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Global hotspots and trends in interactions of microplastics and heavy metals: a bibliometric analysis and literature review

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Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) are identified as emerging contaminants; however, their interactions with heavy metals in the environment have not been well elucidated. Here, the research progress, hotspots, and trends in the interactions of MPs and heavy metals were analyzed at a global scale using a bibliometric analysis combined with a literature review. We comprehensively searched the Web of Science Core Collection database from 2008 to July 5, 2022. A total of 552 articles published in 124 journals were selected, which came from 70 countries and 841 institutions. The most contributing journals, countries, institutions, and authors were identified. Visualization methods were used to identify high co-citation references and hot keywords in the 552 articles. Evolutionary and cluster analyses of hot keywords suggested several research hotspots in the co-contamination of MPs and heavy metals, including their toxicity and bioaccumulation, the adsorption and desorption behaviors, the environmental pollution and risk assessment, and their detection and characterization. Based on the current research status, several directions of priority are recommended to understand the interactions between MPs and heavy metals and their potential risks. This article can help recognize the current research status and future directions in this field.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2020MD120).

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  1. College of Environment and Safety Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Shandong Province, Qingdao, 266042, China

    Kehan Li & Fayuan Wang

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  1. Kehan Li
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  2. Fayuan Wang
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Kehan Li: writing — original draft, formal analysis, conceptualization, software. Fayuan Wang: writing — review and editing, conceptualization, funding acquisition, resources.

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Correspondence to Fayuan Wang.

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Li, ., Wang, F. Global hotspots and trends in interactions of microplastics and heavy metals: a bibliometric analysis and literature review. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 93309–93322 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-29091-7

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