Radar · Industry landscape · the United States
Chemicals and Materials Landscape of the United States
9,142 Chemicals and Materials companies in the United States, in one picture: who is hiring, who is raising money, who founded them, where they are based, what the news is about, which skills employers want and where the research is going. Updated August 2026.
9,142companies tracked
$20Bdisclosed funding
650hiring right now
6,073events · 24 months
130,053news articles · 12 months
Who leads Chemicals and Materials in the United States
Shows the top chemicals and materials firms in the United States by hiring activity, funding, and overall coverage, with 9,142 companies tracked and 650 currently hiring.
open roles
Hiring now
ranked by live open roles
- 01
Celanese13last posted Aug 2026
- 02
Entegris13last posted Aug 2026
- 03
Avient Corporation12last posted Aug 2026
- 04
altium packaging12last posted Jul 2026
- 05
Hexcel12last posted Jul 2026
- 06
Solenis12last posted Aug 2026
- 07
Axalta12last posted Jul 2026
- 08
INX International Ink11last posted Jun 2026
650 companies hiring · 21 posted in the last 30 days
disclosed funding
Most funded
disclosed totals, all rounds
- 01
CF Industries$2.8BPost IPO · Feb 2016
- 02
Novelis$2.8BConventional Debt · Jan 2020
- 03
- 04
Monolith$1.6BSeries D · Sep 2024
- 05
- 06
Compass Minerals$602MPost IPO · Sep 2022
- 07
Berry Global$400MConventional Debt · Mar 2019
- 08
Circulus$400MSeed · Apr 2023
372 companies with disclosed rounds · $20B total
revenue
Revenue leaders
official filings first, else latest snapshot
- 01
Dow Chemical Company$14.6BFY2018 filing
- 02
Nucor$9.5BFY2021 filing
- 03
DowDuPont$6.8Bsnapshot Dec 2025
- 04
Sherwin Williams$5.7BFY2023 filing
- 05
Steel Dynamics$5.2BFY2025 filing
- 06
PPG$3.9BFY2026 filing
- 07
Air Products$3.2BFY2023 filing
- 08
The Mosaic Company$3BFY2024 filing
68 companies with a revenue figure
headcount
Largest teams
ranked by tracked headcount
- 01
- 02
Cleveland-Cliffs39,117tracked employees
- 03
- 04
- 05
RPM International17,274tracked employees
- 06
Alcoa16,258tracked employees
- 07
Westlake Chemical15,520tracked employees
- 08
616 companies with headcount data
share of events
Share of voice
share of all tracked sector news events, 24 months
- 01
- 02
- 03
- 04
- 05
Corning3.0%223 tracked events
- 06
Albemarle2.4%181 tracked events
- 07
- 08
Presco2.1%159 tracked events
7,473 tracked events across 453 companies
articles
In the news
Prism news coverage, last 12 months
- 01
- 02
Ashland3,575articles in the window
- 03
CRC1,460articles in the window
- 04
- 05
Opta1,062articles in the window
- 06
- 07
- 08
IFF719articles in the window
114 of these companies drew sector coverage in the window
Radar
See all 9,142 Chemicals and Materials companies in the United States
Filter by funding, headcount, hiring and location, and export the list.
How the Chemicals and Materials ecosystem in the United States grew, 2016–2025
Displays the number of companies founded each year from 2016 to 2025, peaking at 159 in 2019 and dropping to 4 in 2025.
Companies founded / year
new Chemicals and Materials companies in the United States
20162025
peak 159 in 2019
Companies raising / year
with a disclosed round that year
20162025
peak 64 in 2020
Disclosed funding / year
sum of disclosed rounds (USD)
20162025
peak $4.5B in 2016
Where Chemicals and Materials companies in the United States are based
Lists the U.S. cities with the most chemicals and materials companies, led by Houston with 189 firms followed by New York City and Chicago.
