Mapping the Knowledge Domain of Corrosion Inhibition Studies of Ionic Liquids

Ionic liquids have received much attention in metal corrosion inhibition due to their unique properties of nontoxicity, low contamination, and high efficiency in corrosion inhibition. To fully understand the current status and latest progress of research in corrosion inhibition, we analyzed the literature using a systematic bibliometric method and visualization technology. The relevant studies specifically included co-occurrence analysis, cluster analysis, cocitation analysis, and keyword burst detection analysis. The results show that Asian countries, led by China, constitute the central research force in this ionic liquid corrosion inhibition field. Materials science, applied physics, and applied chemistry were the core disciplines in this research field, and the Journal of Molecular Liquids, Corrosion Science, Electrochim Acta, and Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research were the core journals. The hot research topics in this field had been roughly divided into five timelines, representing five research topics: ionic liquid, solution, corrosion resistance, corrosion inhibitor, and film. The ionic liquid corrosion inhibition field has many research directions and a wide range of frontier branches. Among them, electrochemistry, molecular simulation, and electrolyte solutions have become the frontier of ionic liquid corrosion inhibition research.