Author Guidelines

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Preliminary Approval of Articles

Manuscripts are submitted in response to an invitation, which may come at the advice of the editorial board or in response to an author’s proposal. Authors wishing to submit a proposal for an article or a viewpoint should follow the instructions given in detail below. Proposals will be reviewed by the editorial board, who may consult the editorial advisory board or other experts, and final decisions regarding a subsequent invitation to submit will be forwarded by the Editor-in-Chief. The editorial board will not consider proposals from authors whose work has been recently highlighted in the journal (typically, the past two years), except under special circumstances. Key to a successful proposal is a convincing statement that addresses the following questions: Why this topic? Why these authors? Why now?

 

When responding to an invitation, authors should closely follow the instructions presented in the Preparation of Manuscripts section below to expedite the review and publication of their work. Each submission must include the author’s postal and e-mail addresses and telephone numbers.

 

All manuscripts, whether specifically solicited by the Editor-in-Chief or invited in response to a proposal, are sent to competent readers for criticism both of scientific content and of readability.

 

Scope of the Journal

Accounts of Materials Research is a journal of concise articles describing recent research developments in materials science and engineering. Each Account is directed not only to specialists in the field but also to a broad range of scientists who wish to keep abreast of the best current research in fields other than their own. Readability by the non-expert is therefore essential. Most manuscripts are submitted after invitation by the Editor-in-Chief, but unsolicited proposals, which may result in an invitation to submit a manuscript, are also considered.

 

Materials research is diverse and inclusive by nature. We believe in the strength of diversity in all its forms because inclusion of and respect for diverse people, experiences, and ideas lead to superior materials solutions to societal challenges and advancement of materials research itself globally.

Manuscript Types

Articles

A typical Account discusses a topic of intense interest to the author and focuses primarily on the author’s own experimental or theoretical results. Unpublished data may be included, but only to a minor extent. Articles should present salient experimental discoveries and theoretical results, interpret their significance, establish perspective with respect to earlier work and to contemporary research by other investigators, evaluate the present state of the subject, and cast a glance to the future.

 

A good introduction, including a historical orientation, is critical. Terms and concepts unique to the research area must be carefully explained or defined. A short section of concluding remarks should discuss the broader significance of the work, view it in perspective, and mention applications or future prospects. Accounts looks with favor on styles of presentation somewhat less formal than those that prevail in much scientific writing. Comprehensive reviews do not fall within the mission of Accounts.

Viewpoints

Viewpoints examine critically a question of current interest and draw new generalizations or new perspectives from the evidence. These brief non-peer reviewed opinions include theoretical implications, mechanistic interpretation, significance of data, or definitive experiments and should not be laudatory or for establishing priority. Controversial viewpoints are welcome, as are ones expressing opinions contrasting with those in published Accounts. Viewpoints are substantially shorter than articles. The author should be an expert in the field.

ACS Researcher Resources

While this document will provide basic information on how to prepare and submit the manuscript as well as other critical information about publishing, we also encourage authors to visit ACS Researcher Resources for additional information on everything that is needed to prepare (and review) manuscripts for ACS journals and partner journals, such as

  • Mastering the Art of Scientific Publication, which shares editor tips about a variety of topics including making your paper scientifically effective, preparing excellent graphics, and writing cover letters.
  • Resources on how to prepare and submit a manuscript to ACS Paragon Plus, ACS Publications’ manuscript submission and peer review environment, including details on selecting the applicable Journal Publishing Agreement.
  • Sharing your research with the public through the ACS Publications open access program.
  • ACS Reviewer Lab, a free online course covering best practices for peer review and related ethical considerations. 
  • ACS Author Lab, a free online course that empowers authors to prepare and submit strong manuscripts, avoiding errors that could lead to delays in the publication process.
  • ACS Inclusivity Style Guide, a guide that helps researchers communicate in ways that recognize and respect diversity in all its forms.

Manuscript Preparation

Submit with Fast Format

All ACS journals and partner journals have simplified their formatting requirements in favor of a streamlined and standardized format for an initial manuscript submission. Read more about the requirements and the benefits these serves authors and reviewers here.

 

Manuscripts submitted for initial consideration must adhere to these standards:

  • Submissions must be complete with clearly identified standard sections used to report original research, free of annotations or highlights, and include all numbered and labeled components.
  • Figures, charts, tables, schemes, and equations should be embedded in the text at the point of relevance. Separate graphics can be supplied later at revision, if necessary.
  • When required by a journal's structure or length limitations, manuscript templates should be used.
  • References can be provided in any style, but they must be complete, including titles. For information about the required components of different reference types, please refer to the ACS Style Quick Guide.
  • Supporting Information must be submitted as a separate file(s).

