A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF COPPER AND ANTIMICROBIAL COPPER COATINGS

Abstract

Along with technological development, scientific literature has grown exponentially. Although the data resources are open access, filtering a large amount of information remains a significant problem. This paper aims to search and analyze the specialized literature on copper coatings and antimicrobial copper coatings. The aim was to extract the data from the Web of Science, which is the largest database for scientific literature. We used the VOSviewer software for analyzing the raw data that we collected from the Web of Science Core Collection. Within this domain, visualizing networks of key terms from published works holds significant importance. Thus, the objective of this research is to showcase advancements and research focuses within antimicrobial copper coatings, particularly those employed in high-traffic areas such as public transportation, airports, educational institutions, and notably in hospitals worldwide. This entailed two sets of keyword analyses: one focused on the overarching term describing the copper coatings field, namely "copper coatings," and the other aimed at fulfilling the primary study goal, using the keywords "antimicrobial copper" in the search. When searching for "copper coatings" OR "copper-coat*" in all WOS-indexed databases at the time of the inquiry, 9,302 results were found, according to the Web of Science database. When searching for "antimicrobial copper" OR "antimicrob* copper*" in the Web of Science Core Collection, 71 results were found. Through processing these findings with VOSviewer software, distinct clusters of keywords were generated, with their significance filtered based on various criteria as outlined in each map's description. This study presents future avenues for research based on the findings.