Global research direction on Pt and Pt based electro-catalysts for fuel cells application between 1990 and 2019: A bibliometric analysis

Platinum catalysts for use in fuel cells have gained much attention because of their unique properties such as high catalytic activity and durability. They have enabled a number of different electro-catalysts for diverse applications. Nanomaterials based platinum (Pt) electro-catalysts for fuel cell applications have been largely explored and actively utilised to meet those alternate energy needs. This bibliometric analysis examines developments from 1990 to 2019 in the area of Pt electro-catalysts for fuel cells. A total of 4674 documents were retrieved from two databases (Web of Science and Scopus) after eliminating duplicates with an author per article and article per author ratios of 1.79 and 0.559, respectively, while the collaborative index stood at 1.81. Rstudio software was used to process the retrieved data for bibliometric analysis. The information analysed using this software was annual research output, research by journal, research by countries, research directions, research collaboration index, and frequently used keywords. The analysis showed that studies on Pt based electro-catalysts for fuel cell have continuously grown over the years with a positive correlation of (y = 0.669x(2)-3.7983x + 2.9365; R-2 = 0.9738) and leading electrochemical journals accounted for most publications on this subject. The study revealed that China and the USA with a contribution of 1339 articles (28.70%) and 593 articles (12.71%), respectively, dominated research in this field. This study clearly demonstrates the growing research in fuel cell and their use as alternate energy source, which will promote community and industry engagements as well as increase awareness of fuel cell technology.

Automated summary

Platinum catalysts in fuel cells have gained attention for their high catalytic activity and durability, with nanomaterials opening new possibilities. China and the USA are the leading countries in research in this field.