Thorium

Thorium (Th) — 10-Year Trends

As of 2026-09-25 · the last 10 years

Thorium’s research intensity sits at about 17% of its own all-time peak, a level that has remained essentially flat over the last decade, with the element’s historical high occurring well before this window.

Research intensity ran from about 20% of the element's own all-time peak in 2016 to about 17% 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 fell. 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 Monazite Geochronology in Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks, a community where thorium is a minor presence in a much larger field—about 6% of its papers involve the element. These studies use thorium-rich monazite for U-Pb dating and trace element analysis to reconstruct the thermal and tectonic history of geological terrains, often focusing on zircon monazite systems in regions like the Eastern Desert. This community holds about 33% of the element’s recent research, a share that has risen from 28% in the previous period. A key anchor is a 2016 paper on community-derived standards for U-(Th-)Pb geochronology, cited over 1,000 times, alongside a 2021 study on lunar basalts from the Chang’e-5 mission, cited over 350 times.

Thorium Recovery from Uranium Processing Streams accounts for about 12% of recent research, a steady share compared to the previous period. Here, thorium is also a minor presence, comprising about 6% of the community’s work, which focuses on the separation and extraction of thorium ions from aqueous solutions, frequently in the context of uranium recovery. 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 2024 review on innovative adsorbents for uranium and thorium removal, cited about 99 times.

Thorium as a Natural Radionuclide in Environmental Risk Assessment represents about 10% of the element’s research, a steady share. In this community, thorium is a minor presence, making up about 4% of papers that assess its contribution to natural radioactivity levels and radiological hazards. A 2023 paper on the relationship between radon and geology, cited over 110 times, anchors this area, alongside a 2024 case study on radionuclides in black sand separation plants, cited about 42 times.

Thorium Fuel in Light Water Reactor Designs has seen its share decline to about 8% of recent research, down from 15% in the prior period. Thorium is a minor presence here as well, involved in about 5% of papers that focus on thorium-based fuel cycles and reactor physics. The community is anchored by a 2024 book chapter on molten salt reactors and thorium energy, cited over 150 times, and a 2024 study on thorium mixtures in TRISO particles for the PBMR-400 reactor, cited about 25 times.

Overall, the composition of thorium research has shifted toward geochronology, while the share of work in reactor fuel design has declined. The remaining 37% of research is distributed across other smaller communities.

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