The top 10 most cited papers are
(1) Saliba, Michael, et al. "Cesium-containing triple cation perovskite solar cells: improved stability, reproducibility and high efficiency." Energy & environmental science 9.6 (2016): 1989-1997.
(2) Eperon, Giles E., et al. "Formamidinium lead trihalide: a broadly tunable perovskite for efficient planar heterojunction solar cells." Energy & Environmental Science 7.3 (2014): 982-988.
(3) Ahmad, Mahtab, et al. "Biochar as a sorbent for contaminant management in soil and water: a review." Chemosphere 99 (2014): 19-33.
(4) Noel, Nakita K., et al. "Lead-free organic–inorganic tin halide perovskites for photovoltaic applications." Energy & Environmental Science 7.9 (2014): 3061-3068.
(5) Ball, James M., et al. "Low-temperature processed meso-superstructured to thin-film perovskite solar cells." Energy & Environmental Science 6.6 (2013): 1739-1743.
(6) Kroeker, Kristy J., et al. "Impacts of ocean acidification on marine organisms: quantifying sensitivities and interaction with warming." Global change biology 19.6 (2013): 1884-1896.
(7) Eerkes-Medrano, Dafne, Richard C. Thompson, and David C. Aldridge. "Microplastics in freshwater systems: a review of the emerging threats, identification of knowledge gaps and prioritization of research needs." Water research 75 (2015): 63-82.
(8) Poloczanska, Elvira S., et al. "Global imprint of climate change on marine life." Nature Climate Change 3.10 (2013): 919-925.
(9) O'Neill, Brian C., et al. "A new scenario framework for climate change research: the concept of shared socioeconomic pathways." Climatic change 122.3 (2014): 387-400.
(10) Bolan, Nanthi, et al. "Remediation of heavy metal (loid) s contaminated soils–to mobilize or to immobilize?." Journal of hazardous materials 266 (2014): 141-166.
The top cited papers are in new renewable energy reaserch and global environmental problems.
Highly cited authors in Environmental Sciences
This study subsequently analyzed top authors of the highly cited papers, and the results are showed in Table 1. Authors on the topic of new renewable energy and biochar dominate. The top producer of highly cited papers are mainly on pollution and biochar adsorbent, notably the top 4 are
(1) Guang Zeng from Hunan University, China, who have 64 highly cited papers.
(2) Yong Sik Ok from Korea University, South Korea, who have 59 highly cited papers.
(3) Dan CW Tsang from Hongkong Polytechnic, China, , who have 57 highly cited papers.
(4) Jorg Rinklebe from University Wuppertal, Germany, who have 40 highly cited papers.
Other authors all have more than 20 highly cited papers. It is important to note that there are no female authors in this top highly cited authors. As a result, 12 of these authors were awarded highly cited researcher (HCR) by Clarivate in multiple fields in 2022. A highly cited researcher is a scientist who has produced a large number of papers that have been highly cited by other researchers in the scientific literature. Highly cited researchers are identified by the number of high cited papers.
Table 1. Top authors of highly cited papers.
Authors name | no. HCP (2013-2022) | Topic | Affiliation | HCR in 2022 | Network |
Zeng, Guang | 64 | Pollutant remediation | Hunan University | HCR | Zeng |
Ok, Yong Sik | 59 | biochar | Korea University | HCR | Ok |
Tsang, Dan | 57 | biochar | Hongkong Polytechnic | HCR | Ok |
Rinklebe, Joerg | 40 | biochar | University Wuppertal | HCR | Ok |
Bolan, Nanthi Sirangie | 27 | biochar | University of Western Australia | HCR | Ok |
Cheng, Min | 26 | Pollution remediation | Hunan | | Zeng |
Wang, Shaobin | 25 | nanomaterials | University of Adelaide | HCR | - |
Gao, Bin | 24 | water contaminant | University of Florida | HCR | Ok |
Nazeeruddin, Mohammad K (Graetzel, Michael) | 24 | solar cell | Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne | HCR | - |
Guyatt, Gordon H. | 23 | clinical Epidemiology | McMaster University | HCR | - |
Zhang, Qiang | 22 | batteries | Tsinghua University | HCR | - |
Wang, Jianlong | 22 | pollutants | Tsinghua University | HCR | - |
Rizwan, Muhammad | 22 | biochar | Government College University Faisalabad | | Ok |
Shaheen, Sabry M. | 22 | biochar | Kafrelsheikh University | HCR | Ok |
Furthermore this study conducts a co-authorship network analysis of authors of the highly cited papers. The result of VosViewer analysis presented in Fig. 2 shows that except for 2 clusters, most authors work independently as seen by no connecting lines between authors. This means that most authors of highly cited papers work are unconnected. However two highly clusters immediately stand out as within each cluster has lots of connecting lines revealing a close collaborative network.
Cluster one is the largest network of authors centred around Yong Sik Ok, accompanied by two of the hyper prolific authors Daniel CW Tsang, and Jorg Rinklebe [4]. A close up of this cluster (Fig. 3) disclosesd coauthors from China: Bin Gao, Hou Deyi, Wang Lei, Chen Liang, Wang hailong: Egypt: Sabry Shaheen, Ali El-Naggar; Pakistan: Nabeel Khan Niazi, Muhammad Shahid, Muhammad Rizwan, Shafagat Ali; Australia: Nanthi Bolan, Binoy Sarkar; Sri Lanka: Menthika Vithanage. Authors in this cluster all have more than 10 highly cited papers.
Cluster two was smaller centered in Zeng guang and Cheng min from Hunan university of China. It is important to note that these two clusters operated independently.