24961_05_Alencar.pdf The trends and geography of nanotechnological research MARIA SIMONE DE M. ALENCAR, CLAUDIA CANONGIA AND ADELAIDE M. S. ANTUNES Maria Simone de M. Alencar, Claudia Canongia & Adelaide M. S. Antunes (2006). The trends and geography of nanotechnological research. Fennia 184: 1, pp. 37–48. Helsinki. ISSN 0015-0010. This paper presents a study of trends in nanotechnology, indicating regional development efforts, based on analyses of scientific publications from 17 coun- tries, divided in two sets: seven key countries (USA, France, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom, Canada and Spain) and ten competitor-countries (Brazil, India, China, Australia, South Africa, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Israel and Mexico), from 1994 to 2004. A search in the Web of Science database was undertaken, utilizing 51 terms selected by experts in nanotechnology. A master dataset with almost 140,000 registers was created and scientific indicators were produced through data and text mining tools and a competitive intelligence approach. In the key countries, it was possible to discern the quantity of publications from the USA (21,769), followed by Japan (10,883). Within the per-country analysis, in the case of the USA, for example, the most frequently used terms are “nanoparticulates”, “nanotube”, “quantum dot”, “nanocrystal” and/or “nano- structure”. China has the best position in the competitor countries. Brazil is the best in the Latin America, and represents 5.7% of the competitor-country publi- cations, with 1066 papers, and “quantum dot” is the most frequently term used for the representative Brazilian universities. Maria Simone de M. Alencar, School of Chemistry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil. E-mail: salencar@eq.ufrj.br or salencar@pobox.com. Claudia Canongia, National Institute of Metrology, Standardization and Indus- trial Quality (Inmetro), Brazil. E-mail: ccanongia@inmetro.gov.br. Adelaide M. S. Antunes, School of Chemistry, Federal University of Rio de Ja- neiro (UFRJ), Brazil. E-mail: adelaide@eq.ufrj.br. Introduction Nanotechnology involves the construction and use of functional structures projected on an atom- ic or molecular scale, with it least one their di- mensions measured in nanometers. On this scale, mainly because of quantum1 or superficial2 ef- fects, the behaviour of matter is markedly different from the generally understood and commonly ac- cepted concepts. The laws related to chemical, biological, electrical, magnetic and other proper- ties on the nanoscale are different from those which apply to matter on a macroscale; it is the laws of quantum physics which rule in the “na- noworld”. A number of economic sectors are being affect- ed by nanoscience/nanotechnology, with applica- tions in the areas of health, chemicals and petro- chemicals, computers, energy, agriculture, metal- lurgy, textiles and environmental protection, amongst others. The Asia-Pacific Economic Coop- eration organization – APEC, identifies the busi- ness opportunities offered by nanotechnology in three directions: molecular engineering, derived from biotechnology, electronic technology, based on semiconductors, and equipment and processes founded on new materials (Tegart 2004). Evaluating the potential of nanotechnology up to the year 2020, Roco (2004) has affirmed that its development from exploratory concepts to wider applications behaves in a way similar to the transi- tions in information technology between 1960 and 2000 and in biotechnology between 1980 and 2010. Thus, the monitoring and mining of tenden- cies in scientific advances in this area has become fundamental to the search for opportunities in re- search, development, innovation potential and fu- ture business, both in leading and emerging econ- omies, a fact which underlines the research pre- sented in this article. 