Hub 01
Houston
189 Chemicals and Materials companies
34% of the Chemicals and Materials companies across these hubs
189companies
$790.5Mdisclosed funding
18hiring now
Hub 02
New York City
70 Chemicals and Materials companies
12% of the Chemicals and Materials companies across these hubs
70companies
$27.5Mdisclosed funding
1hiring now
Hub 03
Chicago
61 Chemicals and Materials companies
11% of the Chemicals and Materials companies across these hubs
61companies
$251.2Mdisclosed funding
9hiring now
Hub 04
Cleveland
58 Chemicals and Materials companies
10% of the Chemicals and Materials companies across these hubs
58companies
$144kdisclosed funding
8hiring now
Hub 05
Manchester
55 Chemicals and Materials companies
10% of the Chemicals and Materials companies across these hubs
55companies
$3.4Mdisclosed funding
6hiring now
Hub 06
Los Angeles
45 Chemicals and Materials companies
8% of the Chemicals and Materials companies across these hubs
45companies
$16.2Mdisclosed funding
1hiring now
Hub 07
Cincinnati
44 Chemicals and Materials companies
8% of the Chemicals and Materials companies across these hubs
44companies
$34.9Mdisclosed funding
7hiring now
Hub 08
Miami
42 Chemicals and Materials companies
7% of the Chemicals and Materials companies across these hubs
42companies
$3Mdisclosed funding
The Chemicals and Materials market map of the United States: what these companies actually do
- Enterprise Tech66 companies · $2.2B raised · 6 hiring
- Deep Tech45 companies · $2B raised · 5 hiring
- Fortune 50033 companies · $3.7B raised · 22 hiring
- Inc 500025 companies · $11.4M raised · 5 hiring
- Global 200025 companies · $3.7B raised · 19 hiring
- Masschallenge Batches13 companies · $8.4M raised
- Consumer Digital11 companies · $11.6M raised
- Enterprise Software11 companies · $209.5M raised
- Circular Economy9 companies · $40M raised
- Green Chemicals7 companies · $60.2M raised · 1 hiring
- SaaS6 companies · $575k raised · 1 hiring
- Life Sciences6 companies · $190M raised
Monetization
How Chemicals and Materials companies make money
How many companies earn revenue each way. Plenty use more than one model, so the counts add up to more than the sector.
Physical Commerce5,938
E-Commerce - Product5,221
Fee-For-Service1,392
Commission on Transaction224
Advertising180
Subscription97
E-Commerce - Service85
Sponsorship14
Funding, M&A and the deals moving Chemicals and Materials in the United States
Counts corporate events over the past two years, totaling 6,073, with earnings reports (1,646) and key‑person announcements (1,437) being the most common types.
Earnings 1,646Leadership 1,437M&A 786Announcement 758Assets 366Contracts 299Funding 109Board Updates 105Product 105Capital 98
- FundingIBC Advanced Alloys Corp. announced an amendment to its credit agreement with Sallyport Commercial Finance, LLC. This amendment increases the credit facility from $6 million to $7 million and extends the maturity date to September 30, 2028.2026-05-04
- M&AManning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle in the third quarter valued at about $138,723,000.2026-05-04
- FundingUSFibers, a U.S.-based recycler and manufacturer of high-quality polyester staple fiber, today announced a new strategic investment from Glisco Partners (“Glisco”) and Orion Infrastructure Capital (“OIC”) to expand production capacity, enhance technical capabilities, improve efficiency, reach new markets, and further support long-term partnerships with customers and suppliers.2026-05-04
- M&ANexans has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of the share capital of Republic Wire, Inc., an established American manufacturer of low-voltage copper and aluminium wire products headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.2026-04-28
- M&ABarings is excited to partner with Behrman Capital through the acquisition of Metallizing Service Company, and we look forward to continuing to support Behrman with financing solutions across future acquisitions.2026-04-24
- M&AShrieve Chemical Company has acquired a suburban Chicago manufacturer of bio-based solvents, company officials said Thursday.2026-04-24
- M&AFirst Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in PPG Industries by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 6,263,829 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $658,391,000 after acquiring an additional 703,549 shares during the period.2026-04-23
- M&AChina’s JA Solar recently sold its Arizona facility to US material sciences firm Corning Inc.2026-04-23
- M&AVarun Mukhi is leading Zyax Chem’s next phase of growth with the acquisition of a 26 per cent stake in Gaymed Labs.2026-04-21
- IPOAXT announced a public offering of common stock2026-04-20
Mergers and acquisitions
Deals from the last 24 months where a Chemicals and Materials company in the United States was the buyer or the one bought, newest first. “Undisclosed” means the price was never published — not that the deal was worth nothing.
