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REVIEW ARTICLE

Insights into development trends for photocatalytic degradation of PFAS: A bibliometric time-series perspective

Huan Zhang1 ,  Yuxin Du2 ,  Zewei Liu2 ,  Boran Wu1,3* ,  Dongdong Ge4,5*
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1 State Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Green Resource Recycling, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
2 Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, China
3 Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai, China
4 School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Jiangsu University of Technology, Changzhou, China
5 Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Solid Waste Treatment and Resource Recovery, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
AJWEP, 026210151 https://doi.org/10.36922/AJWEP026210151
Received: 18 May 2026 | Revised: 25 May 2026 | Accepted: 28 May 2026 | Published online: 1 July 2026
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

Photocatalytic degradation has attracted increasing attention for the remediation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) because of its mild operating conditions, high treatment efficiency and relatively low energy demand. Based on literature indexed in the Web of Science from 1999 to 2025, this study used CiteSpace to analyze research output, collaboration networks, high impact journals and keyword evolution, and to identify the scientific contributions of countries, regions, institutions and leading researchers. The analysis shows the development pattern and major hotspots of photocatalytic degradation of PFAS. The field has gone from slow growth before 2010 to rapid expansion since 2020. Both China and the United States lead the global output in publications, with Chinese institutions at the collaboration core, although isolated nodes still limit full integration. Keyword analysis indicates research hotspots in catalyst design, reaction mechanisms and combined processes with other technologies. The field is shifting from studies on single target compounds to system-scale remediation of contaminant classes, and from mainly oxidative pathways to reductive and synergistic mechanisms. These trends emphasize process integration and practical application, while also pointing to frontier topics, knowledge gaps and directions for future research.

Graphical abstract
Keywords
Photocatalytic degradation
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances
Bibliometric analysis
CiteSpace
Defluorination mechanism
Water treatment
Funding
This work was financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant number 52270137, 52570173] and Shanghai Oriental Talent Program [Grant number QNCX2024034].
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be viewed as a potential conflict of interest.
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