[2] Kanatzidis was listed as one of the most cited researchers in Materials Science and Engineering in 2016 based on Elsevier Scopus data.

He is also credited with developing flux synthesis techniques that allow for reactions to occur at lower temperatures than conventional methods, leading to the formation of unique structures and compositions.

These methods for achieving "nanostructuring" and all-scale architecturing of thermoelectric semiconductors, resulted in the creation of high-performance materials with unprecedented ZT figures of merit [8][9](ZT~2.5).

This unique combination of properties allows for the attainment of very high ZT values exceeding 2.5[11] in nanostructured thermoelectric materials.

Kanatzidis was also the first to demonstrate the functionality of CH3NH3SnI3-based solar cells, and he discovered the anomalous bandgap dependence between lead and tin-based solid solutions APb1-xSnxI3 (A=Cs, CH3NH3, formamidinium).

In 2013 he reported the x-ray detecting properties of the perovskite CsPbBr3 semiconductor[16] with potential applications in gamma-ray spectroscopy having better than 1.4% energy resolution.

Due to their high surface area-to-volume ratio, even small pieces of chalcogels can purify thousands of liters of water.

Chalcogels have demonstrated the ability to reduce mercury, lead, and cadmium concentrations to parts per trillion (ppt) levels as well as radionuclides.