Document Templates and Format

The templates facilitate the peer review process by allowing authors to place artwork and tables close to the point where they are discussed within the text. Learn more about document templates here.

 

General information on the preparation of manuscripts may also be found in the ACS Guide to Scholarly Communication.

Acceptable Software, File Designations, and TeX/LaTeX

See the list of Acceptable Software and appropriate File Designations to be sure your file types are compatible with ACS Paragon Plus. Information for manuscripts generated from TeX/LaTeX is also available.

Cover Letter

A cover letter must accompany every manuscript submission. During the submission process, you may type it or paste it into the submission system, or you may attach it as a file.

Manuscript Text Components

Manuscript Length

Manuscripts are limited to 6,000 words. This includes the text, author names, biographical sketches, tables, and figure legends. Do not include the conspectus, author addresses, acknowledgments, or references in your count. A typical manuscript should have about 50 references. Authors will be expected to abide by this rule and to submit a statement from the corresponding author indicating the word count of the article and how it was obtained. Articles with word counts over 6,000 words will be returned to the authors for editing before going through the review process.

 

Viewpoints are substantially shorter than articles; brevity and clarity are essential. Viewpoints do not include conspectuses or TOC/abstract graphics. Authors are encouraged to discuss the format, style and length with the editors.

Conspectus

The conspectus is an enhanced and expanded one-page abstract of approximately 400–500 words that follows the structure of the manuscript and includes one helpful and eye-catching graphic. It is highlighted to stand out from the article and serves two principal purposes:

  • To summarize the Account for the general reader who may not have the time or deep interest in the material to read beyond the conspectus
  • To entice the reader into reading the rest of the Account

 

The conspectus should summarize the reason for the work, the most significant results, and the conclusions. Each conspectus should include motivation (why every chemist should care about the problem and its results), techniques used, results and discoveries, and conclusions and implications.

Supporting Information

This information is provided to the reviewers during the peer-review process (for Review Only) and is available to readers of the published work (for Publication). Supporting Information must be submitted at the same time as the manuscript. See the list of Acceptable Software by File Designation and confirm that your Supporting Information is viewable.

 

If the manuscript is accompanied by any supporting information files for publication, these files will be made available free of charge to readers. A brief, nonsentence description of the actual contents of each file, including the file type extension, is required. This description should be labeled Supporting Information and should appear before the Acknowledgement and Reference sections.  Examples of sufficient and insufficient descriptions are as follows:

 

Examples of sufficient descriptions: “Supporting Information: 1H NMR spectra for all compounds (PDF)” or “Additional experimental details, materials, and methods, including photographs of experimental setup (DOC)”.

 

Examples of insufficient descriptions: “Supporting Information: Figures S1-S3” or “Additional figures as mentioned in the text”.

 

When including supporting information for review only, include copies of references that are unpublished or in-press. These files are available only to editors and reviewers.

Research Data Policy

All ACS journals strongly encourage authors to make the research data underlying their articles publicly available at the time of publication.

Research data is defined as materials and information used in the experiments that enable the validation of the conclusions drawn in the article, including primary data produced by the authors for the study being reported, secondary data reused or analyzed by the authors for the study, and any other materials necessary to reproduce or replicate the results.

The ACS Research Data Policy provides additional information on Data Availability Statements, Data Citation, and Data Repositories.

Language and Editing Services

A well-written paper helps share your results most clearly. ACS Publications’ English Editing Service is designed to help scientists communicate their research effectively. Our subject-matter expert editors will edit your manuscript for grammar, spelling, and other language errors so your ideas are presented at their best.

Preparing Graphics

The quality of illustrations in ACS journals and partner journals depends on the quality of the original files provided by the authors. Figures are not modified or enhanced by journal production staff. All graphics must be prepared and submitted in digital format.

 

Graphics should be inserted into the main body whenever possible. Please see Appendix 2 for additional information.

 

Any graphic (figure chart, scheme, or equation) that has appeared in an earlier publication should include a credit line citing the original source. Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission to re-use this material.

Figure and Illustration Services

The impact of your research is not limited to what you can express with words. Tables and figures such as graphs, photographs, illustrations, diagrams, and other visuals can play a significant role in effectively communicating your findings. Our Artwork Editing and Graphical Abstract services generate publication-ready figures and Table of Contents (TOC) graphics that conform to your chosen journal’s specifications. For figures, this includes changes to file type, resolution, color space, font, scale, line weights, and layout (to improve readability and professional appearance). For TOC graphics, our illustrators can work with a rough sketch or concept or help extract the key findings of your manuscript directly for use as a visual summary of your paper.