| Acquirer | Target | Deal value | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| undisclosed | Announced | 2026-07-23 | ||
| $130B | Announced | 2026-07-20 | ||
| $9B | Announced | 2026-06-09 | ||
| $734M | Announced | 2026-05-05 | ||
| Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC | $49.1M | Announced | 2026-05-04 | |
| PGGM Investments | $96.1M | Announced | 2026-05-04 |
Who is listing, hiring leaders, launching and winning work
Provides details on specific corporate milestones such as IPO filings, leadership changes, product launches, and contract wins.
IPO pipeline
12 companies listed or filing · last 24 months
AXTFollow-on Offering · NASDAQ · AXTI · 1 reportApr 2026
PRISMIPO · main board of Indian stock exchanges · 7 reportsMar 2026
princeDirect Listing · Frankfurt Stock Exchange · T130 · 1 reportOct 2025
CPSFollow-on Offering · NASDAQ · CPSH · 1 reportOct 2025
Leadership moves
228 tracked people moves · last 12 months
bemis associates incChristina Chen · Appointment → President and Chief Operating OfficerApr 2026
Control SolutionsAllan Fulcher · Appointment → Head of Business Development and Technical SalesApr 2026
Alcoa HowmetJonathan Arena · Appointment → EVP, Chief Legal and Compliance Officer and Secretary at Howmet AerospaceApr 2026
AdvanSixPatrick Day · Appointment → Senior Vice President and Chief Financial OfficerApr 2026
Austin PowderLamar Duhon · Appointment → President and CEOApr 2026
RyersonMr Mark Silver · Appointment → Executive Vice President and Chief Legal & Risk OfficerApr 2026
Product launches
tracked launches · last 12 months
NewAge IndustriesAdvantaPure PETG bottles (PETG Bottles)Apr 2026
tennant coX16 SWEEP (Autonomous robotic sweeper)Apr 2026
Birla CelluloseLivaeco™ Lyocell (Sustainable Fibre)Mar 2026
SironixFurasoft-LFS (Personal Care Ingredients)Mar 2026
EastmanSaflex™ LiteCarbon™ Clear (Interlayer)Jan 2026
Instrondrop tower impact testing systems (Materials testing instrumentation)Dec 2025
Contract wins
163 customer wins · last 24 months
CVD Materials Corporationwon atlas copco groupMar 2026
Workforce actions
33 companies cutting roles · last 24 months
Univar Solutions~99 roles reported · contract terminationMay 2026
Koppersscale undisclosed · cost-cuttingApr 2026
Technicotescale undisclosed · market competitionMar 2026
Alton Steel~253 roles reported · unforeseen business circumstancesFeb 2026
Regulatory & litigation
76 regulatory events · 30 tracked suits · 24 months
IBCawaiting approval — TSX Venture ExchangeMay 2026
- Kentucky Public Service Commission v East Kentucky Power Company, nucor, attorney generalRegulatory rate case for East Kentucky Power Company · SettledApr 2026
- Ingevity v BASF Corporationantitrust · VerdictFeb 2026
Earnings pulse
companies reporting results · last 24 months
115 companies reporting1,875 company-quarters trackedbeat 298miss 200in line 29
Half of these companies grew revenue faster than +3.7%, half slower.
Who is building Chemicals and Materials in the United States
Profiles 1,238 founders and CEOs, noting MIT as the most frequent alma mater (15 alumni) and Amazon as the most common prior employer (2 founders).
