Author Guidelines

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Manuscript Submission Requirements Checklist

Before submitting your manuscript, please check the following (PDF copy):

 

Author List

  • All Coauthors are listed and correct e-mail addresses provided. (Remember to enter the first and last names in Paragon the same way as in the manuscript.)

 

Manuscript Title

  • The manuscript title is written in title case.
  • Uncommon acronyms and words like “First”, “Novel”, “Facile”, “Highly Efficient” or “One-Pot” are avoided.

 

Abstract

  • Abstract should not exceed 150 words for Letters and two sentences for Energy Express.
  • Reference citations should be avoided.
  • Abbreviations and acronyms, if any, are defined upon first usage.

 

Table of Contents Graphic

  • A "Table of Contents" (TOC) graphic is provided after the Abstract under the header “TOC Graphic.” The TOC graphic should be an illustration that best describes your overall work rather than a figure copied and pasted from the manuscript. The TOC graphic should be original and not contain any copyright-protected components. Final image size is 2 in high x 3 in wide (5 cm x 7.5 cm).

 

Main Text

  • Section headers are omitted.

 

References

  • References are individually numbered with only one citation per reference.
  • References adhere to correct journal style: include article titles (preferably in title case), journal abbreviation according to CASSI, proper punctuation and arrangement, and full page ranges.

 

Graphics and Tables

  • Figures and tables have captions. Figure insets, if any, are described in the caption.
  • Graphs include axes titles clearly identifying the variable and unit.
  • Tables and schemes have titles and may contain footnotes.
  • Figures and tables are submitted at final published size.
  • Lettering and scale bar dimensions are legible when graphic is viewed published size.

 

Supporting Information

  • Supporting Information (SI) for Publication and SI for Review Only, if any, are uploaded as separate files and not placed directly in the manuscript.
  • SI for Publication is described in a separate paragraph in the manuscript, placed immediately after Acknowledgments using the following template:
    • Supporting Information Available: Brief statement in non-sentence format listing the contents of the material supplied as Supporting Information

 

Notes

  • Include conflict of interest information, if any.

 

Acknowledgment

  • Include the name of the funding agency.

Scope of the Journal

ACS Energy Letters is dedicated to publishing new and original experimental and theoretical results dealing with all aspects of energy conversion and storage that report significant advance and/or insight such that rapid publication is essential. For more information, please see the journal website.

Manuscript Types

Letters are short articles that report results whose immediate availability to the scientific community is deemed important. Letters are limited to 2500 words orthe equivalent (8–10 doublespaced typewritten pages of text, 3–4 figures, and 1–2 schemes/illustrations). A brief abstract of fewerthan 150 words should be included. Special effort is made to expedite the reviewing and the publication of ACS Energy Letters papers. Thus, Authors should ensure that manuscripts are in final, error-free form when submitted.

 

Energy Express articles allow authors to publish breakthrough preliminary findings with great speed. Papers considered as Energy Express articles are peer-reviewed communications that represent major breakthroughs, urgency, and broad interest. Energy Express are short (1-2 printed pages, ~1000 words), consist of no more than two graphics (one scheme, one figure and/or a table) with a brief discussion of results/analysis. Authors must present their breakthrough advance in a 1-2- sentence (max) abstract and highlight the broader appeal in the first paragraph of the introduction. The number of references should not exceed 15. It is important to adhere to these guidelines to avoid significant editing or requests to cut content at the galley stage. The TOC graphic should be a scheme or illustration. A brief statement explaining how the manuscript meets the criteria of rapid communication should be included in the author’s cover letter.

 

Perspectives (by invitation only) are brief, peer-reviewed reports (4-6 journal pages) highlighting an emerging topic of broad interest to energy researchers. These reports are not intended to be a comprehensive look at the field but rather to place a particular research finding into broader context. The emphasis should be on the future outlook of an emerging topic rather than a historical overview of it. Perspectives should include a brief abstract (150 words max), approximately 50 references, and a TOC/Abstract graphic, short author biographies, and selected quotes to highlight key topics in the Perspective. The quotes must be unique to the current work being reported and not from previously cited work. Authors of Perspectives are encouraged to also submit a video (3-5 min clip) highlighting the theme of their Perspective.

