Updating a search strategy to track emerging nanotechnologies

Identifying nanoscience and nanotechnology (nano) publications in global databases is essential to profile and track research in this ever-changing field. Crafting an effective search query to retrieve as many nano-related publications as feasible, while excluding irrelevant publications, is challenging. This paper reports on a major update to a well-established nano-search routine. We offer a nine-module search that significantly augments retrieval from the Web of Science (WoS) compared with use of the WoS Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Category (Nano-WC). We compare search results, showing modular overlaps with a “Nano*” search, and among the modules. Analyzing the resulting set of 2.2 million nano-publication abstract records affirms the tremendous multidisciplinary reach of nano-related research and the continued strong growth of the field. By country, China has enhanced its role as the world’s leading producer of nano-publications, with slower growth for the USA. Relatively high nano-publication growth is also evident for India, Iran, and several other emerging economies. Analyses of nano-publications for 2013–2017 identify more than 20 emerging topics, primarily in the energy and two-dimensional material domains that are apt to be actively researched in the coming few years.