Highly cited papers in 2024

The most cited ICMAB-related publications of 2024 showcase a wide range of cutting-edge research areas. Notably, several works focus on advanced energy materials, including lithium–sulfur batteries and solar energy storage using molecular photoswitches.

The use of boron-containing compounds in medicinal chemistry and pharmacology also stands out as a key area of progress. In the field of quantum biology and nanomedicine, researchers explored wireless quantum signaling for cancer treatment. Other prominent contributions address superconducting materials, nanocrystal assemblies, and novel electronic phases in nickelates.

In parallel, comprehensive reviews on reproducibility in density functional theory (DFT) and the future potential of polysaccharides as bioresources reflect ICMAB’s involvement in both foundational methods and sustainability-oriented science. Collectively, these works underline the institute’s leadership in multidisciplinary, high-impact research.

The Rise of Boron-Containing Compounds: Advancements in Synthesis, Medicinal Chemistry, and Emerging Pharmacology
Grams, R. Justin; Santos, Webster L.; Scorei, Ion Romulus; Abad-García, Antonio; Rosenblum, Carol Ann; Bita, Andrei; Cerecetto, Hugo; Viñas, Clara; Soriano-Ursúa, Marvin A.
Chem. Rev., 124, 5, 2441–2511
10.1021/acs.chemrev.3c00663
Citations: 66

Electronic Spin Alignment within Homologous NiS₂/NiSe₂ Heterostructures to Promote Sulfur Redox Kinetics in Lithium-Sulfur Batteries
Huang, Chen; Yu, Jing; Zhang, Chao Yue; Cui, Zhibiao; Chen, Jiakun; Lai, Wei-Hong; Lei, Yao-Jie; Nan, Bingfei; Lu, Xuan; He, Ren; Gong, Li; Li, Junshan; Li, Canhuang; Qi, Xuede; Xue, Qian; Qi, Xueqiang; Zhou, Jin Yuan; Arbiol, Jordi; Balcells, Lluís; Cabot, Andreu
Adv. Mat. 36, 25
10.1002/adma.202400810
Citations: 47

The European Polysaccharide Network of Excellence (EPNOE) research roadmap 2040: Advanced strategies for exploiting the vast potential of polysaccharides as renewable bioresources
Gericke, Martin; Amaral, Adérito J.R.; Budtova, Tatiana; De Wever, Pieter; Groth, Thomas; Heinze, Thomas; Höfte, Herman; Huber, Anton; Ikkala, Olli; Kapuśniak, Janusz; Kargl, Rupert; Mano, João F.; Másson, Már; Matricardi, Pietro; Medronho, Bruno; Nypelö, Tiina; Norgren, Magnus; Roig, Anna; Nyström, Laura; Schols, Henk A.; Sauer, Michael; Wrodnigg, Tanja M.; van der Linden, John; Yakubov, Gleb E.; Xu, Chunlin; Fardim, Pedro; Stana Kleinschek, Karin
Carbohydrate Polymers, 326, 121633
10.1016/j.carbpol.2023.121633
Citations: 36

Absence of 3a0 charge density wave order in the infinite-layer nickelate NdNiO2
Parzyck, C.T.; Gupta, N.K.; Wu, Y.; Anil, V.; Bhatt, L.; Bouliane, M.; Gong, R.; Gregory, B.Z.; Luo, A.; Sutarto, R.; He, F.; Chuang, Y.-D.; Zhou, T.; Herranz, G.; Kourkoutis, L.F.; Schlom, D.G.; Singer, A.; Shen, K.M.; Hawthorn, D.G.
Nature Materials, 23, pages486–491
10.34863/r44d-xt74
Citations: 28