Potential authors are encouraged to submit proposals for Perspectives. As part of the proposal, send an email to eic@energylett.acs.org including a brief outline along with a list of five key publications by the authors in the topic of the proposed Perspective. If the proposal is evaluated favorably by the editorial board, authors will receive a formal invitation encouraging submission of the complete Perspective article.

 

Reviews and Focus Reviews provide historical background of the field and key findings that are responsible for the growth of research activity in a specific research area. They should provide a compelling scientific story that is informative and instructive. Focus Reviews are short reviews converging on a narrow or subset of an emerging topic, while Reviews provide comprehensive coverage of progress made in the selected research topic. Mere presentation of data and progress in reviews simply serves as a compilation of literature and they are not considered suitable for publication. A compelling scientific story that is informative and not just a listing of paper highlights.

 

Viewpoints (by invitation only) are short Editorial Features that comment on a specific research topic, provide educational insight into a research problem, or express scientific analysis/views on an energy topic (2-3 journal pages). If you have a topic that you think should be considered for publication as a Viewpoint article, please contact the Editorial Office (eic@energylett.acs.org).

 

Energy Focus articles (by invitation only) are short Editorial Features (1–3 journal pages) that alert the readership to interesting energy-related developments from around the world. They focus on scientific meetings, policy, education, or interviews with distinguished scientists. If you have a topic that you think should be considered for publication as an Energy Focus article, please contact the Editorial Office (eic@energylett.acs.org).

ACS Publishing Center

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 the ACS Publishing Center 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.

 

Manuscripts must be prepared using accepted word-processing software. All pages must be numbered consecutively starting with the title page and including tables and figures. A standard font, in a size of 12 points or greater, must be used. Templates and instructions for software, including TeX/LaTex, are available on the web. An Editorial with useful advice on constructing an effective scientific paper can be found at DOI 10.1021/jz4006916. If authors would like to use their own document, the various sections of the manuscript are listed in this document.

 

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.

 

The cover letter must include all of the following points:

  • Manuscript title and Authors, including the full names, titles, and positions of ALL Authors (undergraduateor graduate student, post-doc, professor,etc.).
  • All Authors must have accounts in ACS Paragon Plus. The Corresponding Author must be a Senior Author (Professor, Research Associate, or similar), not a student. Please list the Corresponding Author’s name, address, telephone number, and current institution e-mail address.
  • Explanation of the manuscript’s significance, including its originality and its contribution to new knowledge in the field.
  • Submission history, if previously submitted to another ACS journal. Provide the previous manuscript number and Editor's name. To help expedite the processing of your manuscript, also indicate whether the manuscript was sent for peer review or not. If the manuscript has already been reviewed by another ACS journal, inclusion of your response to Reviewers’ comments will speed up the review process.
  • Statement that the manuscript is not being considered by any other journal.

Manuscript Text Components

The various sections of the manuscript should be assembled in the order listed below without section headers, with the exception of a header for the Experimental Section and/or Computational Methods, which should be included at the end of the main text of the manuscript.

  • Title, Authorship, Affiliations, and Corresponding Author(s’) e-mail address(es)(single page)
  • Abstract, Table of Contents image (in this order, preferably on a single page)
  • Main text: Introductory paragraph(s) – without “Introduction” header followed by discussion of Results – without “Results” header. Figures, Figure Captions, and Tables should be embedded within the text and not at the end of the manuscript (Paragraph headers may be used, as needed)
  • Experimental Methods
  • Supporting Informationdescription, if any Supporting Information,in Supporting Information paragraph
  • Author Information and Notes
  • Acknowledgment
  • References
  • Supporting Information (for Publication orfor Review Only), if any, each in separate files and uploaded separate from the manuscript

 

(NOTE: references upon submission must follow Review-Ready Submission requirements, graphics included in separate section.)

