Scandium

Scandium (Sc) — 10-Year Trends

As of 2026-09-11 · the last 10 years

Research intensity has climbed steadily to about 83% of the element's all-time peak, a level that remains below the historical high set in 1973.

Research intensity ran from about 59% of the element's own all-time peak in 2016 to about 83% in 2026 — a steady climb, and the all-time peak (1973) lies before this window. Over the same span its share of research attention across all elements rose. Among the 118 elements, scandium has a larger-than-average research literature.

The number of papers involving the element rose from about 1,180 in 2016 to about 3,216 in 2025 (2.73x). 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 material research communities for scandium in the last five years are defined by specific applications where the element plays a supporting but critical role. The largest group, Scandium Recovery from Bauxite Waste Streams, accounts for about 18% of the element's recent research. This community focuses on extracting and selectively separating scandium from bauxite residue and red mud using sulfuric acid leaching. Scandium is a minor presence in a much larger community, with about 4% of its papers involving scandium. The share of this community has remained steady over the window. A key paper in this area, "Toxicity of rare earth elements: An overview on human health impact" (2022), is cited over 190 times, while a more recent study on selective scandium ion capture in covalent organic frameworks (2023) is cited over 120 times.

A rapidly growing area is Scandium Nitride for Acoustic Wave Resonators, which now holds about 15% of scandium research, up from 9% in the previous period. This work involves engineering scandium nitride thin films and scandium-doped aluminum nitride to enhance the performance of bulk and surface acoustic wave resonators. Scandium is a minor presence in this community, appearing in about 2% of its papers. The rise in share reflects a consolidation of interest in these materials for communications. A 2025 paper on periodically poled aluminum scandium nitride resonators for 6G communications is cited about 46 times, and a 2023 review of aluminum nitride-based piezoelectric devices is cited over 100 times.

Scandium Alloying and Welding in Aluminium Structures represents about 7% of recent research, a share that has remained steady compared to the previous period. These papers examine how scandium additions alter the microstructure and mechanical properties of aluminium alloys, specifically within welded joints. Scandium is a minor presence in this community, with about 1% of its papers involving the element. Recent work includes a 2025 study on improving mechanical properties of spray-formed 7055 aluminium alloy welds by scandium addition, which is cited about 20 times.

The remaining 60% of scandium research is distributed across other communities, including photocatalytic materials, perovskite solar cells, and battery materials, where scandium often serves as a dopant or component in broader material systems. For instance, a 2025 paper on Sc-doped rutile TiO2 for photocatalytic water splitting is cited over 100 times, and a 2024 paper on rare earth metal incorporation in layered cathodes is cited over 140 times.

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