How to verify the precision of density-functional-theory implementations via reproducible and universal workflows
Bosoni, Emanuele; Beal, Louis; Bercx, Marnik; Blaha, Peter; Blügel, Stefan; Bröder, Jens; Callsen, Martin; Cottenier, Stefaan; Degomme, Augustin; Dikan, Vladimir; Eimre, Kristjan; Flage-Larsen, Espen; Fornari, Marco; Garcia, Alberto; Genovese, Luigi; Giantomassi, Matteo; Huber, Sebastiaan P.; Janssen, Henning; Kastlunger, Georg; Krack, Matthias; Kresse, Georg; Kühne, Thomas D.; Lejaeghere, Kurt; Madsen, Georg K. H.; Marsman, Martijn; Marzari, Nicola; Michalicek, Gregor; Mirhosseini, Hossein; Müller, Tiziano M. A.; Petretto, Guido; Pickard, Chris J.; Poncé, Samuel; Rignanese, Gian-Marco; Rubel, Oleg; Ruh, Thomas; Sluydts, Michael; Vanpoucke, Danny E. P.; Vijay, Sudarshan; Wolloch, Michael; Wortmann, Daniel; Yakutovich, Aliaksandr V.; Yu, Jusong; Zadoks, Austin; Zhu, Bonan; Pizzi, Giovanni
Nature Reviews Physics 6, pages45–58
10.1038/s42254-023-00655-3
Citations: 27

Multichromophoric photoswitches for solar energy storage: from azobenzene to norbornadiene, and MOST things in between
Salthouse, Rebecca J.; Moth-Poulsen, Kasper
J. Mater. Chem. A,12, 3180-3208
10.1039/D3TA05972C
Citations: 25

Wireless electrical–molecular quantum signalling for cancer cell apoptosis
Jain, Akhil; Gosling, Jonathan; Liu, Shaochuang; Wang, Haowei; Stone, Eloise M.; Chakraborty, Sajib; Jayaraman, Padma-Sheela; Smith, Stuart; Amabilino, David B.; Fromhold, Mark; Long, Yi-Tao; Pérez-García, Lluïsa; Turyanska, Lyudmila; Rahman, Ruman; Rawson, Frankie J.
Nature Nanotechnology 19, pages106–114
10.17639/nott.7303
Citations: 23

Impact of high growth rates on the microstructure and vortex pinning of high-temperature superconducting coated conductors
Puig, Teresa; Gutierrez, Joffre; Obradors, Xavier
Nature Reviews Physics 6, pages132–148
10.1038/s42254-023-00663-3
Citations: 21

Nanocrystal Assemblies: Current Advances and Open Problems
Bassani, Carlos L.; van Anders, Greg; Banin, Uri; Baranov, Dmitry; Chen, Qian; Dijkstra, Marjolein; Dimitriyev, Michael S.; Efrati, Efi; Faraudo, Jordi; Gang, Oleg; Gaston, Nicola; Golestanian, Ramin; Guerrero-Garcia, G. Ivan; Gruenwald, Michael; Haji-Akbari, Amir; Karg, Matthias; Ibáñez, Maria; Lee, Byeongdu; Kraus, Tobias; Macfarlane, Robert J.; Van Lehn, Reid C.; Nikoubashman, Arash; Mognetti, Bortolo M.; Prezhdo, Oleg V.; Osat, Saeed; Saiz, Leonor; Rotskoff, Grant M.; Skrabalak, Sara; Shi, An-Chang; Tagliazucchi, Mario; Smalyukh, Ivan I.; Tretiak, Sergei; Vaknin, David; Talapin, Dmitri V.; Tkachenko, Alexei V.; Ye, Xingchen; Zhou, Shan; Widmer-Cooper, Asaph; Wong, Gerard C. L.; Travesset, Alex; Rabani, Eran; Engel, Michael
ACS Nano 18, 23, 14791–14840
10.1021/acsnano.3c10201
Citations: 17

Do Ionic Liquids Exhibit the Required Characteristics to Dissolve, Extract, Stabilize, and Purify Proteins? Past-Present-Future Assessment
Bharmoria, Pankaj; Tietze, Alesia A.; Mondal, Dibyendu; Kang, Tejwant Singh; Kumar, Arvind; Freire, Mara G
Chem. Rev. 124, 6, 3037–3084
10.1021/acs.chemrev.3c00551
Citations: 13

Most cited papers since 2014

We took a look at our publications, since 2014, to find the 10 articles with the highest number of citations. 

Since 2014, ICMAB’s most cited articles reflect its strong research contributions in energy materials, electronics, and large-scale physics collaborations. Several top papers focus on advanced battery technologies, including calcium- and sodium-ion batteries, the failure mechanisms of batteries, and reviews on electrode materials.

Another major theme is next-generation electronic and magnetic materials, such as ferroelectric and antiferromagnetic systems that operate at room temperature, potentially enabling new types of memory devices. ICMAB has also played a key role in research on perovskite materials for solar cells, especially related to their stability and hydration behavior.

