Investigation into the development of lithium-ion battery electrolytes and related knowledge transfer using research paper-based social network analysis

It is generally accepted that the latest research findings are published as research papers in journals. Social network analysis (SNA) can offer a perspective from which to analyze technological developments. This work analyzes the development of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and electrolytes by SNA based on papers from 2011 to 2015. Three types of social networks, country-, institution-, and research paper-based networks were used. Country-based network analysis shows that major ten countries have a close relationship with respect to technology development. Institution-based network analysis revealed that 48 top institutions publish the most prolifically and that a “small-world” effect exists within the network, indicating excellent knowledge transfer among institutions through citations. Several institutions occupy the center position within the network and have a prominent influence in knowledge transfer as judged by centrality analysis. Research paper-based social networks, consisting of high-citation articles, are grouped into six technology clusters, which exhibit a broad range of knowledge transfer processes regardless of the battery and electrolyte types, indicating underlying closely interwoven relationships. The knowledge transfer path can describe the technology evolution in detail. An overview of technological development status can be thus obtained by this proposed three-level analysis method.