The most recent Essential Science Indicator (ESI) fast breaking paper in Materials Science is a Feature Article published by Journal of Materials Chemistry in 2005.

The article is by Roberta Di Monte and Jan Kaspar from the University of Trieste, Italy, and reviews the properties of ceria- and zirconia-based mixed oxides. In the paper they discuss the effects of decreasing the dimensions of the particles in the oxides from the micro- to nano-dimension, showing how some of their properties are affected by this process.

There is wide interest in these mixed oxides because they are used in a wide variety of areas, ranging from catalysts and ceramics to gas sensors and even sunscreen cosmetics. Ceria- and zirconia-based materials have been critical ingredients of virtually all automotive catalysts since 1994.

Kaspar and Di Monte said that 'despite the huge amount of work on these materials over the past 10 years, there have been a number of open questions. We tried to address some of them in the paper.'

This is the second fast breaking paper in a row for Journal of Materials Chemistry, with a Feature Article by Etienne Dugent and co-workers about magnetic nanoparticle design for medical diagnosis and therapy being highlighed in February.

More information on the paper and an interview with the authors can be read on ESI's website. 

ESI lists highly cited papers in 22 broad fields of science. The papers in these lists comprise the top 1% of papers in each field and each year. The lists are updated every two months. Fast breaking papers are identified by the largest percentage increase in citations in their respective fields from one bimonthly update to the next. They represent recent scientific contributions that are just beginning to attract the attention of the scientific community.