Here we present our 10 highest scoring articles via Altmetric score in 2018. Altmetrics track article mentions on social media, discussions on research blogs, mainstream media coverage, bookmarks on reference managers like Mendeley, Wikipedia cites and more. Altmetrics capture online attention surrounding an article but they're neither an indicator of scientific quality nor a guarantee of citations.

Altmetrics provide a rapid and diverse indication of an article's impact, measuring influence in ways that would be missed if looking at traditional citations alone.

1. Machine learning for molecular and materials science

Altmetric score: 238

Reference: K.T. Butler et al. Machine learning for molecular and materials science. Nature volume 559, pages 547–555 (2018) DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0337-2.

Summary: In this Nature paper, researchers reviewed the rapid progress in machine learning for the chemical sciences. Machine learning and artificial intelligence offer the possibility of training computers by using the properties of materials that we already know, to help identify the champion systems of the future.

Highlight: By 3^rd December 2018, the paper had exceeded the engagement received from 2017's most talked about article, with 372 tweets from 342 users, with an upper bound of 2,241,745 followers. Read our news article here.

2. Hydrogen Bond Length as a Key To Understanding Sweetness

Altmetric score: 103

Reference: F Bruni et al. Hydrogen Bond Length as a Key To Understanding Sweetness. J Phys Chem Lett 9 (2018): 3667-3672. DOI:10.1021/acs.jpclett.8b01280.

Summary: This paper investigated three monosaccharides (sugars that cannot be broken down with water to give a simpler sugar): fructose, glucose and mannose. The researchers found that despite the differences each sugar exhibited, the influence of these sugars on the bulk water solvent structure was virtually identical. Indeed the sweetness of these monosaccharides is correlated to the length of the hydrogen bonds formed when the sugars interact with neighbouring water molecules.

Highlight: The publication was picked up by 9 different news outlets in the 6 months it had been published prior to the writing of this article. Read our related science highlight here.

ISIS Instrument: SANDALS

Reprinted with permission from F Bruni et al. Hydrogen Bond Length as a Key To Understanding Sweetness. J Phys Chem Lett 9 (2018): 3667-3672. DOI:10.1021/acs.jpclett.8b01280​.Copyright (2018) American Chemical Society.

3. Coherent band excitations in CePd₃: A comparison of neutron scattering and ab initio theory

Altmetric score: 97

Reference: EA Goremychkin et al. Coherent band excitations in CePd3: A comparison of neutron scattering and ab initio theory. Science 359, no. 6372 (2018): 186-191. DOI:10.1126/science.aan0593.

Summary: Here, inelastic neutron scattering made it possible to measure and theoretically account for the dynamic magnetic susceptibility arising from correlated electron bands, which opens the door to understanding many anomalous properties of these types of materials. The research is a step towards predicting the properties and functionality of strongly correlated materials, allowing scientists to explore their potential to be used in novel ways.

Highlight: This article sits in the top 5% of all research outputs cored by Altmetric and has been featured in 11 news stories. Read our science highlight here.

ISIS Instrument: MAPS & MERLIN

4. Spin-liquid-like state in a spin-1/2 square-lattice antiferromagnet perovskite induced by d¹⁰-d⁰ cation mixing

Altmetric score: 77

Reference: O Mustonen et al. Spin-liquid-like state in a spin-1/2 square-lattice antiferromagnet perovskite induced by d(10)-d(0) cation mixing. Nat Commun 9, no. 1 (2018): 1085. DOI:10.1038/s41467-018-03435-1.

Summary: A host of findings have come from this research publication regarding the physical properties of the double perovskite Sr₂Cu(Te_0.5W0_.5)O₆. Researchers demonstrate that the magnetic ground state of a spin-1/2 square-lattice antiferromagnetic can be tuned by d¹⁰-d⁰ cation mixing. Additionally, magnetism in the double perovskite remains entirely dynamic down until 19 mK. Overall the observations highlight the part disorder plays, along with magnetic frustration, in spin liquid physics.

Highlight: This research was picked up by 10 news outlets, and to date has 8 Dimensions citations.

ISIS Facility: Materials Characterization Laboratory

5. Quantum Dynamics of H₂ Trapped within Organic Clathrate Cages

Altmetric score: 57

Reference: TA Strobel et al. Quantum Dynamics of H₂ Trapped within Organic Clathrate Cages. Phys Rev Lett 120, no. 12 (2018): 120402. DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.120402.

Summary: Researchers investigated the rotational and translation dynamics of molecular hydrogen trapped within a crystal structure. This publication reports the first 2D hindered rotor behaviour for H₂ trapped in a molecular clathrate, providing a model-like practical system to probe the quantum molecular dynamics of confined hydrogen.

