Bibliometric analysis of global research progress on electrochemical degradation of organic pollutants

Abstract

As a result of anthropogenic action, an increasing amount of toxic organic compounds has been released into the environment. These pollutants have adverse effects on human health and wildlife, which has motivated the development of different types of technologies for the treatment of effluents and contaminated environments. The electrochemical degradation of organic pollutants has attracted the interest of research centers around the world for its environmental compatibility, high efficiency, and affordable cost. In the present study, a bibliometric analysis was performed using the Web of Science database in order to assess the progress of publications related to electrochemical degradation of organic pollutants between the years 2001 and 2021. The data retrieved showed a significant increase in publications related to the topic in the last 20 years. Electrochimica Acta was the magazine responsible for the largest number of publications (291, 6.52%). The studies mainly included the areas of engineering, chemistry, and environmental science ecology. China with a total of 1472 (32.96%) publications dominated research in this area, followed by Spain (436, 9.76%) and Brazil (345, 7.72%). The institutions with the highest number of contributions were the University of Barcelona and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the most productive authors were Brillas E. and Oturan M. A. The results of this study provide important references and information on possible research directions for future investigations on electrochemical degradation of organic pollutants.