Founders and chief executives12 of 1,238, from the best-funded companies on this page
Ex- Viterra. University of St. Thomas in St. Paul BS
Ex-Farmer's Business Network, PotashCorp. Southern Illinois University, Carbondale BSc
CEO American Resources Corporation, Land Betterment Corporation, American Acquisition Opportunity, Founder T Squared Partners, Ex- Citigroup…
AdvanSix, ex- Avery Dennison, SABIC Innovative Plastics, General Electric, Deloitte Consulting, Air Products. Bucknell University BS 1987…
Hycroft Mining Holding, ex-Nickel Creek Platinum, ex-Romarco Minerals, The University of Texas at Austin, 1993
ex- Serica, Allergan. Tufts University BS & Ph.D
Sabre Gold Mines, C2C Gold, Co-Founder Group 11 Technologies, ex-Co-Founder Energy Metals. Fort Lewis College BSc 1980, University of Texas MSc 1982
Clean Energy Systems, ex-Tractebel Engie, ex-Bki, San Francisco State University
The Citadel BA 1986, University Of South Carolina School Of Law 1989.
Where the founders studied
alma mater on record for 96 of 1,238 founders
Massachusetts Institute of Technology15
University of Pennsylvania9
Cornell University8
Stanford University8
Harvard Business School7
Columbia University7
Harvard University6
Kellogg School of Management5
Where they worked before
a previous employer on record for 5 of 1,238 founders
Amazon2
McKinsey1
Morgan Stanley1
Bain1
Women and men among the founders
first names matched for 1,141 of 1,238 founders
9%
of matched founders are women
- women107
- men1,034
Inferred from first names, using 119 million people who state their own gender: a first name counts only where at least 20 of them share it and at least 90% of those share the same gender. The other 97 founders go in neither column.
Radar
Look up the people behind Chemicals and Materials companies in the United States
Search founders, executives and operators by company, role and location.
Who funds Chemicals and Materials in the United States
Summarizes 697 funding rounds since 2016 from 314 investors, with the typical round size around $899 k.
| Investor · most active investors since 2016 | Rounds | Led | Latest |
|---|---|---|---|
| OSTI | 132 | — | Dec 2025 |
| National Science Foundation | 49 | — | Sep 2025 |
| HHS | 45 | — | May 2025 |
| Europa | 32 | — | Jan 2024 |
| America’s Seed Fund | 17 | — | Feb 2021 |
| United States Department of Agriculture | 13 | — | Sep 2025 |
| Economy And Finance | 9 | — | Apr 2024 |
| DOE | 8 | — | Oct 2025 |
| Y Combinator | 5 | 3 | Jan 2024 |
| CalSEED | 5 | — | May 2022 |
Stage mix · rounds since 2016
Seed & Angel126
Series A–B71
Series C+ / PE25
Grants, debt & other475
The typical round is $899k — half were bigger, half smaller.
The biggest Chemicals and Materials funding rounds in the United States
Highlights the largest disclosed round—a $300 M Series D for Monolith—and lists ten other large recent funding rounds.
| Company | Round | Size | When | Backers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series Dmega-round | $300M | Jul 2022 | Mitsubishi, SK, Azimuth Advisors +2 more | |
| Series B | $200M | Jan 2026 | Transition Equity Partners | |
| Series D | $120M | Jun 2021 | SK, NextEra Energy, Perry Creek Capital | |
| Series C | $120M | Jun 2022 | Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Senator Investment Group, Mousse Investments +5 more | |
| Series B | $95M | Oct 2015 | — | |
| Series C | $85M | Jan 2018 | — | |
| Series B | $70M | Dec 2021 | The Kraft Group, Chanel, Mousse Investments +2 more | |
| Series C | $52M | Aug 2023 | — | |
| Series A | $40M | Dec 2024 | Columbia Pacific Advisors, Jim Sinegal | |
| Series B | $34.5M | Jun 2008 | Index Ventures, NGP Energy Technology Partners, Kleiner Perkins +1 more |
Venture round sizes · 2023–2025
<$1M22
$1–10M45
$10–50M8
$50–250M1
>$250M0
76 venture rounds with a disclosed amount in the window.
