A bibliometric analysis on the development trend of graphene-based transparent conductive electrodes (2009–2022)

Transparent conductive electrode (TCE) in optoelectronic devices is commonly fabricated from indium tin oxide (ITO). However, an effective ITO alternative is actively sought due to the indium shortage and its brittleness. One of the candidates is graphene (Gr). The study, therefore, conducts a bibliometric analysis on the global scale application of Gr as TCE between the years 2009 and 2022. The analysis (based on 573 publications extracted from Web of Science (WoS)) aims to provide an insight into the mainstream research of Gr as TCE with the anticipated research direction following the technological advancement trend. From the analysis, “ACS Nano” and “RSC Advances” were the top productive journals in Gr-based TCE research, publishing more than 4% of total publications on this topic each. The United States of America (USA) and South Korea were one of the few first countries that actively contributed to this research. People’s R China has surpassed the USA and South Korea’s publication numbers. The funding opportunities for Gr-based TCE development in these countries have been the underlying factor behind the observed trend. The keyword analysis revealed that the Gr-based TCE research hotspot is on fabricating a new hybrid Gr-based TCE and employing it in optoelectronic devices to achieve better performance and functionality. To breach the sheet resistance gap between Gr-based TCE and ITO-TCE, metal nanowires and nanoparticles are popular hybrid materials used for Gr-based TCE. Such Gr-based TCE is widely adopted in optoelectronic devices, namely solar cells, where the TCE’s transmittance, stability, and flexibility are essential. Metal-type Gr-based TCE (highest FOM value of 645.9) has surpassed the stringent 220 Figure of Merit (FOM) requirement. The drawback of metal-type Gr-based TCE remains to be its lack of flexibility and cost-effectiveness. Non-metal-type Gr-based TCE can overcome the drawbacks of metal-type Gr-based TCE. However, the highest FOM value reported for non-metal type Gr-based TCE is 75, indicating a significant amount of innovation is still needed to elevate its FOM value to the requirement of 220.