From graphene science to graphene technology: a bibliometric investigation

• Main Author: Nguyen, Ai Linh
• Other Authors: Cheong Siew Ann
• Format: Thesis-Doctor of Philosophy
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2023
• Subjects: Science::Physics
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/165231
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

To get an advantage in the scientific and technological competitions between nations, it is necessary to fully understand the value chain of four stages: from pure science to applied science to technology, and finally to commercialization along with product development. However, given heavy investments from both public and private industries being poured into scientific research nowadays, it remains difficult to have comprehensive insights into these innovative conversions, in particular which conditions are required to be able to move from one stage to another. To examine how a theoretical scientific idea can become a commercial product, we chose graphene as the case study due to its attractive structures and properties, which resulted in both academic and industrial potential. Our first contribution is an evaluation methodology on whether graphene science was developing on track with graphene technology, and therefore successfully delivered its application promises. In both aggregate and temporal analyses, we found bibliographic evidence between 2004 and 2017 suggesting the ’Golden Eras’ periods in graphene science and technology in the past despite their exponential growth in publications over time. By using a simulation-based method to calculate the temporal interest level in a particular field, we confirmed these observations that the interest levels in graphene science and technology had already peaked in 2010 and 2012 respectively. Next, we focused on graphene science and proposed a hypothesis of innovation where new research streams (child fields) are likely to incubate and emerge from more established research streams (parent fields). In the dataset, we applied a co-clustering method to the linguistic information of graphene articles to determine four graphene scientific topics – theory and experimental tests, synthesis and functionalization, sensors, and supercapacitors and electrocatalysts. From the publication proportions and levels of interest, we found their order of emergences to follow an expected sequence from pure science(s) to applied science(s). To validate this stream-based model of innovation, we tested nanotubes and batteries to be the potential parent streams for the four topics. Our findings showed strong incubation signatures of all four topics in nanotubes, and a much weaker one of supercapacitors and electrocatalysts in batteries. Moreover, we confirmed the impacts of the 2004 graphene breakthrough in nanotubes and batteries. Here, the framework on the parent-child relationship between two fields as well as their interactions is our second contribution to the study of science to technology. From these four topics, we further assembled the theoretical (T) and applied (A) branches in graphene science by evaluating which identified topics are T/A oriented. Following this, we aimed to contribute to the quantification of the interplays between pure research and applied research in both temporal and geographical aspects. Our citation-based method incorporating both direct and indirect cited journal papers indicated a universal and asymmetric dependency between T and A: while T mostly depended on T over time, A inherited mainly from T in the early stage before increasingly depending on itself during its mature stage. Our findings not only captured the knowledge evolution in graphene science but also validated the interactions between pure research and applied research on the innovation model. Lastly, we expected to have an equal contribution to the study of graphene technology besides graphene science by focusing on the regional competition in graphene technology as well as the strategic differences in patent portfolio management. In this study, we identified seven graphene technology areas and compared whether the technology evolution sequence is in parallel with the science evolution sequence. Moreover, by classifying entities into different groups based on their assignee categories (universities, corporations, and others) as well as their accumulated number of patents (three quartile groups), we found significant differences in patenting behaviors between universities and corporations and also between large entities and small entities. While large entities prefer expanding their patent portfolios diversely over multiple technology areas, small entities cannot afford this strategy and have to specialize in a smaller number around their core technologies instead. On the other hand, we proposed and validated a hypothesis on the differences in patenting activities between universities and corporations not only from aggregate analysis but also from studying three representative case studies. Overall, our contributions in the study of graphene science and graphene technology offer a better understanding of evaluation of progress in science and technology of a given field, in which the ‘golden eras’ might have been in the past despite continuing funding and publication outcomes. Moreover, we confirmed the interactions between the pure science stage and applied science stage in the model of innovation and validated the hypothesis on the emergence of a new field from other mature fields. Finally, our analysis of bibliographic records of patents clearly shows distinguished characteristics in technology portfolio management between universities and corporations, among leading regions, and among entities of different sizes.