TEHRAN- In 2022, the number of articles indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) by Iran was 11,473, equivalent to 4.9 percent of the total WoS-based nanotechnology articles in the world.

The country secured its fourth place among the top 20 countries in this field, ISNA reported.

According to the report, the number of articles published by Iranian scholars rose from eight in 2000 to 11,473 in 2022.

Some 32 percent of the Iranian articles were jointly written by other countries, mainly China, the United States, Turkey, Iraq, and Canada.

China, with a total of 22,995 published articles, ranked first, followed by India, the United States, Iran, and South Korea, according to StatNano website.

In 2022, about 8.7 percent of all WoS-indexed articles were related to nanotechnology. Five Islamic countries including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, and Pakistan were among the 20 leading countries.

Nanotechnology growth

The nanotechnology sector is a prime example of success in Iran, an arena consisting of expert and program-oriented human resources with significant goals that shines like a jewel in the innovation and technology ecosystem of the country.

With the support of talented academicians and knowledge-based companies, the nanotechnology sector has indigenized many technologies to solve the main challenges of the country in various areas, including industry.

It is noteworthy that before the establishment of the national headquarters for nanotechnology development in 2000, the country ranked 58th in the world and 6th in the Middle East with publishing just eight articles.

The expansion of exports in recent years and the creation of bases in China, India, Indonesia, Syria, Turkey, and Iraq have provided a platform for the entry of Iran's nanotechnology goods, equipment, and services into the world markets.

So far, Iranian nanotechnology products have been exported to 49 countries from five continents. The sale of nanotechnology equipment in the past Iranian calendar year (March 2021-March 2022) grew by about 59 percent.

On November 28, 2022, President Ebrahim Raisi declared to implement the national document for promoting the application of nanotechnology.

Consisting of 7 articles, the ten-year document aims to train human resources and provide infrastructure for the development and commercialization of technology. Priority industrial areas are water and environment, energy, agriculture, health, and construction.

In this document, Iran was targeted to be among the top 15 nanotechnology countries in the world and aimed to generate wealth and improve people’s lives.

MG