Bibliometric analysis of the mass transport in a gas diffusion layer in PEM fuel cells

Abstract

The growth trend of publications in the field of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) was analyzed using bibliometric techniques to the identification of the areas with significant development and the orientations that have guided the research on energy cells. This study extracted the data from Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) databases to compare the bibliometric indicators of the published productions. In spite of bibliometric analysis advantages to knowing about the trends in a study area, this research requires methods to support the investigation process through the selection of a relevant bibliographic portfolio. This study applied the Methodi Ordinatio that provides a new approach to achieve it. A proposed list of the articles ranked by InOrdinatio is presented to compose the final portfolio. The obtained results in the research sub-theme of the Mass Transport in Gas Diffusion Layer (GDL) confirm the complexity in the study area by presenting erratic patterns of exponential growth. United States, China, and Japan are the leading countries on PEMFC publications. These countries have in common a strong spending by the business sector for R&D, and their gross domestic product is greater than 2%.