Fresh cheques · last 6 months
Series B$13MMay 2026
Seed$2.6MMay 2026
Seed$100kMay 2026
UnattributedundisclosedMay 2026
Series A$1.2MApr 2026
Series A$1MApr 2026
Seed$4.9MMar 2026
Post IPO$1.1MMar 2026
What the news says about Chemicals and Materials in the United States
Counts 130,053 news articles in the last year, most often covering mineral exploration drilling techniques, major contract activity, and mining policy issues.
News volume
Chemicals and Materials coverage across United States · articles per quarter
2021Q22026Q1
peak 82,929 in 2025Q1 · 130,053 articles in the last 12 tracked months
Tone of coverage
share of articles by dominant sentiment (positive / neutral / negative)
202120232025
Positive-tone share moved 75% → 73%, negative 23% → 23% across 2021–2025.
What the coverage is about
The subjects that dominate Chemicals and Materials news in United States. The arrow shows whether each one is being written about more or less than a year ago.
- Mineral exploration drilling techniques17,050▲+28%
- Major contract wins and losses11,125▲+26%
- Mining law and policy frameworks10,459▲+24%
- New product launches and innovations9,698→-1%
- Strategic partnerships and collaborations9,472▲+14%
- Sustainability initiatives and esg reporting9,143▼-19%
- Mergers and acquisitions activity updates8,820▲+22%
- Precious metal mining operations8,498→-8%
- Industrial metal market analysis7,586→+7%
- Plastic pollution solutions6,671▼-11%
Most-covered companies · last 12 months
- 4,446
- 3,575
- 1,460
- 1,211
- 1,062
- 922
- 863
- 719
- 492
- 446
114 Chemicals and Materials companies here were named in the news over this period.
Prism
Watch Chemicals and Materials coverage in United States as it happens
Prism follows these subjects story by story — which companies are named, what is said about them and how the tone moves.
Momentum
The words getting louder — and quieter
Which terms are showing up in more stories than a year ago, and which are fading. The percentage is the change in how many articles mention them.
rare earth elements extraction+135%auger drilling+41%drill testing+42%college playoffs+316%electrowinning rare earths+142%ncaa updates+825%campus sports+636%oil price volatility+219%percussion drilling+53%sonic drilling+75%
chemical safety assessments-89%osha chemical standards-92%tariff negotiations-38%stock indices-34%advanced recycling technologies-36%
The pressures the press keeps returning to
Three recurring angles in United States Chemicals and Materials coverage, and whether each is getting more attention year on year (through 2025).
Regulatory Risk ▲ rising
196,344 articles touch this dimension · 32.8% critical tone
20212025
signals: plastic recycling, plastic bans, diamond drilling
Funding Momentum ▲ rising
49,992 articles touch this dimension · 32.3% critical tone
20212025
signals: exploration funding, mineral exploration, diamond drilling
Growth ▲ rising
126,141 articles touch this dimension · 20.6% critical tone
20212025
signals: chemical pricing, bulk chemical suppliers, copper demand
Chemicals and Materials jobs in the United States: who is hiring and what they ask for
Reports 20,816 job postings from 552 employers in the past year, with the median advertised salary at $56 k and common skill requirements like Excel and SAP.
20,816postings · last 12 months
28,183postings tracked overall
552employers advertising
$56kmedian advertised salary/yr (n=1887)
Demand
The Skills Employers Ask For
What Chemicals and Materials employers in the United States put in their job ads. The bar is how many postings ask for it; the arrow shows whether demand grew or shrank against the year before.
- driver’s license324▲
- excel229▲
- microsoft office178▲
- vehicle152▲
- sap114▲
- computer applications109▲
- retail management software107▲
- word90▲
- driver\'s license82→
- computer skills81▲
What level are these roles?
Entry416
Intern377
Senior1,064
Lead392
Manager3,136
What they pay, by level
- Manager$100k/yr (n=349)
- Senior$100k/yr (n=84)
- Lead$90k/yr (n=50)
Most advertised titles
- 195
- 193
- 156
- 154
- 141
- 133
What Chemicals and Materials research in the United States is working on
Shows 1,306 academic papers from India‑affiliated institutions, of which 1,024 identify opportunities and 62 discuss common problems.
