Nitrogen

Nitrogen (N) — 10-Year Trends

As of 2026-09-25 · the last 10 years

Nitrogen’s research intensity stands at about 96% of its own all-time peak, a level reached within this window, with the element’s share of global scientific attention rising steadily.

Research intensity ran from about 69% of the element's own all-time peak in 2016 to about 96% in 2026 — a mid-window dip followed by a recovery, 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, nitrogen has a larger-than-average research literature.

The number of papers involving the element rose from about 222,572 in 2016 to about 547,545 in 2025 (2.46x). 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.

The core of nitrogen research is anchored in Wide-Bandgap Semiconductor Devices for Power Electronics, Optoelectronics and Sensing, where nitrogen is central to the field, appearing in about 46% of its papers. This community, focused on materials like GaN and AlN for high-performance electronics, holds about 17% of nitrogen’s recent research, a share that has remained steady. A 2018 review of Ga2O3 materials, cited over 3,100 times, remains a key reference, while a 2023 text on power electronics principles, cited over 1,300 times, continues to shape the field.

A second major pillar is Nitrogen Cycling and Oxide Emissions in Agroecosystems, a strand of broader soil biogeochemistry where nitrogen is one of several key elements, involved in about 24% of the community’s work. This area examines biological nitrogen fixation and greenhouse gas release from agricultural systems, holding about 16% of nitrogen’s recent research with a steady share. The 2018 paper "The microbial nitrogen-cycling network," cited over 4,600 times, is a foundational text here, alongside a 2024 study on water scarcity and pollution, cited over 480 times.

Interestingly, a significant portion of nitrogen-tagged research falls into Nitrogen in Synthetic Image and Data Generation, a subcommunity of deep learning where nitrogen is a minor presence in about 21% of papers. This community, which holds about 12% of nitrogen’s recent research, is associated with the ubiquity of nitrogen in chemical formulas within datasets rather than specific nitrogen chemistry. The 2017 paper "GAN (Generative Adversarial Nets)," cited over 21,000 times, is the most-cited work in this category, showing the broad impact of these methods.

Finally, Electrocatalytic Nitrate Reduction and Ammonia Synthesis represents a growing frontier where nitrogen is central, involved in about 61% of the community’s papers. This field, focused on sustainable ammonia production, holds about 11% of nitrogen’s recent research, a share that has grown from 7% in the previous period. A 2021 Nature Communications paper on iron single-atom catalysts, cited over 1,500 times, and a 2023 Nature Catalysis study on nitrate reduction, cited over 940 times, highlight the high impact of this work.

Overall, the composition of nitrogen research has remained remarkably stable, with the semiconductor and agroecosystem communities maintaining their dominance, while the electrocatalytic community has gained share. The remainder of the research, comprising about 43% of the literature, is distributed across numerous smaller communities. For a deeper look at the current state of nitrogen research, see the element's Last 12 Months and Executive Brief reports.