Bibliometric Analysis on Research Progress of Photovoltaic Thermal Systems in 21st Century

Abstract

The literature on photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) systems has grown substantially during the past few decades. Bibliometric analysis is relatively less explored in the PV/T domain. This research aims to attain a comprehensive understanding of the research topic "PV/T system." The Scopus database was mined for information on research patterns across two decades (2000 to 2023). The data collected data was analyzed using VOSviewer software. This research employs a novel combination of cluster, network, and bibliometric analysis (using Vosviewer) on a vast dataset of articles to characterize the current state and prospective research orientations on PV/T systems. The bibliometric study includes a distribution of publications across nations, journals, research types, topic categories, a co-authorship map, and a co-occurrence network analysis of keywords. Assessing articles with substantial citations reveals several aspects, such as methodologies and systems, issues, and challenges, to identify present constraints and research gaps. China (428), India (326), and Malaysia (207) have the most publications. The National Natural Science Foundation of China funded one hundred eighty-nine projects (around 9.6%). Sopian K has authored the most papers in this discipline (73 publications, total citations 3482). Solar Energy (under Elsevier) has published the maximum number of articles. Additional data elements analyzed include prominent institutions, authorship networks/collaborations, and the journal with the highest citations. The process of selecting, generating, and analyzing the most-cited publications is intended to lay a solid basis for the future development of photovoltaic thermal systems and identify new research avenues. Researchers, policymakers, and practitioners interested in clean energy will gain insight into the current status of research on photovoltaic thermal systems from the conclusions.