Additionally, the institute has significantly contributed to the Future Circular Collider (FCC) project through several highly cited conceptual design reports, highlighting its involvement in cutting-edge particle physics infrastructure.

Reversible Hydration of CH₃NH₃Pbl₃ in Films, Single Crystals, and Solar Cells
Leguy, Aurelien M. A.; Hu, Yinghong; Campoy-Quiles, Mariano; Isabel Alonso, M.; Weber, Oliver J.; Azarhoosh, Pooya; van Schilfgaarde, Mark; Weller, Mark T.; Bein, Thomas; Nelson, Jenny; Docampo, Pablo; Barnes, Piers R. F.
Chemistry of Materials 27, 9, 3397-3407, 2015
10.1021/acs.chemmater.5b00660
Citations: 1,156

Why do batteries fail?
Palacin, M. R.; de Guibert, A.
Science 5, 351, 6273, 1253292, 2016
10.1126/science.1253292
Citations: 689

FCC-ee: The Lepton Collider: Future Circular Collider Conceptual Design Report Volume 2
Abada, A. et al.
Eur. Phys. J. Spec. Top. 228, 261–623, 2019
10.1140/epjst/e2019-900045-4
Citations: 640

Towards a calcium-based rechargeable battery
Ponrouch, A.; Frontera, C.; Barde, F.; Palacin, M. R.
Nature Materials 15, 2, 169, 2016
10.1038/NMAT4462
Citations: 618

Deterministic switching of ferromagnetism at room temperature using an electric field
Heron, J. T.; Bosse, J. L.; He, Q.; Gao, Y.; Trassin, M.; Ye, L.; Clarkson, J. D.; Wang, C.; Liu, Jian; Salahuddin, S.; Ralph, D. C.; Schlom, D. G.; Iniguez, J.; Huey, B. D.; Ramesh, R. 
Nature 18, 516, 7531. 370, 2014
10.1038/nature14004
Citations: 598

Non-aqueous electrolytes for sodium-ion batteries
Ponrouch, A.; Monti, D.; Boschin, A.; Steen, B.; Johansson, P.; Palacin, M. R.
Journal of Materials Chemistry A 3, 1, 22, 42, 2015
10.1039/c4ta04428b
Citations: 573

Room-temperature antiferromagnetic memory resistor
Marti, X.; Fina, I.; Frontera, C.; Liu, Jian; Wadley, P.; He, Q.; Paull, R. J.; Clarkson, J. D.; Kudrnovsky, J.; Turek, I.; Kunes, J.; Yi, D.; Chu, J-H.; Nelson, C. T.; You, L.; Arenholz, E.; Salahuddin, S.; Fontcuberta, J.; Jungwirth, T.; Ramesh, R.
Nature Materials 13, 4, 367-374, 2014
10.1038/NMAT3861
Citations: 573

Review—Hard Carbon Negative Electrode Materials for Sodium-Ion Batteries
E. Irisarri, A. Ponrouch and M. R. Palacin
J. Electrochem. Soc. 162 A2476, 2015
10.1149/2.0091514jes
Citations: 537

FCC Physics Opportunities: Future Circular Collider Conceptual Design Report Volume 1
Abada, A., et al.
Eur. Phys. J. C 79, 474, 2019
10.1140/epjc/s10052-019-6904-3
Citations: 500

FCC-hh: The Hadron Collider: Future Circular Collider Conceptual Design Report Volume 3
Abada, A., et al.
Eur. Phys. J. Spec. Top. 228, 755–1107, 2019
10.1140/epjst/e2019-900087-0
Citations: 499

Most cited papers of all ICMAB history (1986-2024)

Looking back over ICMAB’s entire publication history, the most cited papers span foundational methods in computational materials science, key studies of chemical bonding, and breakthroughs in energy and multifunctional materials.

At the very top sits the SIESTA method for order-N ab initio simulations, a work that transformed large-scale materials modeling. Close behind is a density-functional approach to nonequilibrium electron transport, critical for understanding nanoscale devices. Early contributions to hydrogen-bond topology laid the groundwork for modern charge-density analysis, while later reviews and research on conversion-type Li-ion electrodes and rechargeable battery materials have guided the development of next-generation energy storage. The hydration behavior of perovskite solar absorbers further underscores ICMAB’s impact in photovoltaics. Complementing these are spectroscopic investigations of carbon-black materials, explorations of multifunctional open-framework compounds, and pioneering studies of multiferroic tunnel junctions, demonstrating the breadth of ICMAB’s influence from 1986 through 2024.

