History of Selenium Research

Abstract

Selenium research must be said to have began in 1817, when Berzelius discovered this element. The first genuine publication describing this research was published by Berzelius in 1818, in a paper where he also named the element as Selenium. Here, in this chapter on the history of selenium research, an attempt is made to take a “bird’s-eye” view at the development of this research field since 1817 until today. The tool chosen is an analysis of the scientific literature on selenium research, thereby attempting to give an unbiased assessment of this research field. Finally, as in all assessments of historic trends, we should also ask where the future of selenium research might take us. By necessity, the answer to that question is uncertain. However, we can conclude that never before has selenium research been as vigorous and expanding as it is today, which also holds major promise for the future.