References

References to the literature should be numbered in one consecutive series by order of appearance in the text, with the text citations presented as unparenthesized superscript Arabic numbers. Authors should consult The ACS Style Guide for the appropriate style to use in citations of journal papers, books, and other publications. References with more than 10 authors must list the first 10 authors, followed by “et al.” References will be linked to various electronic sources (e.g., the corresponding abstract from Chemical Abstracts Service, full text from other American Chemical Society Journals, etc.); therefore, the accuracy of references is critical. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of the references. Unnecessarily long lists of references, including excessive self-citation, are to be avoided; however, authors must provide references to all relevant publications in which portions of the present work have appeared. URLs are not preferred references since Website content can be modified and, consequently, the reference information may lack permanence.

 

Journal references should contain author names, article title (preferably written in title case), abbreviated journal title, year, volume, and pages (first–last). An example is provided below.

  • Krieg, F.; Ochsenbein, S.T.; Yakunin, S.; ten Brinck, S.; Aellen, P.; Süess, A.; Clerc, B.; Guggisberg, D.; Nazarendo, O.; Shynkarenko, Y.; et al. Colloidal CsPbX3 (x = Cl, Br, I) Nanocrystals 2.0: Zwitterionic Cappy Ligands for Improved Durability and Stability. ACS Energy Letters 2018, 3 (3), 641-646.

 

The use of title case is preferred, but authors may choose to write the titles of their journal articles and books in sentence case. All references should be written either entirely in title case or in sentence case.

 

For work published online (ASAP), the DOI should be furnished in addition to the standard bibliographic information. DOI is an accepted form of citation before the article appears in an issue.

  • Krishnapriya, K.C.; Musser, A.J.; Patil, S. Molecular Design Strategies for Efficient Intramolecular Single Exciton Fission. ACS Energy Letters 2019, DOI: 10.1021/acsenergylett.8b01833

 

Book references should contain author names, book title (preferably written in title case), publisher, city, and year. An example is provided below.

  • Mizuno, F.; Yada, C.; Iba, H. 12 – Solid-state lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles A2. In Lithium-Ion Batteries; Pistoia, G., Ed.; Elsevier: Amterdam, The Netherlands, 2014; pp 273-291.

 

In literature references, journal abbreviations should be those used by Chemical Abstracts Service [see Chemical Abstracts Service Source Index (CASSI) 1907–2004 http://cassi.cas.org/search.jsp].

 

Additional comments should be placed in the Supporting Information (SI) rather than in references. Supplementary references may be placed in SI; however, any reference that is used in the SI only should not be cited in the paper. Submitted papers should not depend on unpublished material, and excessive reference to material in press or reports not readily found in research libraries is discouraged. If pertinent references are in press or unpublished for any reason, upload copies of the references as Supporting Information for Review Only to enable Reviewers to evaluate the manuscript. Papers accepted for publication are cited as “in press”; the journal abbreviation should be provided, and the DOI should be given if the paper is published online.

 

Unpublished references or private communication should not be included in the reference list. Place “(unpublished results)” in the manuscript text immediately following the information. (This is because readers will not have access to unpublished references.) Written permission is needed from the communicant(s) to use information discussed in private conversations.

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.

Data Requirements

Authors are encouraged to report all data that are either necessary for reproduction of results or are reported in the manuscript’s figures, charts, and tables as Supporting Information (SI). Per ACS policy, the SI is immediately publicly available free of charge on the internet upon publication, regardless of whether or not the accompanying article is made open access. Resources are available on the ACS Publishing Center, including the ACS Math Style Sheet and NMR Guidelines.

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

ACS Energy Letters authors are allowed to deposit an initial draft of their manuscript in a preprint repository such as ChemRxiv, arXiv, or bioRxiv. Furthermore, ChemRxiv introduced Direct Journal Transfer, a new feature that will help authors submit their posted preprints to established journals for editorial consideration and peer review. It is recommended that authors check with the editorial office prior to the deposition of their paper on a preprint server. Please note that any use of a preprint server needsto be disclosed in the cover letter during submission and, as appropriate, state how the manuscript has been adjusted/updated between deposition and submission.

