Quantitative Vibrational Spectrometry in the 21st Century: A Scientometric Evaluation

The state of the art of research on vibrational spectrometry–based quantitative methodologies was evaluated from the literature compiled in Analytical Abstracts from 1980. Medium and near infrared, Raman spectrometry, and photoacoustic methods of analysis were considered. The evolution of the number of published papers, the distribution of the literature as a function of the different application fields in which the vibrational methods were employed, and a study of the impact on this area of chemometric and automation studies clearly shows that, from the 1990s until now, the importance of vibrational spectrometry in application analysis has grown to reach maturity. This field provides alternative methods for industrial, environmental, and food analysis and in clinical studies. The most active research groups on these subjects have been identified from their scientific production in the first years of this century and from the journals in which this research is commonly published.