Terbium

Terbium (Tb) — 10-Year Trends

As of 2026-09-25 · the last 10 years

Research intensity has climbed steadily to reach 97% of the element's all-time peak, a high point reached within this decade.

Research intensity ran from about 76% of the element's own all-time peak in 2016 to about 97% in 2026 — a steady climb, and the all-time peak (2024) falls inside this window. Over the same span its share of research attention across all elements rose. Among the 118 elements, terbium has a mid-sized research literature.

The number of papers involving the element rose from about 1,072 in 2016 to about 2,220 in 2025 (2.07x). 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 terbium research remains anchored in luminescence. The community of Terbium Luminescence and Energy Transfer in Lanthanide Complexes accounts for about 16.6% of the element's recent research, a share that has declined from 25.2% in the previous period. Here, terbium is a minor presence in a much larger community, with only about 4% of those papers involving the element. The work focuses on photophysical properties, specifically luminescent behavior and energy transfer mechanisms within coordination complexes, often involving terbium complexes and energy transfer. A standout contribution is a 2022 paper in Science on ultrahard magnetism from mixed-valence dilanthanide complexes, cited over 610 times.

Closely related is the field of Terbium Doped Luminescent Phosphors in LED Materials, which holds a steady share of about 11.3% of recent research. In this area, terbium is also a minor presence, involved in about 2% of the broader community's papers. Researchers synthesize terbium-doped hosts, such as aluminum garnet, to produce green luminescence, frequently co-doped with europium for white light emission. A notable 2020 study in Nature Communications on broadband infrared LEDs based on europium-to-terbium charge transfer luminescence has been cited over 150 times.

A distinct application area is Terbium in Magnetoelectric Sensors and Energy Harvesters, representing a steady 8.1% of the element's research. Terbium is a minor presence here as well, involved in about 2% of the community's work. These papers focus on terbium-doped Terfenol-D composites for field sensing, phononic crystals, and piezoelectric energy harvesting. A 2022 paper in IEEE Sensors Journal describing a miniaturized low-frequency magnetoelectric mechanical antenna pair has been cited about 69 times.

The most dynamic shift is in Terbium Radioisotopes for Targeted Alpha Therapy, where the element's share has risen sharply to 7.7% from 2.2% in the prior period. Although terbium is a minor presence in this larger radioligand therapy community (under 1% of its papers), its role is specific: producing terbium-155 and using it in targeted radionuclide therapy for metastatic cancer. A 2025 first-in-human study in The Lancet Oncology on terbium-161 radioligand therapy for prostate cancer has been cited about 46 times, marking a significant recent entry point for the element in medical applications.

Overall, the composition of terbium research is shifting. While the traditional luminescence and phosphor communities remain the largest, their shares have declined or held steady. In contrast, the radioisotope therapy community has gained significant ground, rising from a small fraction to a material share of the element's recent work. The remainder of the research, comprising other smaller communities, now holds about 56.2% of the element's recent papers, up from 47.6% in the previous period.

For a deeper look at the element's current standing, including the last 12 months of activity and an executive brief, see the detailed reports.