Emerging contaminants in water bodies, such as pharmaceuticals, dyes, pesticides, endocrine disruptors, and heavy metals, poses serious environmental and health concerns due to their persistence and poor removal by conventional treatment methods. Chitosan-based adsorbents have attracted increasing attention because of their biodegradability, functional versatility, and strong adsorption performance. However, no study has yet provided a systematic bibliometric overview of this research area. This paper presents a bibliometric analysis of 2421 articles published between 2015 and 2025, based on Scopus data and visualised using VOSviewer. The analysis explores publication trends, authors and institutions, influential articles, keyword patterns, and international collaborations. The results show steady growth in both research output and citation impact, with China, India, and Iran leading in productivity. Keyword clustering reveals four major research themes: adsorption mechanisms and modelling, types of target contaminants, behaviour in aqueous systems, and material innovation. Bibliographic coupling and co-authorship networks suggest strong intellectual connections in Asia and a growing global collaboration trend. Despite the maturity of the field, gaps remain in practical applications, regeneration methods, and the integration of predictive modelling. This study offers a comprehensive view of the scientific landscape surrounding chitosan-based adsorbents and highlights future directions for sustainable water treatment research.
Ismail et al. (Wed,) studied this question.