2026-09-11 · the last 10 years

Molybdenum’s research intensity is currently at about 63% of its own all-time peak, a level that has steadily climbed over the past decade despite the element’s historical high occurring in 1980.

Research intensity ran from about 56% of the element's own all-time peak in 2016 to about 63% in 2026 — a steady climb, and the all-time peak (1980) lies before this window. Over the same span its share of research attention across all elements rose. Among the 118 elements, molybdenum has a larger-than-average research literature.

The number of papers involving the element rose from about 14,464 in 2016 to about 38,658 in 2025 (2.67x). That is faster than the literature as a whole grew over the same years, so the element gained ground in the wider body of research.

The largest research community for molybdenum in the recent period is Molybdenum Disulfide Monolayers and Heterostructures. These papers focus on the synthesis and properties of two-dimensional molybdenum disulfide and its integration with other materials, often involving monolayer molybdenum and dichalcogenide heterostructures. Molybdenum is one strand of a broader community, with about 21% of its papers involving molybdenum. This community accounts for about 24% of molybdenum’s recent research, a share that has declined from about 32% in the previous period. A 2025 study on the electronic properties of graphene encapsulated with different two-dimensional atomic crystals, cited over 340 times, anchors this field, alongside a 2024 paper in Science on developing fatigue-resistant ferroelectrics using interlayer sliding switching, cited over 240 times.

A second major area is Molybdenum Sulfide and Carbide Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution. These papers develop molybdenum sulfide, carbide and phosphide compounds as non-precious catalysts to enhance hydrogen evolution efficiency, with distinctive work on molybdenum carbide and nickel molybdenum systems. Molybdenum is a minor presence in a much larger community, with about 7% of its papers involving molybdenum. This community holds about 12% of molybdenum’s recent research and has remained steady compared to the previous period. A 2024 review in Chemical Reviews on precious metal-free hydrogen evolution catalyst design, cited over 480 times, is a key reference here, as is a 2023 Nature paper on phase-dependent growth of platinum on molybdenum disulfide for highly efficient hydrogen evolution, cited over 450 times.

A smaller but distinct community is Molybdenum Additive Manufacturing and Single Crystal Growth. These papers focus on laser powder bed fusion, electron beam processing, and the synthesis of pure molybdenum single crystals and alloys, often involving molybdenum alloys and powder bed techniques. Molybdenum is a minor presence in a much larger community, with about 8% of its papers involving molybdenum. This community accounts for about 3% of molybdenum’s recent research and has remained steady. A 2022 study in Acta Materialia on high-temperature strength and ductility of zirconium carbide nanoparticles dispersed molybdenum, cited over 150 times, highlights this work.

Overall, the composition of molybdenum research has shifted away from two-dimensional materials toward a broader array of other communities, which now hold about 62% of the element's recent research, up from about 54% previously.

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