Preparing for Submission

Manuscripts, graphics, supporting information, and required forms, as well as manuscript revisions, must all be submitted in digital format through ACS Paragon Plus, which requires an ACS ID to log in. Registering for an ACS ID is fast, free, and does not require an ACS membership. Please refer to Appendix 1 for additional information on preparing your submission

Prior Publication Policy

Accounts of Materials Research authors may deposit an initial draft of their manuscript in a preprint service such as ChemRxiv, bioRxiv, arXiv, prior to submission to the journal. Please note any use of a preprint server in the cover letter, and as appropriate, state how the manuscript has been adjusted/updated between deposition and submission. All other prior/redundant publication is forbidden. Upon publication in Accounts of Materials Research, authors are advised to add a link from the preprint to the published paper via the Digital Object Identifier (DOI). For further details, please contact the Editorial Office. For the ACS Publications policy on theses and dissertations, click here.

Editorial Policies

Preparation of Proposals

Authors who do not have a specific invitation from the editor should first submit a proposal in electronic form via the ACS Paragon Plus Environment. Proposal authors should upload a single document in place of a manuscript that contains the following:

 

  • Proposed title
  • Corresponding author names, affiliations, websites and number of potential coauthors
  • Comments addressing the following questions:
    • Why this topic? Is this subject of interest to a broad range of materials researchers?
    • Why now? Does the topic address a current question at the frontiers of research in materials? Has the topic been overly reported in recent literature?
    • Why these authors? Has this group of authors made substantial contributions to the field? Do the authors have a unique perspective? What is the stage of career of the lead or corresponding authors?
  • A short (~400-word) description of the focused topic. Please bear in mind that an Account is not a comprehensive review nor a mini-review but rather a concise summary and analysis of a topic in which the author is an expert. Ideally, this description might be a draft of the Conspectus (see author guide for more detail) and be accompanied by an informative graphic. Alternatively, it can be a list of bullet points describing the key messages the Account intends to deliver.
  • A list of up to 10 lead references that might form the foundation of the final manuscript. Please list all authors and include the title of each reference. Typically, these are ones from the author’s own laboratory, but others may be included. It will be helpful to briefly explain (1-2 sentences) the relevance of these references to the proposed Account.
  • Notes about recent reviews on this topic written by the submitting authors or others and how the proposed Account would differ in focus.

 

Authors are encouraged to use the Proposal template for preparing proposals, but it is not required.

 

 

Submission of supporting information is not required. However, if the authors wish to upload additional materials, such as a key unpublished manuscript that might help inform the editorial board, it may be uploaded in PDF format as supporting information.

Preparation of Manuscripts

Preparation of Copy

The instructions of The ACS Style Guide, 3rd edition (2006)—available from Oxford University Press, Order Department, 201 Evans Road, Cary, NC 27513; http://pubs.acs.org/page/4authors/tools/index.html—are generally applicable.

 

An optional electronic manuscript template is available in several word processing versions. Please note: if the author chooses not to use the template, the text of the manuscript should be double-spaced.

 

Use at least one given name—“John S. Smith” rather than “J. S. Smith”—for each author. When there is more than one author, all authors and their addresses should be listed (do not include the addresses in the word count). Use an asterisk to indicate the person to whom correspondence should be addressed. Place references and footnotes (double-spaced) at the end of the manuscript. Tables may be included near the desired point of placement in the file or at the end. Illustrations (figures, schemes, charts, structural formulas, and so on) may be embedded in the manuscript file (preferably) or submitted as separate graphic files.

 

For more information, including information regarding acceptable Word processing packages, see the website.

Reproduction of Published Tables, Figures, Charts, and Other Materials

In general, published material cannot be reprinted without permission of the copyright holder, even if it is from an article previously written by the author. (However, permission to reprint artwork from ACS journals can be taken for granted, unless another party holds copyright, as long as the appropriate credit is given in the figure caption as detailed below). To reprint materials from non-ACS journals, it is the obligation of the author to secure permission from the publisher (and author, if requested by the publisher) and to be certain that the permission includes ALL formats, including, but not limited to, print, electronic, CD ROM, and World Wide Web. Failure to obtain the proper permissions results in publication delays.

 

Note: Rightslink versus the Publisher Request Form: If you are using material from other publishers, check their Web sites first to see if they use Rightslink or if they will accept written permission requests. Most publishers are now using the Rightslink permission system (including Wiley, Elsevier, AAAS, ACS). Once you open an account in Rightslink, you may use that same account with all publishers that use Rightslink, and you will receive your permissions much faster. Ask for permission in both print and electronic formats. Upload the completed permission forms with the File Designation “Other Files for Editors Only.” The link to the Permissions/Rightslink webpage can be found here.