The article about the SIESTA method published in the Journal of Physics-Condensed Matter, from year 2002, has now more than 11,000 citations! Congratulations!

The SIESTA method for ab initio order-N materials simulation
Soler, JM; Artacho, E; Gale, JD; Garcia, A; Junquera, J; Ordejon, P; Sanchez-Portal, D
Journal of Physics-Condensed Matter 14 ,11, 2745-2779 PII S0953-8984(02)30737-9, 2002
10.1088/0953-8984/14/11/302
Citations: 11,401

The article in second position, as over 5,000 citations, is about density-function method for nonequilibrium electron transport, from the same year 2002 in Physical Review B:

Density-functional method for nonequilibrium electron transport
Brandbyge, M; Mozos, JL; Ordejon, P; Taylor, J; Stokbro, K
Physical Review B 65, 16, 165401, 2002
10.1103/PhysRevB.65.165401
Citations: 5,043

The third most cited article is a study on hydrogen-bonds from year 1998 in Chemical Physics Letters, with more than 3,000 citations:

Hydrogen bond strengths revealed by topological analyses of experimentally observed electron densities
Espinosa, E; Molins, E; Lecomte, C
Chemical Physics Letters 285, 3-4, 170-173, 1998
10.1016/S0009-2614(98)00036-0
Citations: 3,056

And the one in fourth position, a one in Li-ion batteries from year 2010, published on Advanced Materials, with over 2,000 citations:

Beyond Intercalation-Based Li-Ion Batteries: The State of the Art and Challenges of Electrode Materials Reacting Through Conversion Reactions
Cabana, Jordi; Monconduit, Laure; Larcher, Dominique; Rosa Palacin, M.
Adv. Mat. 22, 35, E170, E192, 2010
10.1002/adma.201000717
Citations: 2,136

The others in the list are the following: 

From weak to strong interactions: A comprehensive analysis of the topological and energetic properties of the electron density distribution involving X-H center dot center dot center dot F-Y systems
Espinosa, E; Alkorta, I; Elguero, J; Molins, E
Journal of Chemical Physics 117, 12, 5529-5542, 2002
10.1063/1.1501133
Citations: 1,667

Recent advances in rechargeable battery materials: a chemist's perspective
Rosa Palacin, M.
Chemical Society Reviews 38, 9, 2565-2575, 2009
10.1039/b820555h
Citations: 1,219

Reversible Hydration of CH₃NH₃Pbl₃ in Films, Single Crystals, and Solar Cells
Leguy, Aurelien M. A.; Hu, Yinghong; Campoy-Quiles, Mariano; Isabel Alonso, M.; Weber, Oliver J.; Azarhoosh, Pooya; van Schilfgaarde, Mark; Weller, Mark T.; Bein, Thomas; Nelson, Jenny; Docampo, Pablo; Barnes, Piers R. F.
Chemistry of Materials 27, 9, 3397-3407, 2015
10.1021/acs.chemmater.5b00660
Citations: 1156

Raman-Spectroscopic characterization of some commercially available carbon-black materials
Jawhari, T.; Roig, A.; Casado, J.
Carbon 33, 11, 1561-1565, 1995
10.1016/0008-6223(95)00117-V
Citations: 1149

Old materials with new tricks: multifunctional open-framework materials
Maspoch, Daniel; Ruiz-Molina, Daniel; Veciana, Jaume
Chemical Society Reviews 36, 5, 770-818, 2007
10.1039/b501600m
Citations: 1028

Tunnel junctions with multiferroic barriers
Gajek, Martin; Bibes, Manuel; Fusil, Stephane; Bouzehouane, Karim; Fontcuberta, Josep; Barthelemy, Agnes; Fert, Albert
Nature Materials 6, 4, 296-302, 2007
10.1038/nmat1860
Citations: 935

Amazing! Congratulations to all ICMAB researchers for this amazing work!

More information

• Top 10 ICMAB articles with a higher IF in 2024 - A year in review
• ICMAB's most frequent collaborators in 2024 - A year in review
• ICMAB’s 2024 most published journals - A year in review

Note: The data has been gathered from the Web of Science-Core collection, as of 26/2/2025. Some 2024 articles may be not yet added to the Web of Science-Core collection. Thank you for your understanding.