Supercapacitors in focus: A bibliometric and scientometric analysis of research trends using Scopus and SciVal

Supercapacitors have emerged as key components in new energy storage systems that combine rapid charge-discharge capabilities with long cycle life. This work presents a bibliometric and scientometric analysis of supercapacitor research trends and impact over the past two decades, using data from Scopus and SciVal to track the field's evolution. By analyzing around 81,000 publications, research trends, leading contributors, collaboration networks, and emerging themes were identified. The findings reveal that China dominates research output, accounting for 44% of global publications, while its field-weighted citation impact remains below that of several smaller national research systems. The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) emerges as the top funding sponsor, supporting 28% of all publications. Citation evolution, research impact, collaboration networks, and keyword co-occurrence are visualized using VOSviewer and SciVal analytics. Altmetrics from PlumX further demonstrate the societal impact of supercapacitor research through online mentions of scientific publications. An in-depth examination of the most cited scholarly articles reveals the foundational role of review papers, particularly in advancing electrode design and electrochemical performance. High-impact contributions are predominantly concentrated in the USA, China, and France, underlining the importance of international collaborations that enhance research visibility and influence. Open-access publications comprise 24% of the top-cited papers but show no citation advantage once impact is normalized for field, publication year, and document type, indicating that citation performance at this level is governed by the significance and venue of the work rather than by access mode. This study provides actionable insights for researchers, policymakers, and industry stakeholders, offering a roadmap for future innovation in supercapacitor technology.