 

The fact that such permission has been granted should be appropriately acknowledged in the manuscript (commonly as part of a caption) by citing the reference, year of publication, and publisher as well as any other information specified in the letter granting permission. (For example: Reprinted with permission from ref 42. Copyright 1996 American Institute of Physics.) If permission to use a previously published figure is received, the legend to the original figure (with proper permission statement added) can be included in the Accounts of Materials Research article. The author should retain in his or her own files documentation that grants copyright permission. Any questions regarding permission to reprint or fees for permission to reprint a figure or scheme should be directed to the ACS Copyright Office (copyright@acs.org).

Formulas and Equations

Empirical and structural formulas and mathematical and chemical equations should be arranged to fill adequately the width of a single column. Avoid complicated superscripts and subscripts, and use fractional exponents instead of root signs. Structural formulas should be submitted as graphics and should fill space economically, using bonds and arrows vertically, horizontally, or diagonally, whenever possible. Do not use chemical structures when a simple formula will suffice, e.g., (CH3)2NCH2CONH2.

References

References must include article titles. References and all notes regardless of their nature (except those in tables) should be numbered in one consecutive series. Use the superscript number corresponding to the original reference to avoid repetition of references. Reference numbers in the text should be prepared as superscripts without parentheses, and in the references and notes section following the text, the reference numbers should be formatted as Arabic numerals on baseline as shown in the examples 1–4. Do not include bibliographic references to classified documents and reports or to unpublished material not generally available to the scientific public. The accuracy of the references is the responsibility of the author. Because hyperlinks are now added to many references in the Web edition of the journal, reference accuracy is critical.

 

Bibliographic references should be arranged and punctuated as shown:

 

1. Doe, J. S.; Smith, J.; Roe, P. Stereochemistry of Diels–Alder Reactions. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1968, 90, 8234–8265.

 

For work published online (ASAP) and work submitted for publication (e.g., submitted; in press), the DOI should be furnished in addition to the standard bibliographic information. Authors are given instruction for citing work by DOI in an email communication when manuscript proofs are made available. A DOI is assigned to each manuscript and should be in the form http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ar000000a. DOI is an accepted form of citation before and after the article appears in an issue.

 

2. Doe, J. S.; Smith, J.; Roe, P. Stereochemistry of Diels–Alder Reactions. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2012, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ja300123a.

 

Include the initials of authors, article title, and the journal abbreviation used in the Chemical Abstracts Service Source Index (CASSI) 1907–2004 Cumulative and its supplements. Inclusive pagination as indicated in example 1 is required.

 

References to all other publications should include author(s), title, volume, publisher, address, date of publication, and pages, thus:

 

3. Smith, A. B. Textbook of Organic Chemistry; D. C. Jones: New York, 1961; pp 123–126.

 

4. Wawzonek, S. Potentiometry: Oxidation–Reduction Potentials. In Techniques of Chemistry; Weissburger, A., Rossiter, B. W., Eds.; Wiley-Interscience: New York, 1971; Vol. IIA, Chapter 1.

Biographical Information

Biographical Information should be submitted for each author and include universities attended and degrees obtained, principal professional posts held, present title, a line or two about other major research interests, and anything else professionally relevant that is of special interest. This information must be included with the manuscript submission. Biographical information is required for Accounts and may be included for some types of Viewpoints. Authors are encouraged to discuss the format with the editors.

Author Photo Guidelines

Authors are encouraged to include a group photo featuring all or some of the authors in the accepted manuscript. Alternatively, authors may include individual photos for up to 3 authors. If authors choose to submit their photos, please bear in mind that the photographer must sign the Copyright Transfer Form for Artwork/Photos. This is usually easier for new photos taken by the authors themselves or a colleague.

 

1. Graphic format

  • Color or black and white (grayscale) photos are ok.
  • Various file formats can be used.
    1. .tif., .pdf, .eps are preferred.
    2. .tif and .eps files are used directly. Other formats are converted to .tif format.
    3. Color .tif files should have 300 dpi resolution. Grayscale .tif files should have 600 dpi resolution.

 

2. Copyright

  • Model Release Form: Signed by the person in the photo. If it is a group photo, each person in the photo must sign a separate form. If a person is deceased, a designated legal representative must sign the form.
  • Copyright Transfer Form for Artwork/Photos: Signed by the copyright owner (usually the photographer). If the photo was taken by the person in the photo, that person must sign the form. If the copyright owner is deceased, a designated legal representative must sign the form.

