In the last decade, the natural clay minerals, such as montmorillonite (MMT), kaolinite [1], and palygorskite (attapulgite)[2], are widely used in catalysis [3]–[5], as adsorbents [1], [6], in nanocomposites [7]–[13], [13], in sensors [14]–[16], as antibacterial materials [17]–[19], [19], [19], [20], [20], [21], nuclear waste storage [22]–[25],pesticide carriers [26]–[29], and so on [11], [30]–[34].
Nowadays, surface modification of clay minerals has become increasingly important for improving the practical applications of clays and clay minerals [1], [6], [31], [35], [36], [36], [37], [37], [38, p. 1]
Surface modification by polymers is found to be one of the most effective methods, as the surface properties can be widely changed by a variety of functional polymers. [34], [39]–[45]
There are two main approaches for the surface modification of clay minerals with polymers. [34], [40] One is physical adsorption, and the second is chemical grafting of functional polymers to the surfaces of the clay minerals. The physical adsorption, controlled by thermodynamic criteria, can alter the nature of the clay mineral surfaces and improve their surface physical [46] and the chemical properties. [47].
The advantage of physical attachment is that the structure of the clay mineral is not altered. The main potential disadvantage is that the forces between the adsorbed molecules and the clay mineral might be weak. ([34]
The grafting of functional polymers to the surface of clay minerals can improve the interaction. It is an important field of research for its ability to control and tune the properties of clay mineral surfaces. The first approach used, named the one-step grafting method, consists of the condensation of functionalized polymers with reactive groups of a solid substrate ([32], [48], [49].
Before conducting research, it is necessary to analyze the topics of interest to be raised as material for discussion in research. This can be done through bibliometric analysis, one way to determine it is by using the VOSviewer.[50]–[52].
VOSviewer can search for topics that offer research opportunities and find the most commonly used references in a particular field [53]–[56]
In this study, the trend of research was analyzed regarding Clay polymeric nanocomposite production research from 1991 to 2021.
This study aims to carry out bibliometric analysis research on clay-based polymeric nanocomposites and their applications in different scenarios, including medicine. Bibliometric analysis was performed using the VOSviewer application with a database derived from WOS, using an integrated analysis of the analyzed articles. [57, p. 1989–2019]
This study is intended to assist researchers in conducting and deciding on research topics that are being developed. Especially to complete in the field of production of clay-based nanocomposites; and its applications in the field of medicine and other areas. And as a researcher to help analyze research structures in their development, and as a consideration to determine the research topic to be carried out.
This study aims to determine the development of research related to materials in the research in terms of the distribution of bibliometric maps and research trends using VOSviewer software. VOSviewer software is used to map data [53]. Bibliometric analysis is considered effective in providing datasets that can be used to improve the quality of research [50], [53], [58]
However, in this study, the bibliometric used is a distribution consisting of the type of publication, the research topic area, the country of origin of the researcher, and the journal where the publication was published.
