Rhodium

Rhodium (Rh) — 10-Year Trends

As of 2026-09-11 · the last 10 years

Rhodium’s research intensity has settled at about 62% of its own all-time peak, a level that has been eroding steadily since the window began.

Research intensity ran from about 69% of the element's own all-time peak in 2016 to about 62% in 2026 — a steady decline, and the all-time peak (1987) lies before this window. Over the same span its share of research attention across all elements held steady. Among the 118 elements, rhodium has a larger-than-average research literature.

The number of papers involving the element rose from about 3,374 in 2016 to about 5,343 in 2025 (1.58x). 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 bulk of rhodium’s recent work belongs to Rhodium-Catalyzed Asymmetric Synthesis and Annulation, a community focused on enantioselective reactions, C-H activation, and annulation cycles using rhodium complexes to build chiral molecules. Here, rhodium is a minor presence in a much larger community — about 8% of its papers involve rhodium. This group accounts for about 44% of the element's recent research, a share that has declined from 52% in the previous period. A key anchor is a 2023 review on rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric C–H functionalization, cited over 250 times, alongside a 2025 paper on cobalt(III)-catalyzed enantioselective C–H functionalization, cited about 91 times.

A second major strand is Rhodium-Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydroformylation of Olefins, where rhodium complexes are used for the asymmetric hydroformylation of olefins. In this context, rhodium is one strand of a broader community — about 12% of its papers involve rhodium. This community holds about 16% of the element's recent research, a steady share compared to the previous period. Notable work includes a 2024 Nature paper on regioselective hydroformylation of propene catalyzed by rhodium-zeolite, cited over 130 times, and a 2023 Nature Communications study on rhodium nanoparticles supported on silanol-rich zeolites, cited about 99 times.

A smaller but distinct area is Rhodium(III) Complexes as Photodynamic Therapy Agents, involving the design and testing of cyclometalated and half-sandwich rhodium complexes for cancer cell killing. Rhodium is a minor presence in a much larger community here — about 1% of its papers involve rhodium. This group represents about 6% of the element's recent research, a steady share. A 2021 review on the biological activities of rhodium complexes, cited over 200 times, anchors this field, alongside a 2024 study on a rhodium(III) complex to reprogram the tumor immune microenvironment, cited about 26 times.

Overall, the composition of rhodium research has shifted slightly away from asymmetric synthesis and annulation, which has lost share, while the remainder of the field—comprising other smaller communities—has grown its share from 26% to 33%. The most cited paper of the window, a 2022 study on electrochemical nitrate reduction to ammonia with copper-supported rhodium clusters, cited over 580 times, belongs to a community not detailed in the primary roster but highlights the element's expanding role in electrocatalysis.

For a deeper look at rhodium’s current standing, see the Last 12 Months and Executive Brief reports.