How this field talks about itself
United States-affiliated Chemicals and Materials papers (gold) against all published research (grey)
Breakthrough41.4% · 26.3%1.6×
Promising37.0% · 37.3%≈ par
Descriptive14.2% · 17.0%0.8×
Problem-identifying4.4% · 10.0%0.4×
Comparative1.9% · 3.8%0.5×
Cautionary0.7% · 4.8%0.1×
United States-affiliated Chemicals and Materials literature runs 1.6× more “breakthrough” than science at large (41.4% vs 26.3% baseline).
How the work is done
Methods-led60.0%
Reviews22.0%
Empirical15.3%
Position pieces2.0%
Theoretical0.7%
How the research reads
95% positive · 4% neutral · 0% negative, across 1,306 papers.
The institutions doing the work · United States
- 7k
- 5k
- 3k
- 3k
- 3k
- 2k
ranked by how often their work is cited
Leading researchers · United States-affiliated work
Xiao Kuang · Christopher N. Bowman · Christopher J. Kloxin · Hari Krishna Bisoyi · Qi Ge · Guoqiang Li · Harper Meng · Conner K. Dunn
The most-cited breakthroughs
- Multimaterial 4D Printing with Tailorable Shape Memory Polymers · 1k cites
- Soft material for soft actuators · 817 cites
- Conductive MXene Nanocomposite Organohydrogel for Flexible, Healable, Low‐Temperature Tolerant Strain Sensors · 801 cites
- Active materials by four-dimension printing · 745 cites
- Magnetic Shape Memory Polymers with Integrated Multifunctional Shape Manipulation · 714 cites
Common problems researchers identify59 papers · 4 recurring themes
Problems · theme 01
Smart textiles and wearable electronics
28 papers · 47.5% of this block
▼ -15% share2022→2025 share of research on this subject
Researchers highlight challenges in integrating smart materials with fabrics and wearable computing platforms.
Smart material · Textile · Nanotechnology · Wearable computer
“Smart textiles: A toolkit to fashion the future”
28 of these papers raise it as a problem
Problems · theme 02
Smart biomaterials for health monitoring
17 papers · 28.8% of this block
▲ +3% share2022→2025 share of research on this subject
Papers point to difficulties in developing responsive biomaterials for structural health and actuation.
Smart material · Structural health monitoring · Biomaterial · Actuator
“Smart Materials for Microrobots”
17 of these papers raise it as a problem
Problems · theme 03
Stimuli‑responsive polymer design
8 papers · 13.6% of this block
▼ -15% share2022→2025 share of research on this subject
Authors note obstacles in controlling nanostructure and responsiveness of polymeric nanomaterials.
Nanotechnology · Polymer · Spiropyran · Nanomaterials
“New directions in thermoresponsive polymers”
8 of these papers raise it as a problem
Problems · theme 04
Self‑healing soft robotics
6 papers · 10.2% of this block
▲ +40% share2022→2025 share of research on this subject
Works discuss limits of flexibility and durability in hydrogel‑based soft robotic systems.
Self-healing hydrogels · Biomimetics · Soft robotics · Flexibility
“Multifunctional soft machines based on stimuli-responsive hydrogels: from freestanding hydrogels to smart integrated systems”
6 of these papers raise it as a problem
Opportunities986 papers · 7 recurring themes
Opportunities · theme 01
Responsive polymers as smart nanomaterials
198 papers · 20.1% of this block
▼ -15% share2022→2025 share of research on this subject
Opportunities focus on designing polymers that adapt to external cues for diverse applications.
Smart material · Nanotechnology · Smart polymer · Polymer
“Responsive Polymers as Smart Nanomaterials Enable Diverse Applications”
Opportunities · theme 02
Shape‑memory alloys and polymers
191 papers · 19.4% of this block
▲ +6% share2022→2025 share of research on this subject
Research explores programmable shape changes and pseudoelastic behavior for advanced functional components.
Shape-memory alloy · Shape-memory polymer · SMA* · Pseudoelasticity
“Magnetic Shape Memory Polymers with Integrated Multifunctional Shape Manipulation”
Opportunities · theme 03
Magnetorheological fluids and elastomers
161 papers · 16.3% of this block
▼ -7% share2022→2025 share of research on this subject
Studies target tunable stiffness and actuation using magnetic field‑responsive polymer systems.
