Vanadium

Vanadium (V) — 10-Year Trends

As of 2026-09-11 · the last 10 years

Research intensity has climbed steadily to about 93% of vanadium’s all-time peak, a level it last reached in 1970.

Research intensity ran from about 68% of the element's own all-time peak in 2016 to about 93% in 2026 — a steady climb, and the all-time peak (1970) lies before this window. Over the same span its share of research attention across all elements rose. Among the 118 elements, vanadium has a larger-than-average research literature.

The number of papers involving the element rose from about 10,479 in 2016 to about 23,412 in 2025 (2.23x). 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 literature is anchored by four distinct research communities. The largest is Ironmaking, Steel Production and Vanadium Recovery from Metallurgical Slags, where work focuses on extracting vanadium from titanium magnetite and vanadium titanomagnetite resources. Vanadium is central to this community, appearing in about 43% of its papers. It holds about 13% of vanadium’s recent research, a steady share compared to the previous period. A key recent contribution is a 2025 review on vanadium extraction techniques from major resources, cited over 120 times.

Closely following is Vanadium Dioxide Phase-Change Metamaterials and Radiative Cooling Surfaces, which explores vanadium dioxide thin films and metal-insulator transitions for smart windows and absorbers. Vanadium is central here as well, involved in about 42% of the community’s papers. This community accounts for about 13% of vanadium’s recent research, maintaining a steady share. The field is defined by high-impact work such as a 2021 Science paper on scalable thermochromic smart windows, cited over 1,000 times, and a 2023 Chemical Reviews synthesis of vanadium oxide phase diagrams, cited over 600 times.

Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries and Proton Exchange Membranes represents a significant shift in the element's profile. This community, focused on all-vanadium redox systems and carbon felt electrodes, sees vanadium as central to about 49% of its papers. However, its share of vanadium’s total research has declined from about 22% to about 13% over the last decade. Recent high-impact work includes a 2024 ACS Nano review on 3D electrodes, cited over 140 times, and a 2025 Energy & Environmental Science study on porous fiber felt electrodes, cited about 86 times.

Finally, Bismuth Vanadate Photoanodes for Water Oxidation is a subcommunity within broader photocatalytic materials research. Here, vanadium is a minor presence, involved in only about 5% of the community’s papers, which focus on bismuth vanadate and vanadium oxide photoanodes for solar water splitting. This community holds about 11% of vanadium’s recent research, a steady share. A notable 2025 Nature Communications paper on a scalable solar-driven photocatalytic system for separated hydrogen and oxygen production was cited over 130 times.

Overall, the composition of vanadium research has shifted away from redox flow batteries toward a more balanced mix of metallurgical recovery, phase-change materials, and photoanodes, with the remainder of the literature holding a rising share of about 51%.

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