R & D on carbon nanostructures in Russia: scientometric analysis, 1990–2011

The analysis, based on scientific publications and patents, was conducted to form an understanding of the overall scientific and technology landscape in the field of carbon nanostructures and determine Russia’s place on it. The scientific publications came from the Science Citation Index Expanded database (DB SCIE); the patent information was extracted from databases of the United States Patent and Trade Office (USPTO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent). We used also data about research projects, obtained via information systems of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR). Bibliometric methods are used to rank countries, institutions, and scientists, contributing to the carbon nanostructures research. We analyze the current state and trends of the research in Russia as compared to other countries, and the contribution and impact of its institutions, especially research of the “highest quality.” Considerable focus is on research collaboration and its relationship with citation impact. Patent datasets are used to determine the composition of participants of innovative processes and international patent activity of Russian inventors in the field, and to identify the most active representatives of small and medium business and some technological developments ripe for commercialization. The article contains a critical analysis of the findings, including a policy discussion of the country’s scientific authorities.