The Electrochemistry of Nitro Compounds from a Bibliometric Approach

Abstract

The heterocyclic and aromatic nitro compounds are industrially and commercially important chemicals, used in drugs, explosives, pesticides, and dyes. Despite their economic importance, the advent of these chemicals also brought serious human health and environmental problems due to their toxic characteristics as contaminants and pollutants. The nitro group is catalyzed in vivo by nitroreductases promoting a six-electron reduction to form sequentially the nitro radical anion, nitroso-, N-hydroxylamino and amino-functional groups. These reactions can be electrochemically reproduced, involving the development of analytical methods and electrochemical sensors, degradation and removal of organic compounds in effluents, corrosion studies, and studies of action mechanism of drugs on DNA bases. In this sense, a bibliometric analysis has been performed based on the Web of Science Core Collection in conjunction with VOSviewer software for generating network visualizations. This research covered the database until 2023, describing the main research areas and the annual publication trends, the collaborations and contributions among countries and research institutions, in addition to identifying the most cited articles, hotspots, and the analysis of evolution and relevance of keywords. This investigation made it possible to recognize the main research focuses and what is under development, providing a comprehensive overview on electrochemistry of nitro compounds.