 

Publication of a preprint or extended abstract in an ACS division meeting preprint book, in either print or electronic format, does not preclude consideration of a manuscript for publication, provided that the manuscript includes significant new information and data beyond what was in the preprint or extended abstract. Itis the author’s responsibility to provide the Editor with copies of any relevant preprint(s).

 

The Editors will make the decision on the suitability of the paper for publication. Upon publication in ACS Energy Letters, authors are advised to add a link from the preprint to the published paper via the citation and Digital Object Identifier (DOI).

Editorial Policies

Best Practices in Reporting Experimental Results

Teams of ACS editors have identified best practices in certain fields to guide Authors in the reporting of experimental results. Please refer to them, as needed:

Nomenclature

Registered trademark names should be capitalized whenever used.Please note that the trademark symbol is not used per ACS style. Trade and trivial names should not be capitalized. Usually,the chemical name or composition should be given in parentheses orin a reference at the first occurrence of such a name. Nomenclature should conform with current American usage. Insofar as possible, Authors should use systematic names similar to those used by Chemical Abstracts Service and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.

 

Chemical Abstracts(CA) nomenclature rules are described in Appendix IV of the Chemical Abstracts Index Guide. For CA nomenclature advice, consult the Manager of Nomenclature Services, Chemical Abstracts Service, P.O. Box 3012, Columbus, OH 43210-0012. A name generation service is available for a fee through CAS Client Services, 2540 Olentangy River Road, P.O. Box 3343, Columbus, OH 43210-0334; phone, (614)447-3870; fax,(614) 447-3747; or e-mail, answers@cas.org.

Revision Requirements

When uploading your revised manuscript to ACS Paragon Plus, you must provide the following:

  • The final, revised manuscript file in word-processing format. No highlighting or editing marks should be left in the file. This file should be uploaded as the Manuscript File.
  • A marked-up copy of the revised manuscript that clearly highlights all of the revisions made to the manuscript since it was originally submitted. This file should be uploaded as Supporting Information for Review.
  • Any supporting information that is intended to be published with the manuscript. No highlighting or editing marks should be left in the file(s). This material should be uploaded as Supporting Information for Publication.

Providing Potential Reviewer Names

Please suggest at least four recommended reviewers for the manuscript. Include the address and email address for each suggested reviewer. Authors may request certain individuals not be used as 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 Publishing Center 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

Cover art images are selected from Perspectives and Reviews manuscripts. Editors will invite authors to submit their artwork for consideration as cover art. Because of the rapid nature of publication of research articles, it is not possible to coordinate cover art with them.

 

Cover images must capture the importance and excitement of the science discussed within the manuscript while also being “eye-catching” and aesthetically appealing. Text should be minimal and legible when viewed full-size. In general, simple designstend to make better cover art graphics.

 

Suggested images are judged by the Editors. Cover images approved for publication may be modified by the ACS graphics staff pending the Author’s final approval. Images to be considered for the cover must be at least 8.19 in. (20.80 cm) wide × 10.00 in. (25.40 cm) high with a minimum of 300 dpi resolution (2530 × 3040 pixels). The top 3.5 in. of the cover image will be obscured by the journal logo. Cover art files should be e-mailed directly to the Editorial Office. Preferred formats are PSD, Al, TIF, PNG, EPS, JPG. A short, 13-word or less descriptive caption (no full sentences) and a longer caption for the “About the Cover” description in the Table of Contents should be provided. Images chosen for the front cover will be printed 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.

 

ACS Energy Letters also offers authors a great way to promote their work through Supplementary Covers. Submit your cover idea, artwork, and caption when submitting your manuscript revision in ACS Paragon Plus. If your article is accepted for publication, your suggestion may be selected for use on one of the journal’s supplementary covers.

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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