38 FENNIA 184: 1 (2006)M. S. De M. Alencar, C. Canongia and A. M. S. Antunes In this context and in order to demonstrate the potentiality of the foresight methodology to sup- port the decision making process in several areas, this paper presents a study of trends in nanotech- nology, indicating regional development efforts, based on analyses of scientific publications from 17 countries, divided in two sets: seven key coun- tries (USA, France, Germany, Japan, United King- dom, Canada and Spain) and ten competitor-coun- tries (Brazil, India, China, Australia, South Africa, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Israel and Mexico), from 1994 to 2004. The nanoworld – generation of new systems and/or products Nanotechnology, according to Walsh (2004), may be seen as a disruptive technology, as its use gen- erates products with performance attributes which cannot be evaluated by consumers. According to Roco (2004), the first nanotech- nology generation – beginning in 2000 – was the discovery and production of relatively simple components with nanometric particles, nanotubes and nanofilms. A major transition was observed most recently, in 2005, heading in the direction of active nanostructures and nanosystems. Nanos- tructures change their states (morphology, form, mechanics, electrical properties, magnetism, etc.) during their operation. Examples would be a me- chanical activator which could change its dimen- sions, or nanoparticles for drug delivery which change their morphology and chemical composi- tion. Such changes are increasingly more complex the larger the structures and systems, and involve multiple phenomena. This technology has proven to be attractive to a number of economies, a fact which is emphasized when one considers that as early as 2002, a report commissioned by the UK Ministry of Science and Innovation identified 30 countries as then under- taking activities and plans related to nanotechnol- ogy (UK Advisory… 2002). Three years later, Roco (2005) presented international benchmarks for R&D in nanotechnology, demonstrating that at least 60 countries have initiatives in this area. The nanoworld is growing rapidly. The potential of technology may be evaluated relative to investments in research, development and innovation, and is currently one of the main focuses of activity in industrialized countries (Bak- er & Aston 2005). Europe, Japan and the USA have invested approximately equal amounts of govern- ment funds, estimated to be around US$1 billion for 2005 (Foster 2005; Schulte 2005). Various studies have aimed to estimate the size of the global market for materials, products and processes based on nanotechnology. Cur- rently, there appears to be a convergence of esti- mates in the region of US$1 trillion for the period 2010 to 2015, according to market analysts from the Mitsubishi Research Institute in Japan, the Deutsche Bank in Germany and Lux Research in the USA. The mining – identification of trends in scientific development The research3 took as reference the Web of Sci- ence database. For the purpose of mining scientific production in nanotechnology over an eleven-year period (1994–2004), 51 distinct terms were used, selected by Brazilian experts in this area4. The ad- vanced data recovery resources offered by the da- tabase were utilized, with the aim of expanding and enriching the results. The search terms were focused on the countries which are the focus of this analysis, divided into two groups: seven key countries (the USA, France, Germany, Japan, the UK Canada and Spain) and ten competitor-countries (Brazil, India, China, Australia, South Africa, Korea, Malaysia, Israel and Mexico). Macro-indicators were generated for each group of countries, using data and text mining resources, furnishing a general and regional view of scientific production of the complete range of nanotechnol- ogy. For the leaders of the key countries, the USA and Japan, as well as for the leaders of the com- petitor countries, China (general) and Brazil (Latin America), the following were identified: • The total number of articles published per year (1994 to 2004) and the trend in publica- tion, relative to the most frequently used nan- otechnology terms for each year; • The total number of articles using the top terms, with identification of the authoring in- stitutions with the greatest number of publi- cations on the terms; • The main journals in which the leading au- thoring institutions with the highest frequency terms publish their articles. FENNIA 184: 1 (2006) 39The trends and