Strontium

Strontium (Sr) — 10-Year Trends

As of 2026-09-25 · the last 10 years

Strontium’s research intensity stands at about 60% of its own all-time peak, a level that has been steadily declining since the window began.

Research intensity ran from about 72% of the element's own all-time peak in 2016 to about 60% in 2026 — a steady decline, and the all-time peak (1966) lies before this window. Over the same span its share of research attention across all elements fell. Among the 118 elements, strontium has a mid-sized research literature.

The number of papers involving the element rose from about 5,675 in 2016 to about 10,454 in 2025 (1.84x). 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 largest share of strontium’s recent research belongs to work on Strontium-Doped Hydroxyapatite for Bone Repair and Osteogenesis. These papers focus on strontium-doped and substituted hydroxyapatite scaffolds, bioactive glasses, and composites designed to enhance osteogenic differentiation, bone repair, and antibacterial activity. Strontium is a minor presence in this much larger community, appearing in about 7% of its papers, yet it accounts for about 13.5% of strontium’s own recent research. This share has remained steady over the last decade. A 2017 review on bone grafts and biomaterials substitutes, cited over 1,900 times, anchors this field, alongside a 2026 review on strontium-releasing biomaterials, cited about 27 times.

A second major community is Strontium Isoscapes for Tracing Human Mobility. Here, researchers use strontium isotope ratios to reconstruct the geographic origins and movement patterns of ancient human populations. Strontium is again a minor presence in this broader geochemical community, involved in about 6% of its papers, but it represents about 13.1% of strontium’s recent research. This share has also held steady. Key work includes a 2023 study in Nature on Neolithic social organization, cited over 110 times, and a 2020 paper on global bioavailable strontium isoscapes, cited over 260 times.

The third material community is Strontium Doping in Barium Titanate Thin Films. This work focuses on strontium-doped barium titanate and related titanate thin films, specifically their structural and optical properties. Strontium is a minor presence in this ferroelectric community, appearing in about 6% of its papers, but it accounts for about 6.3% of strontium’s recent research. This share has declined slightly from 10.0% in the earlier period. A 2022 Science paper on giant electric field–induced strain in lead-free piezoceramics, cited over 290 times, is a central reference here.

Overall, the composition of strontium’s literature has remained remarkably stable. The three named communities have all held steady or seen only minor shifts in their share of the element’s research, while the remainder of the literature—comprising various other smaller communities—has grown to hold about 67% of the total.

For a deeper look at how these trends are playing out in the current year, see the element's Last 12 Months and Executive Brief reports.