 

3. Group photos will be cropped and sized to single column width for publication. It is best not to include a lot of content other than the authors. (Note: Logos (like school and company names, logos) cannot be published due to copyright infringement so they must not be in a photo.) Authors should be in the order of the authorship of the paper, but not required. Provide a caption with the author names in the order of individuals in the photo. Provide a photo credit to identify who took the photo.

 

4. Individual photos will be cropped and sized to single column width for publication. They will be published in the order of the authorship. Portrait images (head, neck, shoulders) are best. Provide a photo credit to identify who took the photo.

Manuscript Review

All manuscripts, whether specifically solicited by the Editor-in-Chief or invited in response to a proposal, are sent to competent readers for criticism both of scientific content and of readability.

 

Although the Editor-in-Chief is fully responsible for decisions about the manuscript, the author is invited and encouraged to recommend appropriate reviewers for his or her work at the time of submission. The name of a reviewer will not be disclosed to an author without the reviewer’s consent.

Antiredundancy

Articles are not acceptable if they substantially duplicate a contemporary review or book chapter on the same subject by the same author, unless (a) the review or book is far more comprehensive than the Account or (b) the point of view is wholly different (for example, if one article emphasizes synthesis and another problems of structure). The author is expected to inform the Editor-in-Chief of the existence of other reviews or book chapters on the same subject recently published or planned for the near future by that author.

Providing Potential Reviewer Names

Please suggest 5-6 reviewers. Authors are encouraged to avoid suggesting reviewers from the authors’ institutions. Do not suggest reviewers who may have a real or perceived conflict of interest. Whenever possible, suggest academic email addresses rather than personal email addresses.

Manuscript Transfer

If your submission is declined for publication by this journal, the editors might deem your work to be better suited for another ACS Publications journal or partner journal and suggest that the authors consider transferring the submission. Manuscript Transfer simplifies and shortens the process of submitting to another ACS journal or partner journal, as all the coauthors, suggested reviewers, manuscript files, and responses to submission questions are copied by ACS Paragon Plus to the new draft submission. Authors are free to accept or decline the transfer offer.

 

Note that each journal is editorially independent. Transferring a manuscript is not a guarantee that the manuscript will be accepted, as the final publication decision will belong to the editor of the next journal.

PRODUCTION AND PUBLICATION

Proofs via ACS Direct Correct

Correction of the galley proofs is the responsibility of the Corresponding Author. The Corresponding Author of an accepted manuscript will receive e-mail notification and complete instructions when page proofs are available for review via ACS Direct Correct. Extensive or important changes on page proofs, including changes to the title or list of authors, are subject to review by the editor.

 

It is the responsibility of the Corresponding Author to ensure that all authors listed on the manuscript agree with the changes made on the proofs. Galley proofs should be returned within 48 hours in order to ensure timely publication of the manuscript.

Publication Date and Patent Dates

Accepted manuscripts will be published on the ACS Publications Web site as soon as page proofs are corrected and all author concerns are resolved. The first date on which the document is published on the Web is considered the publication date.

 

Publication of manuscripts on the Web may occur weeks in advance of the cover date of the issue of publication. Authors should take this into account when planning their patent and intellectual property activities related to a document and should ensure that all patent information is available at the time of first publication, whether ASAP or issue publication.

 

All articles published ahead of print receive a unique Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number, which is used to cite the manuscript before and after the paper appears in an issue. Additionally, any supplemental information submitted along with the manuscript will automatically be assigned a DOI and hosted on Figshare to promote open data discoverability and use of your research outputs.

ASAP Publication

Manuscripts will be published on the “ASAP Articles” page on the web as soon as page proofs are corrected and all author concerns are resolved. ASAP publication usually occurs within a few working days of receipt of page proof corrections, which can be several weeks in advance of the cover date of the issue.

Post-Publication Policies

The American Chemical Society follows guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) when considering any ethical concerns regarding a published article, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern.

Additions and Corrections

Additions and Corrections may be requested by the author(s) or initiated by the Editor to address important issues or correct errors and omissions of consequence that arise after publication of an article. All Additions and Corrections are subject to approval by the Editor, and should bring new and directly relevant information and corrections that fix scientific facts. Minor corrections and additions will not be published. Readers who detect errors of consequence in the work of others should contact the corresponding author of that work.

 

Additions and Corrections must be submitted as new manuscripts via ACS Paragon Plus by the Corresponding Author for publication in the “Addition/Correction” section of the Journal. The corresponding author should obtain approval from all coauthors prior to submitting or provide evidence that such approval has been solicited. The manuscript should include the original article title and author list, citation including DOI, and details of the correction.

