Bibliometric Analysis of Research Status, Hotspots, and Prospects of UV/PS for Environmental Pollutant Removal

There are various methods for environmental organic pollutant degradation and removal, among which ultraviolet/persulfate has drawn significant attention due to its excellent oxidizing properties, high maneuverability, and less formation of by-products. To comprehensively assess the development of ultraviolet/persulfate, a bibliometric analysis was conducted based on relevant literature indexed by Web of Science from 2002 to 2024. The findings revealed a growing number of publications, with China, Iran, and the United States being the top three countries with the highest total number of publications. Robust regional collaborations were evident. Additionally, Chinese and American scholars presented more significant activity in this field, and their publications exhibited higher quality. Furthermore, the current research hotspots, as indicated by keywords, primarily focused on the degradation mechanism of ultraviolet/persulfate and the reaction kinetic model simulation. Bibliometric results underscored that ultraviolet/persulfate, as an effective and environmentally friendly disinfection technology, possessed substantial potential for controlling diverse environmental pollutants, such as antibiotics, dyes, natural organic substances, heavy metals, microorganisms, and so on. Future research might concentrate on developing new catalytic composites and optimization of the photoactivation system. The practical application still needs to be investigated due to the complexity of the water matrix. The revival of microorganisms and the variation of toxicity should be considered further.