Paul Hagenmüller's contribution to solid state chemistry: A scientometric analysis
Abstract
Paul Hagenmuller (1921-2017) is an important figure of French solid-state chemistry, who enjoyed scientific and institutional recognition. He published 796 papers and has been cited more than 16,000 times. This paper explores Hagenmuller's work using scientometric analysis to reveal the impact of his work, his main research topics and his collaborations. Although Hagenmuller was a recognized scientist, a subset of his work, now highly cited, attracted little attention at the time of publication. To understand this phenomenon, we detect and study papers with delayed recognition, also called 'Sleeping Beauties' (SBs). In scientometrics, SBs are publications that go unnoticed, or 'sleep' for a long time before suddenly attracting a lot of attention in terms of citations. We identify 7 SBs published between 1965 and 1985, and awakened between 1993 and 2010. The first SB reports the discovery of the clathrate structure of silicon. The second reports the isolation of four new phases with the formula NaxCoO2 (x < =1). The five other SBs investigate the electrochemical intercalation and deintercalation of sodium, and the structure and properties of layered oxides. Through interviews with his coworkers, we attempt to identify the reasons for the delayed recognition and the context of the renewed interest in those papers.
- Publication:
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Journal of Solid State Chemistry France
- Pub Date:
- June 2018
- DOI:
- 10.1016/j.jssc.2018.02.003
- Bibcode:
- 2018JSSCh.262..156E
- Keywords:
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- Solid state chemistry;
- Na-ion batteries;
- Fullerene;
- History of chemistry;
- Sociology of science;
- Sleeping Beauty