Retractions

Articles may be retracted for scientific or ethical reasons and may be requested by the article author(s) or by the journal Editor(s), but are ultimately published at the discretion of the Editor. Articles that contain seriously flawed or erroneous data such that their findings and conclusions cannot be relied upon may be retracted in order to correct the scientific record. When an article is retracted, a notice of Retraction will be published containing information about the reason for the Retraction. The originally published article will remain online except in extraordinary circumstances (e.g. where deemed legally necessary, or if the availability of the published content poses public health risks).

Expressions of Concern

Expressions of Concern may be issued at the discretion of the Editor if:

  • there is inconclusive evidence of research or publication misconduct by the authors;
  • there is evidence that the findings are unreliable but the authors’ institution will not investigate the case;
  • an investigation into alleged misconduct related to the publication either has not been, or would not be, fair and impartial or conclusive;
  • an investigation is underway but a judgment will not be available for a considerable time.

 

Upon completion of any related investigation, and when a final determination is made about the outcome of the article, the Expression of Concern may be replaced with a Retraction notice or Correction.

Sharing Your Published Article

At ACS Publications, we know it is important for you to be able to share your peer reviewed, published work with colleagues in the global community of scientists. As sharing on sites known as scholarly collaboration networks (SCNs) is becoming increasingly prevalent in today’s scholarly research ecosystem, we would like to remind you of the many ways in which you, a valued ACS author, can share your published work.

 

Publishing open access makes it easy to share your work with friends, colleagues, and family members. In addition, ACS Publications makes it easy to share your newly published research with ACS Articles on Request (see below). Don’t forget to promote your research and related data on social media, at conferences, and through scholarly communication networks. Increase the impact of your research using the following resources: Altmetrics, Figshare, ACS Certified Deposit

E-Prints

When your article is published in an ACS journal or partner journal, corresponding authors are provided with a link that offers up to 50 free digital prints of the final published work. This link is valid for the first 12 months following online publication, and can be shared via email or an author’s website. After one year, the access restrictions to your article will be lifted, and you can share the Articles on Request URL on social media and other channels. To access all your Articles on Request links, log in to your ACS Researcher Resources account and visit the “My Published Manuscripts” page.

Reprints

Article, journal, and commercial reprints are available to order.

Appendix 1: PREPARING FOR SUBMISSION

We’ve developed ACS’ publishing and editorial policies in consultation with the research communities that we serve, including authors and librarians. Browse our policies below to learn more.

Ethical Guidelines

ACS editors have provided Ethical Guidelines for persons engaged in the publication of chemical research—specifically, for editors, authors, and reviewers. Each journal also has a specific policy on prior publication.

OFAC Compliance

As a U.S.-based non-profit organization, the American Chemical Society (ACS) is required to comply with U.S. sanctions laws and regulations administered by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). While these laws and regulations permit U.S.-based publishers like ACS to engage in publishing-related activities with authors located in sanctioned regions in many cases, ACS may be prohibited under U.S. law from engaging in publishing-related activities in some cases, including, but not limited to, instances where an author or the institution with which an author is affiliated is located in a particular sanctioned region or has been designated by OFAC as a Specially Designated National (SDN) pursuant to certain U.S. sanctions programs. ACS reserves the right to refrain from engaging in any publishing-related activities that ACS determines in its sole discretion may be in violation of U.S. law.

 

Safety Considerations

Authors must emphasize any unexpected, new, and/or significant hazards or risks associated with the reported work. This information should be in the Experimental Section of a full article and included in the main text of a letter. Statement examples can be found in the Safety Statement Style Sheet and additional information on communicating safety information from the ACS Guide to Scholarly Communication is freely available here.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

A statement describing any financial conflicts of interest or lack thereof is published in each ACS journal and partner journal article.

 

During the submission process, the Corresponding Author must provide a statement on behalf of all authors of the manuscript, describing all potential sources of bias, including affiliations, funding sources, and financial or management relationships, that may constitute conflicts of interest. If the manuscript is accepted, the statement will be published in the final article.

 

If the manuscript is accepted and no conflict of interest has been declared, the following statement will be published in the final article: “The authors declare no competing financial interest.”

Plagiarism

In publishing only original research, ACS is committed to deterring plagiarism, including self-plagiarism. ACS Publications uses CrossCheck's iThenticate software to screen submitted manuscripts for similarity to published material. Note that your manuscript may be screened during the submission process.

 

Further information about plagiarism can be found in Part B of the Ethical Guidelines to Publication of Chemical Research. See also the press release regarding ACS' participation in the CrossCheck initiative.

