As of 2026-09-11 · the last 10 years
Research intensity has held steady at roughly a quarter of the element’s all-time peak, a level that remains far below the high point reached in 1961.
Research intensity ran from about 24% of the element's own all-time peak in 2016 to about 25% in 2026 — essentially flat across the window, and the all-time peak (1961) lies before this window. Over the same span its share of research attention across all elements rose. Among the 118 elements, thorium has a mid-sized research literature.
The number of papers involving the element rose from about 3,106 in 2016 to about 5,153 in 2025 (1.66x). 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 thorium research belongs to work on thorium in monazite geochronology and desert provenance, which accounts for about 34% of the element's recent research. This community uses thorium-bearing monazite and xenotime for U-Pb dating and traces the provenance of sediments in the Eastern Desert and Bayan Obo, with thorium serving as a minor presence in a much larger community where about 8% of papers involve the element. This share is rising, up from about 25% in the previous period. A key anchor is a 2016 paper on community-derived standards for LA-ICP-MS U-(Th-)Pb geochronology, cited over 1,000 times, alongside a 2021 study on the age and composition of young basalts on the Moon, cited over 350 times.
Thorium recovery from uranium processing streams represents the second largest area, holding about 13% of recent research. These papers focus on the separation, extraction, and removal of thorium ions from aqueous solutions, often in the context of uranium recovery. Thorium is a minor presence in this community, involved in about 8% of its papers. The share is steady, having moved slightly from about 17% in the earlier period. Notable work includes a 2023 paper on the efficient and selective capture of thorium ions by a covalent organic framework, cited over 150 times, and a 2026 study on metal-organic frameworks for capturing uranium and thorium in acidic environments, cited about 15 times.
Recovery from monazite and bastnäsite concentrates makes up about 10% of the research. This work centers on acid leaching and separation processes to extract thorium from rare earth mineral concentrates. Thorium is a minor presence here, appearing in about 3% of the community's papers. The share is steady, comparable to the previous period's 9%. A 2023 review on ion exchange for the separation of rare earths from secondary resources, cited over 200 times, anchors this field.
Thorium coordination chemistry in metal-organic frameworks accounts for about 8% of recent research, a declining share from about 15% previously. This community focuses on the synthesis and structural characterization of thorium complexes and frameworks rather than nuclear fuel applications. Thorium is a minor presence, involved in about 6% of these papers. A 2017 paper on a mesoporous cationic thorium-organic framework, cited over 400 times, remains a significant reference, while a 2026 study on a tetranuclear thorium-containing hexameric antimonotungstate has been cited about 12 times.
Finally, thorium fuel cycles in molten salt reactors represent about 6% of the research, a declining share from about 14% in the earlier period. These papers examine thorium-based fuel cycles and molten salt reactor designs. Thorium is a minor presence, involved in about 5% of the community's work. A 2024 book chapter on molten salt reactors and thorium energy, cited over 150 times, is a key recent contribution.
Overall, the literature is consolidating around geochronology and provenance studies, which are gaining share, while coordination chemistry and fuel cycle research are losing relative prominence. Other research communities, which hold about 29% of the total, are also rising in share.
For a deeper look at thorium's current standing, see the Last 12 Months and Executive Brief reports.
What changed in the past year: new papers, shifting applications, emerging collaborators. See the momentum over a shorter window than the decade view.
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