Magnetorheological fluid · Actuator · Magnetorheological elastomer · Stiffness
“Magnetic Dynamic Polymers for Modular Assembling and Reconfigurable Morphing Architectures”
Opportunities · theme 04
Self‑healing nanocomposite hydrogels
156 papers · 15.8% of this block
▼ -14% share2022→2025 share of research on this subject
Efforts aim at creating biocompatible materials that recover structure and function after damage.
Self-healing hydrogels · Nanotechnology · Self-healing · Biocompatibility
“Embedded 3D Printing in Self‐Healing Annealable Composites for Precise Patterning of Functionally Mature Human Neural Constructs”
Opportunities · theme 05
Liquid‑crystal elastomer actuators
100 papers · 10.1% of this block
▲ +5% share2022→2025 share of research on this subject
Works investigate 4D‑printed elastomers that convert stimuli into programmable mechanical motion.
Elastomer · Liquid crystal · Soft robotics · Actuator
“Molecularly‐Engineered, 4D‐Printed Liquid Crystal Elastomer Actuators”
Opportunities · theme 06
Piezoelectric and triboelectric energy scavengers
94 papers · 9.5% of this block
▲ +20% share2022→2025 share of research on this subject
Research pursues high‑performance composites for converting mechanical motion into electrical power.
Piezoelectricity · Triboelectric effect · Energy scavenging · Piezoelectric sensor
“Growing recyclable and healable piezoelectric composites in 3D printed bioinspired structure for protective wearable sensor”
Opportunities · theme 07
Embedded smart sensors for structural health
86 papers · 8.7% of this block
▲ +12% share2022→2025 share of research on this subject
Papers propose multifunctional materials that monitor strain and damage within civil infrastructure.
Structural health monitoring · Smart material · Piezoresistive effect · Structural engineering
“Smart aggregates: multi-functional sensors for concrete structures—a tutorial and a review”
Cautions
9 papers · 0.7% of this field
- Smart material2 papers
- Shape-memory alloy2 papers
- Composite material2 papers
- Actuator1 papers
- Microelectronics1 papers
Which of these themes are growing fastest
Problems
how much more (or less) of the world’s research on this subject each theme took up, 2022→2025
gaining sharelosing share
Self‑healing soft robotics▲+40%
Smart biomaterials for health monitoring▲+3%
Smart textiles and wearable electronics▼-15%
Stimuli‑responsive polymer design▼-15%
Opportunities
how much more (or less) of the world’s research on this subject each theme took up, 2022→2025
gaining sharelosing share
Piezoelectric and triboelectric energy scavengers▲+20%
Embedded smart sensors for structural health▲+12%
Shape‑memory alloys and polymers▲+6%
Liquid‑crystal elastomer actuators▲+5%
Magnetorheological fluids and elastomers▼-7%
Self‑healing nanocomposite hydrogels▼-14%
Responsive polymers as smart nanomaterials▼-15%
Who files Chemicals and Materials patents in the United States
Records 88,582 patent filings between 2016 and 2025 from roughly 8,000 organizations, with IBM, GEN Electric, and Halliburton Energy Services as top filers.
88,582 filings 2016–20258,000 assigneespeak 9,998 in 2017
Filing momentum
patents published / year
20162025
Who files the most
- IBM5,881
- GEN Electric4,493
- Halliburton Energy Services3,870
- Intel3,631
- UNIV California3,335
- 3M Innovative Properties3,293
- Corning3,129
- United States Gypsum2,665
Prism
Go deeper on Chemicals and Materials research and innovation
Research themes, patent activity and the companies commercialising them, in one place.
Keep going
Track Chemicals and Materials in the United States beyond this page
Radar finds and filters the companies. Prism watches what is being said about them.
About this data: built from Fliar's company, founder, funding, hiring, jobs, news, research and patent trackers, covering the United States. Counts are of companies we track, not of every company that exists. Updated August 2026.
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