According to a report from the National Science Library of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Springer Nature and China’s National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, China’s nanotechnology industry has been on a steady rise, with the country’s patent applications for nanotechnology-related products among the highest in the world. Over the past 20 years, China has applied for 209,334 nanotechnology patents, representing 45% of all nanotechnology patents in the world.

In 1997, there were approximately 13,000 papers published on nanotechnology worldwide, and by 2016, 154,000 nanotechnology papers had been published. During the same time span, China’s contribution to nanotechnology papers jumped from 820 to more than 52,000. The average CAGR of the most-cited Chinese nanotechnology papers has been 22% since 2007, which is 3 times the global growth rate.

China’s nanotechnology industry is booming in part due to robust funding for nanoscience, with foreign-trained scientists returning to China for lucrative nanotechnology research policies. Many scientists are working in the fields of energy nanotechnology and catalytic nanomaterials through research on batteries and energy storage and conversion, especially as China has been investing in new energy R&D, and environmental protection and energy efficient technologies. Catalytic nanomaterials R&D is thought to be the nanoscience field with the most potential in China, as it can accelerate chemical reactions and help the chemical industry and in oil refineries. The Chinese Academy of Sciences plans to help further bridge the gap between basic and applied research through collaborating internationally and focusing on homegrown scientific talent.

Source: China Academy of Sciences