geography of nanotechnological research A global vision of scientific development in nanotechnology For the period 1994 to March 2004, 139,618 arti- cles containing the 51 search terms were found for all the countries involved. With regard to the key countries, this group represents around 40% of the total (55,704 articles), while the competitor-coun- tries group presents a slighter participation, at 14% of the total (19,644 articles). It may be observed that the term “nanocrystal” shows the highest frequency, at 14.28%, followed by “nanoparticle”, which leads to the perception of a high level of diversity of publication in this area. Table 1 presents the terms with a frequency of more than 5%. Macro-trend of scientific development in key countries The leadership of the United States in publication is evident, with almost double the number of arti- cles compared to the second-placed country, Ja- pan. It is also worth noting that the USA and Japan together account for 58% of publications among the key countries. Fig. 1 shows the participation, by percentages, of nanotechnology publications of the key countries over the ten years covered by the study. It can be observed in Fig. 2 that there was expo- nential growth in the number of articles published in relation to nanotechnology during the period 1994 to 2002, in the order of 650%. The analysis for Table 1. Frequency of terms. Nanoterm % nanocrystal 14.28% nanoparticle 13.51% nanostructures 10.06% quantum dots 9.13% fullerenes 9.02% nanotubes 8.25% nanocomposite 5.02% 20% USA 38% Japan Germany 17% France 11% UK 7% Spain 4% Canada 3% Fig. 1. Nano scientific papers published per key country (1994–2004). 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Fig. 2. Historical evolution of nanotechnology publishing in the key countries. 40 FENNIA 184: 1 (2006)M. S. De M. Alencar, C. Canongia and A. M. S. Antunes Table 2. Highest frequency terms in articles published in the USA by year of publication – 1994/2004. USA – total number of articles = 21,769 Year of publication [no. of articles] Top terms [no. of articles per term] Year of publication [no. of articles] Top terms [no. of articles per term] 1994 [636] fullerene [113] nanocrystal [59] quantum dot [49] quantum wire [40] nanomaterial [32] 2000 [2723] nanotube [283] nanoparticulate [280] quantum dot [246] nanocrystal [187] nanostructure [166] 1995 [788] fullerene [100] nanocrystal [85] nanostructure [64] nanomaterial [53] quantum dot [41] 2001 [3342] nanoparticulate [432] nanotube [355] quantum dot [266] nanocrystal [241] nanomaterial [208] 1996 [1054] nanocrystal [104] fullerene [103] quantum dot [88] nanostructure [76] nanoparticulate [68] 2002 [4310] nanoparticulate [602] nanotube [527] quantum dot [299] nanocrystal [265] nanostructure [242] 1997 [1213] nanocrystal [146] fullerene [98] nanoparticulate [94] quantum dot [90] nanostructure [83] 2003 [2517] nanoparticulate [731] quantum dot [291] nanocrystal [125] nanofiber [91] nanostructure [90] 1998 [1748] nanocrystal [182] nanotube [156] nanoparticulate [154] nanostructure [121] nanomaterial [98] 2004 [1224] nanotube [184] nanoparticulate [161] nanosize [71] nanocrystal [69] nanostructure [67] 1999 [2214] quantum dot [215] nanocrystal [214] nanoparticulate [203] nanotube [172] nanostructure [135] the last two years, 2003 and 2004, offers a lesser degree of confidence, as the input of data into the database is sometimes delayed for a period of time. The USA – world leader in nanotechnology scientific publication The term “nanocrystals” appears among the five most frequent terms in the articles published be- tween 1994 and 2004, the only such term to ap- pear across the whole period. In Table 2, it can be seen that, from 1996 to 2003, the frequency of the term “nanoparticles/ nanoparticulates” demon- strated growth of 930%, appearing in 700 articles in 2003. The term “nanotubes” is amongst the five with the highest frequency in the period 1998 to 2002, with growth of 296%. Another term which stands out amongst the five with the highest fre- quency is “quantum dot”, at 200 articles per year between 1999 and 2003. It is of note that, despite a high frequency of publication per term, there is a degree of disper- sion