Highlight: This article was picked up by 6 different news outlets.

ISIS Instrument: TOSCA

6. Ammonia storage via reversible host-guest site exchange in a robust metal-organic framework

Altmetric score: 48

Reference: M Schroder et al. Ammonia storage via reversible host-guest site exchange in a robust metal-organic framework. Angew Chem Int Ed 57, no. 45 (2018): 14778-14781. DOI:10.1002/anie.201808316.

Summary: Ammonia is one of the most important base chemicals in the world. Its uses as an energy source and as a transportation fuel are impressive; however it is a toxic and highly corrosive gas under ambient conditions.  Researchers investigated the adsorption, binding and reversible storage of ammonia in metal-organic framework MFM-300(AL). The results demonstrate that the framework has excellent ammonia adsorption capacity under ambient conditions, and outperforms state-of-the-art porous materials in terms of ammonia packing density, reversibility and stability.

Highlight: The publication saw tweets from 13 users, with an upper bound of 51,011 followers.

ISIS Instrument: WISH

7. Doping-induced disappearance of ice II from water's phase diagram

Altmetric score: 47

Reference: JJ Shephard et al. Doping-induced disappearance of ice II from water's phase diagram. Nat Phys 14, no. 6 (2018): 569-572. DOI:10.1038/s41567-018-0094-z.

Summary: Researchers from UCL and ISIS Neutron and Muon Source have utilised high pressure neutron diffraction to investigate the impact of ammonium fluoride impurities on the phase diagram of water. The publication found that the addition of this impurity caused a particular phase of ice, known as ice II, to completely disappear from water's phase diagram whereas the other phases were unaffected.

Highlight: The research was featured on 3 news outlets, 2 blogs and was tweeted about 28 times by 20 users with an upper bound of 223,279 followers. Read our science highlight here.

ISIS Instrument: PEARL

8. Tunable emergent heterostructures in a prototypical correlated metal

Altmetric score: 44

Reference: DM Fobes et al. Tunable emergent heterostructures in a prototypical correlated metal. Nat Phys 14 (2018): 456-460. DOI:10.1038/s41567-018-0060-9.

Summary: At the interface between two distinct materials, desirable properties, such as superconductivity, can be greatly enhanced, or entirely new functionalities may emerge. Researchers used high-resolution neutron spectroscopy on the prototypical strongly correlated metal CeRhIn5, revealing the tantalising possibility of controlling and exploiting the properties at the interface of quantum materials to kickstart a whole new generation of devices.

Highlight: This publication to date has 30 readers on Mendeley and has seen tweets from 8 users, with an upper bound of 192,259 followers.

ISIS Instrument: LET

=10. Breakdown of Magnetic Order in the Pressurized Kitaev Iridate

Altmetric score: 42

Reference: M Majumder et al. Breakdown of Magnetic Order in the Pressurized Kitaev Iridate. Phys Rev Lett 120, no. 23 (2018): 237202. DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.237202.

Summary: By mapping out the temperature-phase diagram of β-Li₂IrO₃, researchers have found that the magnetic order vanishes upon the first-order transition around 1.4 GPa. However local moments can be found above this pressure in a dynamic state, hindered by partial spin freezing. The work puts pressurized β-Li₂IrO₃ forward as a candidate for studying classical spin liquid in a regime of the extended Kitaev model.

Highlight: The research has seen attention from 5 news outlets, 11 Mendeley readers and 6 Dimension citations.

ISIS Instrument: µSR

=10. Liquid crystalline bacterial outer membranes are critical for antibiotic susceptibility

Altmetric score: 42

Reference: N Paracini et al. Liquid crystalline bacterial outer membranes are critical for antibiotic susceptibility. P Natl Acad Sci USA (2018): 201803975. DOI:10.1073/pnas.1803975115.

Summary: Scientists used neutron reflectometry to reveal how Polymyxin B (PmB), a last-resort antibiotic used to treat may hospital-acquired bacterial infections, penetrates the outer membrane (OM) of Gram-negative bacteria. Understanding Gram-negative bacteria is vital because two thirds of organisms responsible from the majority of hospital acquired infections are Gram-negatives. Researchers were able to explain why PmB only works at or above body temperature and support the notion that bacteria actively control the fluidity of their OM's as growth temperatures vary.

Highlight: This publication has been recommended in F1000Prime, saw 44 tweets from accounts with an upper bound of 87,631 followers. Read our science highlight here.

ISIS Instrument: INTER & CRISP

Scientists involved with this publication. ​​From left to right: Luke Clifton, Maximilian Skoda, Nicolo Paracini and Jeremy Lakey next to POLREF​.​

Read the top 10 most talked about articles of 2017 here.

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Data true as of collected from epubs. ​