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PetroChina (Shanghai) Advanced Materials Research Institute Co., Ltd. (SAMRI), part of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), and CAS, a division of the American Chemical Society, have jointly released Polymer Frontiers: A Comprehensive Data‑Driven Analysis of Emerging Trends. This marks the first collaborative publication between the two organizations, combining SAMRI’s expertise in material science with CAS’s scientific data and analytical capabilities to map global directions in polymer innovation.

The report draws on nearly one million polymer‑related journal and patent records from 2015 to 2025 within the CAS Content Collection^™, the world’s largest curated scientific database. Using bibliometric analysis and natural language processing, it identifies research hotspots, maps competitive positioning across regions and institutions, and tracks emerging application domains. The study highlights four priority application areas—polymers in energy storage, sustainable polymers, flexible electronics, and membrane technologies—and examines eight emerging frontiers, including next‑generation polyesters, dynamic polymer networks, framework‑polymer hybrids, and conductive polymer systems.

Findings indicate that the Asia‑Pacific region has become the leading center of polymer innovation, with China at the forefront in both fundamental research output and patent activity across strategic domains such as flexible electronics, energy storage, and membrane technologies. The report also documents significant growth in sustainable polymer research, where bio‑based materials are increasingly competing on performance criteria. In energy storage, innovation is concentrated around battery technologies, which account for approximately 75% of all polymer‑related patents in this area. Clean energy demands are driving rapid expansion in advanced membrane systems, particularly anion exchange membranes for fuel cells and electrolyzers.

Polymer Frontiers: A Comprehensive Data‑Driven Analysis of Emerging Trends is available in English and Chinese at www.cas.org/resources/cas-insights/polymer-frontiers.