TEHRAN – Attending the Asian Nano Forum in Japan, Emad Ahmadvand, the secretary of the headquarters for the Iran Nanotechnology Innovation Council, has presented an account of the country’s progress and accomplishments in the nanotechnology sector.

The conference is being held on the sidelines of the 25th International Nanotechnology Exhibition and Conference, known as Nano Tech 2026, taking place from January 27 to 31, 2026, in Tokyo, Japan.

Representatives from Japan, Iran, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and South Korea have attended the forum. The event has provided a great opportunity for sharing expertise and developing regional collaboration in nanotechnology.

On the first day of the forum, Ahmadvand delivered a lecture expounding on the country’s latest achievements and advancements in nanotechnology. The official elaborated on the current status of nanotechnology and its commercialization in Iran, showcasing the country’s capacities, infrastructure, and political experiences.

Supported by the Organization for Development of International Cooperation in Science and Technology, Iranian knowledge-based companies are participating in Nano Tech 2026.

Nano Tech 2026 is themed ‘Bridge to Future Business: Innovating Nanotechnology’. It is a place where innovative materials and next-generation devices are gathered to explore the implementation of future technologies in society based on nanotechnology, an important common base technology for research and development.

The exhibition serves as a great platform for knowledge-based firms to showcase their products and achievements in different fields like materials, nanocarbon, cellulose nanofibers, graphene, electron microscopes, analytics, nano fabrication, solid state batteries, 5G, 6G, and the environment.

Nanotechnology leaps forward

Iran has made significant progress in nanotechnology over a year (August 2024 -August 2025), with more than a 100 percent increase in nanotech products exports, indexing 10,860 articles in the Web of Science (WoS), and being ranked sixth in publishing nanotech articles.

Having published a total of 4,615 articles in the top 25 percent of journals (Q1 journals) in 2024, Iran is placed among the top ten countries in publishing nanotechnology articles, ranking 12th in h-index for nano-articles in the world.

China, the U.S., and India, with 86,924, 14,473, and 11,194 articles, respectively, are the top three countries. Iran is atop England (4,360), Japan (4,022), and Spain (3,830) in the ranking, ISNA reported. The Q1 journal index is used to categorize scientific journals based on their impact. It is most commonly used in databases like Scimago Journal Rank (SJR) and Journal Citation Reports (JCR).

The Journal Citation Report (JCR) Impact Factor 2024 has cited 161 Iranian journals, naming five among the world’s most cited in the nanotechnology sector.

MT/MG