among the institutions authoring the articles. The five top institutions with publications contain- ing the term “nanoparticles / nanoparticulates”, represent only 16% of the total articles published on this topic (2787). Looking at the five US institutions with the great- est number of articles by top term, it can be seen that three of these institutions present a greater de- gree of consistency in terms of scientific produc- tion related to the search terms. These are: the Uni- versity of California, Berkeley, Illinois University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This data can be observed in Table 3. FENNIA 184: 1 (2006) 41The trends and geography of nanotechnological research Table 3. Distribution of institutions with the largest number of publications by highest frequency term amongst US articles – 1994/2004. United States – total number of articles = 21,769 Top terms [no. of articles] Top institutions [no. of articles] Top terms [no. of articles] Top institutions [no. of articles] nanoparticulate [2787] Georgia Inst Technol [106] Northwestern Univ [100] Univ Illinois [87] Washington Univ [81] Univ Calif Davis [69] nanostructure [1277] Univ Illinois [56] MIT [46] Univ Connecticut [46] Univ Calif Berkeley [44] Arizona State Univ [36] nanotube [1913] NASA [130] Rice Univ [117] Univ Kentucky [113] Univ Calif Berkeley [95] Rensselaer Polyt. Inst – Pittsburgh [93] nanomaterial [1090] Cornell Univ [53] USAF [50] Univ So Mississippi [39] Michigan State Univ [34] Univ Michigan [33] quantum dot [1687] Univ Calif Sta Barbara [193] Arizona State Univ [105] Univ Illinois [92] Univ Texas [86] Univ Michigan [82] nanosize [1038] Univ Calif Berkeley [39] Univ Illinois [34] Penn State Univ [34] MIT [30] Univ Florida [29] nanocrystal [1677] Univ Calif Berkeley [114] MIT [81] Oak Ridge Natl Labs [69] Argonne Natl Labs [64] Georgia Inst Technol [57] fullerene [1013] Univ Notre Dame [76] Rice Univ [69] Univ Calif Los Angeles [56] Univ Miami [42] NYU [40] Japan – second-place leader in nanotechnology publication Articles on “nanocrystals” appear amongst the five highest frequency terms for those published be- tween 1994 and 2004, with an oscillation between 20 and 150 articles per year. This term is the only one which appears throughout the period studied, a tendency also observed in the USA for the same term. It was further observed that from 1997 to 2003 the term “nanoparticles / nanoparticulates”, demonstrated strong growth, on the order of 833%, attaining a total of more than 270 articles in 2003. The term “nanotubes” appears amongst the five highest frequency terms in the period 1994–2004. Another term which stands out in the five high fre- quency terms for the period 1999–2003 is “quan- tum dot”, which reached its publication peak in 2000, with 189 articles. The term “fullerene” ap- pears amongst the high frequency terms for the period 1994–2002, and also had its publication peak in 2000, with a total of 136. The preceding data is presented in Table 4. Table 5 shows that the University of Tokyo leads in publication related to the term “quantum dot”, with around 22% of the articles on this theme pro- duced in that country. This university is present among the five top authoring institutions for the majority of the higher frequency terms: “nanopar- ticles/nanoparticulates”, “nanotubes”, “nanostruc- tures”, “quantum wire” and “nanoscale”. The sec- ond most frequent term, “nanoparticles/nanopar- ticulates”, demonstrates the leadership of Osaka University, with more than 10% of the articles. It is of interest to observe that the NEC Corporation Ltd. is among the five institutions with the highest frequency of articles on “nanotubes”, contributing 82 of 947 articles. Comparative view of the higher frequency terms of the two leading key countries Table 6 presents the higher frequency terms for the two leading key countries and the institution with the highest number of articles on that term. It also identifies which journals had the highest frequen- cy of articles on these terms. The two highest frequency terms are “nanoparti- cles/nanoparticulates” and “quantum dot”, with the two highest publication journals for these two countries being: 42 FENNIA 184: 1 (2006)M. S. De