Abstract

To explore the research status of leather waste resource utilization, this study analyzed 647 English publications retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection database (2011–2025). Utilizing the bibliometric tools CiteSpace and VOSviewer, this study constructed knowledge domain maps to examine publication trends, collaboration networks, high-frequency keyword clustering, burst terms, and the evolution of research hotspots. The findings indicate the following:
1) Over the past fifteen years, the number of publications in this field has shown a fluctuating upward trend, with a sharp surge after 2020 driven by the implementation of global environmental policies. This growth trend has fostered industrial research clusters centered in China and India, as well as academic clusters concentrated in Europe, yet cross-regional collaboration in this field remains relatively underdeveloped;
2) The core research topics focus on three aspects: activated carbon adsorption-based environmental remediation technologies; targeted extraction and recovery of collagen components; and material property tuning and kinetic mechanism-guided modification strategies. Notably, the research focus has shifted from early-stage collagen extraction and adsorbent preparation to the development of advanced energy storage and electronic materials via thermochemical carbonization techniques;
3) Future research will focus on the microstructural engineering and scalable preparation of pyrolytic carbon materials. Concurrently, two key research frontiers will emerge in this field: the development of advanced functional devices (e.g., high-performance supercapacitors and electromagnetic shielding materials) and the design of green processes based on life-cycle assessment (LCA).