Authorship, Author List, and Coauthor Notification

Authors are required to obtain the consent of all their coauthors prior to submitting a manuscript. The submitting author accepts the responsibility of notifying all coauthors that the manuscript is being submitted.

 

During manuscript submission, the submitting author must provide contact information (full name, email address, institutional affiliation, and mailing address) for all of the coauthors. Because all of the author names are automatically imported into the electronic Journal Publishing Agreement, the names must be entered into ACS Paragon Plus. (Note that coauthors are not required to register in ACS Paragon Plus.) Author affiliation should reflect where the work was completed, even if the author has since left that institution. Authors may include a note with a current address if their institution has changed since the work was completed.

 

To expedite the processing of your manuscript, please format your author and affiliation information according the guidelines in this link: https://pubsapp.acs.org/paragonplus/submission/author-address-information.pdf.

 

Criteria for authorship can be found in Part B of the Ethical Guidelines to Publication of Chemical Research. Artificial intelligence (AI) tools do not qualify for authorship. The use of AI tools for text or image generation should be disclosed in the manuscript within the Acknowledgment section with a description of when and how the tools were used. For more substantial use cases or descriptions of AI tool use, authors should provide full details within the Methods or other appropriate section of the manuscript.

 

If any change in authorship is necessary after a manuscript has been submitted, confirmation is required that all of the authors (including those being added or removed) have been notified and have agreed to the change. To provide this confirmation, authors are asked to complete and sign an authorship change form and provide the completed form to the appropriate editorial office.

 

Authors with a single name: If you, or any of your coauthors, have only one name, please follow these steps for proper submission to ACS Paragon Plus:

  1. First (Given) Name Field: Enter an asterisk (*) into the "First (Given) Name" field.
  2. Last (Family) Name Field: Enter your single name into the "Last (Family) Name" field.

If your paper is accepted, the asterisk (*) will be removed from the published version of the paper.

 

 

Patent Activities and Intellectual Property

Authors are responsible for ensuring that all patent activities and intellectual property issues are satisfactorily resolved prior to first publication (ASAP or in issue). Acceptance and publication will not be delayed for pending or unresolved issues of this nature.

Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID)

Authors submitting manuscript revisions are required to provide their own personal, validated ORCID iD before completing the submission, if an ORCID iD is not already associated with their ACS Paragon Plus user profiles. This ID may be provided during original manuscript submission or when submitting the manuscript revision. All authors are strongly encouraged to register for an ORCID iD, a unique researcher identifier. The ORCID iD will be displayed in the published article for any author on a manuscript who has a validated ORCID iD associated with ACS when the manuscript is accepted.

 

ORCID iDs should not be typed into the manuscript. ACS publishes only those ORCID iDs that have been properly verified and linked before the manuscript is accepted. After your ORCID iD is linked, it will be displayed automatically in all subsequently accepted manuscripts for any/all ACS journals. We do not publish ORCID iDs provided during proof review or via other communications after a manuscript is accepted for publication.

 

With an ORCID iD, you can create a profile of your research activities to distinguish yourself from other researchers with similar names, and make it easier for your colleagues to find your publications. If you do not yet have an ORCID iD, or you wish to associate your existing ORCID iD with your ACS Paragon Plus account, you may do so by clicking on “Edit Your Profile” from your ACS Paragon Plus account homepage and following the ORCID-related links. Learn more at www.orcid.org.

To obtain forms and guidelines for completing the Journal Publishing Agreement or obtaining permissions from copyright owners, and to explore a Copyright Learning Module for chemists, click here.

Funder Reporting Requirement

Authors are required to report funding sources and grant/award numbers. Enter ALL sources of funding for ALL authors in BOTH the Funder Registry Tool in ACS Paragon Plus and in your manuscript to meet this requirement.

Open Access Compliance

ACS offers options by which authors can fulfill the requirements for open access and deposition into repositories for funded research. Visit our ACS Open Science site to see how to fulfill requirements for specific funders and to find out if you are eligible to publish under a Read + Publish agreement between ACS and your institution. You can also find out more about Open Access Compliance and ACS Open Science initiatives.

Diversity and Inclusion Statement

During manuscript submission, ACS journal authors have the option to submit a statement sharing information related to diversity and inclusion that is relevant for their paper. If supplying a diversity and inclusion statement, the corresponding author must provide this on behalf of all authors of the manuscript during the submission process. These statements include but are not limited to analysis of citation diversity and acknowledgment of indigenous land on which research was conducted. Statements expressing political beliefs are not permitted and may be removed by the journal office. All statements are subject to final review by the Editor.

  • Citation Diversity Statement:The citation diversity statement should appear in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript. ACS recommends including the following: (1) the importance of citation diversity, (2) the proportion of citations by gender and race/ethnicity for the first and last authors, (3) the method used to determine those proportions and its limitations, and (4) steps taken to by the authors to improve citation diversity in the article. We recognize that one limitation of the current methods is that it cannot account for intersex, non-binary, and transgender people, or Indigenous and mixed-race authors. (Adapted from BMES/Springer Guidelines)
  • Land acknowledgment:The land acknowledgment statement should appear in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript. The statement should link to the institutions’ formal land acknowledgments on which the research took place, if possible. Further guidance for creating these statements can be found here: https://nativegov.org/news/a-guide-to-indigenous-land-acknowledgment/.

 

Appendix 2: Preparing Graphics

Resolution

Digital graphics pasted into manuscripts should have the following minimum resolutions:

  • Black and white line art, 1200 dpi
  • Grayscale art, 600 dpi
  • Color art, 300 dpi

Size

Graphics must fit a one- or two-column format. Single-column graphics can be sized up to 240 points wide (3.33 in.) and double-column graphics must be sized between 300 and 504 points (4.167 in. and 7 in.). The maximum depth for all graphics is 660 points (9.167 in.) including the caption (allow 12 pts. For each line of caption text). Lettering should be no smaller than 4.5 points in the final published format. The text should be legible when the graphic is viewed full-size. Helvetica or Arial fonts work well for lettering. Lines should be no thinner than 0.5 point.

Color

Color may be used to enhance the clarity of complex structures, figures, spectra, and schemes, etc., and color reproduction of graphics is provided at no additional cost to the author. Graphics intended to appear in black and white or grayscale should not be submitted in color.

Type of Graphics

Table of Contents (TOC)/Abstract Graphic

Consult the Guidelines for Table of Contents/Abstract Graphics for specifications.

Our team of subject-matter experts and graphical designers can also help generate a compelling TOC graphic to convey your key findings. Learn more about our Graphical Abstract service.

Figures

A caption giving the figure number and a brief description must be included below each figure. The caption should be understandable without reference to the text. It is preferable to place any key to symbols used in the artwork itself, not in the caption. Ensure that any symbols and abbreviations used in the text agree with those in the artwork.

Charts

Charts (groups of structures that do not show reactions) may have a brief caption describing their contents.

Tables

Each table must have a brief (one phrase or sentence) title that describes the contents. The title should be understandable without reference to the text. Details should be put in footnotes, not in the title. Tables should be used when the data cannot be presented clearly in the narrative, when many numbers must be presented, or when more meaningful inter-relationships can be conveyed by the tabular format. Tables should supplement, not duplicate, information presented in the text and figures. Tables should be simple and concise.

Schemes

Each scheme (sequences of reactions) may have a brief caption describing its contents.

Chemical Structures

Chemical structures should be produced with the use of a drawing program such as ChemDraw.

Cover Art

Accounts of Materials Research authors are encouraged to submit images to be considered for use on the journal’s front cover or Supplementary Covers at the time of the submission of their revised manuscript. If your article is accepted for publication, your suggestion may also be selected for use on one of the journal’s covers. Images chosen for the front cover will be published at no cost to the author. If your art is selected for front cover, ACS will send you information about how to request one complimentary 18” by 24” printed poster featuring your work.

 

Cover image submissions should be colorful and visually engaging, with minimal text. The cover image should not resemble a graphical abstract or data figure, but rather should be an attractive, chemically relevant illustration representative of the manuscript. 

 

Image files should be submitted as TIF, JPG, PNG or EPS files with a resolution of at least 300 dpi for pixel-based images. Images should be 8.19 in. x 10 in. (or 20.9 cm x 25.4 cm). Please note that the journal title will cover the top 2 in. (5.08 cm) and a color bar covers the left 1.75" (4.45 cm) of the image. Authors should submit the cover image, along with a short, clear legend explaining the image, as supplementary files to ACS Paragon Plus with their revised manuscript.

 

If you wish to be considered only for the front cover, and not a paid supplementary cover, please respond NO accordingly to the Journal Covers question in ACS Paragon Plus. For more information on the Supplementary Covers program, please see this webpage. All art submitted for consideration for a supplementary cover will also be considered for a front cover.

Web Enhanced Objects (WEO)

The Web editions of ACS journals allow readers to view multimedia attachments such as animations and movies that complement understanding of the research being reported.

 

WEOs should be uploaded in ACS Paragon Plus with ‘Web Enhanced Object’ selected as the file designation. Consult the list of compatible WEO formats.

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