M. Alencar, C. Canongia and A. M. S. Antunes Table 4. Highest frequency terms in articles published in Japan by year of publication – 1994/2004. Japan – total number of articles = 10,883 Year of publication [no. of articles] Top terms [no. of articles per term] Year of publication [no. of articles] Top terms [no. of articles per term] 1994 [275] fullerene [38] quasi-crystal [30] quantum wire [21] nanocrystal [19] quantum dot [12] 2000 [1456] quantum dot [189] fullerene [136] nanotube [126] nanocrystal [126] nanoparticle [105] 1995 [286] fullerene [63] quantum wire [25] nanocrystal [24] quantum dot [18] quasi-crystal [10] 2001 [1766] nanotube [179] nanoparticle [173] nanocrystal [156] quantum dot [156] fullerene [122] 1996 [489] fullerene [76] nanocrystal [67] quantum dot [32] quantum wire [30] nanotube [26] 2002 [2076] nanotube [282] nanoparticle [195] quantum dot [157] nanocrystal [141] fullerene [105] 1997 [585] fullerene [70] quantum dot [65] nanocrystal [54] nanoparticle [33] quantum wire [26] 2003 [974] nanoparticle [275] quantum dot [136] nanotube [47] nanostructure [39] nanocrystal [28] 1998 [1084] quantum dot [154] nanocrystal [95] fullerene [79] quantum wire [66] nanoparticle [61] 2004 [564] nanoparticle [78] nanotube [76] nanocrystal [27] fullerene [25] nanocomposite [24] 1999 [1328] quantum dot [157] fullerene [120] nanotube [113] nanoparticle [105] nanocrystal [92] • Applied Physics Letters – experimental or the- oretical articles with applications in physics or contemporary technologies. • Journal of Physical Chemistry B (JPC:B) – arti- cles on materials (nanostructures, macromol- ecules, bio-physical chemistry and physics- chemistry in general), as well as articles on structures and properties of surfaces and in- terfaces. Macro-trend of scientific development in the competitor countries Within the group of competitor countries, strong leadership belongs to China, which in the last ten years published 51% of articles. Brazil is in fifth place, with 5% of articles published, following Ko- rea (14%), India (11%) and Israel (7%). Account- 14% China 51% Korea India 11% Israel 7% Mexico 3% Brazil 5% Australia 4% Singapore 4% Fig. 3. Nano scientific papers published in competitor-coun- tries (1994–2004). FENNIA 184: 1 (2006) 43The trends and geography of nanotechnological research Table 5. Distribution of Japanese institutions with the highest number of publications by high frequency term – 1994/2004. Japan – total number of articles = 10,883 Top terms [no. of articles] Top institutions [no. of articles] Top terms [no. of articles] Top institutions [no. of articles] quantum dot [1096] Univ Tokyo [239] Univ Tsukuba [134] Hokkaido Univ [93] Riken[1] [88] Tohoku Univ [79] nanostructure [394] Tohoku Univ [41] Univ Tokyo [35] Osaka Univ [34] Japan Sci Technol Corp [23] Univ Kyoto [21] nanoparticle [1054] Osaka Univ [111] Tohoku Univ [72] Univ Tokyo [63] Kyushu Univ [62] Tokyo Inst Technol [59] nanocomposite [344] Osaka Univ [73] Tohoku Univ [29] Natl Ind Res Inst Nagoya [27] Toyota Technol Inst [16] Natl Inst Adv Ind Technol & Sci [14] nanotube [947] Univ Tokyo [103] Meijo Univ [97] Nec Corp Ltd [82] Tohoku Univ [78] Tokyo Inst Technol [52] quantum wire [335] Univ Tokyo [65] Hokkaido Univ [51] Osaka Univ [41] Electrotech Labs[2] [32] Japan Sci Technol Corp [24] fullerene [840] Nagoya Univ [116] Tohoku Univ [91] Tokyo Metropolitan Univ [76] Osaka Univ [74] Univ Kyoto [73] nanoscale [294] Tohoku Univ [33] Osaka Univ [30] Univ Tokyo [29] Tokyo Inst Technol [15] Univ Kyoto [15] nanocrystal [829] Tohoku Univ [167] Osaka Univ [65] Univ Tsukuba [53] Univ Tokyo [43] Tokyo Inst Technol [42] nanowire [119] Natl Inst Mat Sci [26] Hokkaido Univ [15] Japan Sci Technol Corp [9] Electrotech Labs [9] Osaka Univ [8] Table 6. Leaders of the key countries – USA and Japan: top terms versus most-published institutions versus the respective journals. United States Top term Top institution Highest frequency journals of the top institution nanoparticule/ nanoparticulate Georgia Inst Technol Abstracts of papers of the American Chemical Society Journal of Physical Chemistry B Japan 2 top terms Top institutions Highest frequency journals of the top institutions quantum dot Univ Tokyo Applied Physics Letters Physical Review B nanoparticule/ nanoparticulate Osaka Univ Journal of Physical Chemistry B Applied Physics Letters ing for less than 5% of articles are Australia, Singa- pore and Mexico, as shown in Fig. 3. As to follow, Fig. 4 demonstrates that there was exponential growth, on the order of more than 1500%, in the number of nanotechnology articles published by the competitor-countries between 1994 and 2002. The analysis for the last two years, 2003 and 2004, offers a lesser degree of confi- dence, as the input of data into the database is sometimes delayed for a period of time. 44 FENNIA 184: 1 (2006)M. S. De M. Alencar, C. Canongia and A. M. S. Antunes 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Fig. 4. Historical evolution of nanotechnology publishing in the competitor countries. Table 7. Highest frequency terms in Chinese articles by year of publication – 1994/2004. China – total number of articles = 10,112 Year of publication [no. of articles] Top terms [no. of articles per term] Year of publication [no. of articles] Top terms [no. of articles per term] 1994 [141] 1995 [197] nanocrystal [26] fullerene [15] fullerene [31] nanocrystal [30] 2001 [1635] nanocrystal [209] nanoparticulate [185] nanotube [173] nanomaterial [117] nanowire [100] 1996 [270] 1997 [374] nanocrystal [50] fullerene [35] nanocrystal [82] fullerene [53] 2002 [2187] nanotube [298] nanocrystal [271] nanoparticulate [251] nanomaterial [156] nanowire [147] 1998 [642] 1999 [966] nanocrystal [131] nanoparticulate [69] fullerene [57] nanocrystal [179] nanoparticulate [102] 2003 [1457] nanoparticulate [366] nanocrystal [126] quantum dot [107] nanowire [95] nanorod [91] 2000 [1241] nanocrystal [190] nanoparticulate [133] nanotube [106] quantum dot [100] 2004 [1002] nanotube [151] nanoparticulate [133] nanocrystal [102] nanomaterial [85] China – leader in nanotechnology development among the competitor-countries The strong leadership of China among the com- petitor-countries is evident. In Table 7 it can be observed that the term “nanocrystals” is of high frequency in the articles published between 1994 and 2002, with growth of more than 1000% be- tween 1994 and 2002. Between 1998 and 2002, the topic “nanoparticles/nanoparticulates” experi- enced growth of 530%, reaching a total of more than 360 articles in 2003. “Nanotubes” appears among the highest frequency terms for 2000–2002, accounting for more than 100 articles per year in this period. It can be seen in Table 8 that the Chinese Acad- emy of Sciences is present among the leading in- stitutions with the largest number of articles for all the highest frequency terms, demonstrating this in- stitution’s diversity in areas of nanotechnology re- search. “Quantum dot” represents around 45% of the articles published on this term. FENNIA 184: 1 (2006) 45The trends and geography of nanotechnological research Table 8. Distribution of Chinese institutions with the highest number of publications by high frequency term – 1994/2004. China – total number of articles = 10,112 Top terms [no. of articles] Top institutions [no. of articles] Top terms [no. of articles] Top institutions [no. of articles] nanocrystal [1396] Chinese Acad Sci [348] Univ Sci & Technol China [245] Jilin Univ [120] Nanjing Univ [117] Acad Sinica [111] nanowire [495] Chinese Acad Sci [142] Univ Hong Kong [68] Univ Sci & Technol China [67] nanoparticulate [1291] Chinese Acad Sci [429] Jilin Univ [109] Peking Univ [108] fullerene [469] Chinese Acad Sci [110] Fudan Univ [58] Peking Univ [58] nanotube [927] Chinese Acad Sci [263] Tsing Hua Univ [170] nanostructure [358] Chinese Acad Sci [116] Univ Sci & Technol China [46] Acad Sinica [46] nanomaterial [579] Chinese Acad Sci [179] Univ Sci & Technol China [78] Univ Hong Kong [46] nanosize [323] Chinese Acad Sci [101] Tsing Hua Univ [34] quantum dot [565] Chinese Acad Sci [258] Univ Hong Kong [58] nanorod [259] Univ Sci & Technol China [92] Chinese Acad Sci [50] Brazil – Latin American leader – relative position in nanotechnology development Brazilian publication of articles on nanotechnolo- gy accounts for only 5.7% of the total number published by the competitor-countries over the last ten years, a statistic which demonstrates the need for a policy of support and effective incentives for research, development and innovation in this area. Of note is that “quantum dot” is present among the highest frequency terms for nine of the ten years under study, with its highest degree of publi- cation in 2002, with 37 articles. 