Nanotechnology in China

Nanotechnology is basically defined as a set of upcoming technologies in which the structure of the matter is defined at the nanometer scale (the lowest level of atomic matter). These techniques are used to develop new materials and devices that have valuable and significant properties. Nanotechnology deals with structures that are of 100 nanometers or smaller. Nanotechnology is yet to find its roots globally as it is in its baby steps. But owing to its abundant advantages people have started to take notice of this emerging technology.

Nanotechnology is becoming popular in many countries day by day, the US being the foremost on the list. Before the year 2000, China was not involved in nanotechnology research nor did it evince much interest in it. Soon after, the Chinese started taking notice of this technology and today it has become one of the most important topics of research. Research is mainly carried out in the most economic centers of China like Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong etc. This shows the amount of interest China is showing towards research in Nanotechnology.

China has also joined hands with many nanotech companies in the US and Europe for research. This was mainly possible because of the amount of interest the Chinese government took to extend its research in the field of nanotechnology. In 2001, China set up a center called Shanghai Nanotech Promotion Center (SNPC) which was primarily responsible for in depth research and development and to prepare sophisticated tools required for nanotech research.

This led to a massive revolution in the field of nanotech research in China. The Chinese government created a lot of free spaces for nanotech firms to be set up. The intention behind this was to focus more into R&D related to medical and biological technologies, electric components at the nano level. The government also created various investment opportunities to nanotech companies and more importance was given to firms involved in research related to nanotechnology. In 2001, China also set up the Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science (SYN) which was to compete with countries like the US, Japan and Germany in nano research. In 2003, China also set up a Nanotech Park. This was the time when China was investing a lot of money in nanotech projects and nanotechnology research was flourishing in China.

Now, China is fully equipped to be a leading light in the field of nanotechnology research. Many institutions in China and Beijing have set up their research and development centers which are actively involved in nanotechnology research. With the amount of investment and research China has spent on nanotechnology they are now ready to challenge the US in terms of Nanotechnology research. Recent results show that the market for nanotechnology products and systems will increase by 6 times by 2010 and nearly 25 times by the year 2015. This is a great jump considering the fact that China has entered the nanotechnology segment. The Chinese are confident of capturing 6% of the world market share in nanotech by 2010 and 15% by 2015. With world class research centers and well trained scientists and the active participation of the Chinese government one can be sure that China will become the number one country in Nanotech research pretty soon.

http://www.snpc.org.cn/english/testing.asp

http://www.synl.ac.cn/english/introduction.htm

http://www.azonano.com/news.asp?newsID=1261