2002 saw around 28% of the publications for the ten-year period (Table 9). It should be noted that the two Brazilian institu- tions which stand out in the publication of articles with high-frequency terms are the University of São Paulo (USP) and State University of Campinas (Unicamp). In addition, both institutions are lead- ers in the publication of articles on the highest fre- quency term, “quantum dot”, with both contribut- ing more than 24% of articles on this topic. With regard to “nanoparticles/ nanoparticulates”, the University of Brasília (UnB) is the leader, with 24%, followed by the University of São Paulo (USP), with 19% of the articles published on this topic (Table 10). Global view of the highest frequency terms for the leader amongst the competitor- countries Table 11 presents, for the leader amongst the com- petitor countries, the highest frequency terms, along with the institution with the highest number of articles on those terms, and identifies which journals most frequently published articles on the terms. It can be observed that the two terms ap- pearing with the highest frequency in Chinese publications: “nanoparticles/ nanoparticulates” and “nanocrystals”, for which the journal with the highest frequency for China is also amongst the journals serving the same function amongst the key countries: Applied Physics Letters – experi- mental or theoretical articles with applications in physics and contemporary technologies. Final considerations The seven key countries (the USA, Japan, Germa- ny, France, the UK, Spain and Canada) have dem- onstrated dynamism in nanotechnology research over the last ten years, with more than 50 thou- sand articles published. The competitor-countries (China, Korea, India, Israel, meanwhile, have en- tered the arena, although in an as yet emerging 46 FENNIA 184: 1 (2006)M. S. De M. Alencar, C. Canongia and A. M. S. Antunes Table 9. Highest frequency terms in Brazilian articles by year of publication – 1994/2004. Brazil – total number of articles = 1066 Year of publication [no. of articles] Top terms [no. of articles per term] Year of publication [no. of articles] Top terms [no. of articles per term] 1994 [11] nanocrystal [3] nanotube [1] nanosize [1] quantum wire [1] fullerene [1] 2000 [136] quantum dot [19] nanotube [12] nanoparticulate [11] nanomaterial [8] nanocrystal [5] 1995 [18] quantum dot [3] nanotube [2] fullerene [2] nanocrystal [2] quantum wire [1] 2001 [168] quantum dot [13] nanoparticulate [12] nanocrystal [12] nanotube [10] nanomaterial [10] 1996 [28] quantum dot [9] fullerene [3] nanocrystal [3] nanostructure [2] nanotube [1] 2002 [297] quantum dot [37] nanotube [27] nanocrystal [25] nanoparticulate [22] nanostructure [14] 1997 [49] quantum dot [5] nanoparticulate [4] nanocrystal [4] nanosize [3] quantum wire [3] 2003 [127] quantum dot [35] nanoparticulate [34] nanocrystal [6] nanostructure [3] nanomaterial [3] 1998 [62] quantum dot [8] quantum wire [6] nanotube [3] nanoparticulate [3] nanocrystal [3] 2004 [54] nanocrystal [5] nanoparticulate [4] nanotube [4] quantum dot [4] nanostructure [3] 1999 [116] nanocrystal [12] nanoparticulate [9] quantum dot [8] nanomaterial [6] nanostructure [5] manner, with a total of slightly less than 20 thou- sand articles over the same period. Amongst the key countries, the USA stands out, while for the competitor countries the leadership rest with China, whose publications total almost one half of the number produced in the USA. The volume of Chinese publications exceeds that of Germany, third-ranked among the key countries. Also of note is that fact that the combined publica- tions of the competitor-countries Korea and India equal those of the sixth-placed key country, Spain. In regard to the search terms, “nanoparticles/ nanoparticulates” is among the highest frequency topics for both the key countries and the com- petitors, with the Journal of Physical Chemistry (JPC-B) of the American Chemical Society (ACS) being the journal with the highest frequency of publication for both groups of countries. “Nanoc- rystals” is the term with the second highest fre- quency. In the case of Brazil, Latin American leader, it is of note that the term “quantum dot” is the one which appears most frequently. It is observed that nanotechnology research in Brazil is still in its ear- ly stages, compared to the other competitor coun- tries. The University of São Paulo (USP) and the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) are the Brazilian institutions with the highest profiles in this area. Finally, in regard to Brazil, it should be noted that, in an effort to generate effective support for the scientific and technological development of nanotechnology, the Industrial, Technological and Foreign Trade Policy, launched in 2004 by the Bra- zilian government, places nanotechnology, along FENNIA 184: 1 (2006) 47The trends and geography of nanotechnological research Table 10. Distribution of the institutions with the highest number of publications by high frequency terms in Brazilian articles – 1994/2004. Brazil – total number of articles = 1066 Top terms [no. of articles] Top institutions [no. of articles] Top terms [no. of articles] Top institutions [no. of articles] quantum dot [141] Univ. São Paulo [35] Univ. Estad. Campinas [34] Univ. Fed. São Carlos [26] PUC – Rio de Janeiro [20] Univ. Brasília [12] nanostructure [46] Univ. Fed. São Carlos [12] Univ. São Paulo [7] Univ. Fed. RioGrandeSul [6] Univ. Brasília [5] Univ. Estad. Campinas [4] nanoparticulate [100] Univ. Brasília [24] Univ. São Paulo [19] Univ. Fed. São Carlos [14] Univ. Estad. Campinas [13] Univ. Fed. Goias [10] quantum wire [36] Univ. São Paulo [9] Univ. Estad. Campinas [8] Univ Sao Francisco (1) [5] Univ. Fed. Ceará [3] Univ. Fed. São Carlos [3] nanocrystal [80] Univ. Estad. Campinas [25] Univ. São Paulo [21] Centro Bras. Pesq. Fisicas [9] Univ. Fed. São Carlos [9] Lab Nacl Luz Sincrotron [6] nanosize [21] Univ. Fed. RioGrandeSul [5] Univ. Fed. Rio de Janeiro [3] Univ. Fed. São Carlos [2] Univ. Fed. Paraiba [2] Centro Bras. Pesq. Fisicas [1] nanotube [67] Univ. Fed. Minas Gerais [43] Univ. Fed. Ceará [22] Univ. São Paulo [9] Lab Nacl Luz Sincrotron [5] Univ. Estad. Campinas [5] fullerene [19] Univ. Estad. Campinas [7] Univ. Fed. Minas Gerais [3] Univ. Fed. Goias [3] Univ. Fed. Rio de Janeiro [2] Univ. São Paulo [2] nanomaterial [47] Univ. São Paulo [20] Univ. Estad. Campinas [11] Univ. Fed. Paraná [8] Univ. Est. Paulista [7] Univ. Fed. São Carlos [6] nanowire [13] Lab Nacl Luz Sincrotron [8] Univ. Estad. Campinas [6] Univ. Fed. Rio de Janeiro [1] Univ. Fed. Minas Gerais [1] Univ. Fed. São Carlos [1] Table 11. Leadership of China amongst the competitor countries: top terms versus most-published institution versus the re- spective journals. China 2 top terms Top institution Highest frequency journals of the top institution nanocrystal Chinese Acad Sci Journal of Applied Physics Applied Physics Letters nanoparticule/ nanoparticulate Chemical Physics Letters Journal of Material Chemistry with biotechnology and biomass/renewable ener- gy, amongst those areas considered keys to the fu- ture. NOTES 1 Also called quantum confinement, this refers to the effect caused by the small numbers of atoms, which limits the movement of electrons, generating new physical properties in the material. 2 The superficial effects are caused by the larger sur- face/volume ratio in nanoparticles interfering in chemical properties, as, for example, in reactivity. 3 The research presented here forms part of a study undertaken by the research group under the leader- ship by titular professor Adelaide Antunes, of the Sis- tema de Informação sobre a Indústria Química (SIQ- UIM) laboratory of the EQ/UFRJ, in response to the demand of the Centro de Gestão e Estudos Estratégi- cos (CGEE), a centre connected to the Ministry of Science and Technology (MCT) (Antunes et al. 2004). 4 The terms were proposed by specialists at the State University of Campinas, referred by the CGEE/ MCT. 48 FENNIA 184: 1 (2006)M. S. De M. Alencar, C. Canongia and A. M. S. 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