FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | June 28, 2018

American Chemical Society publications continue to demonstrate their global reputation for scientific and editorial excellence

WASHINGTON, June 28, 2018 — The scholarly journals of the American Chemical Society (ACS) once again rank as the most-cited and most-impactful across their respective scientific subject categories, including six core chemistry categories, according to the 2017 Journal Citation Reports® (JCR) released on June 26, 2018, by Clarivate Analytics. These rankings highlight the value, quality and global audience appeal of the research published across the Society’s preeminent portfolio of peer-reviewed publications.  

In total, ACS journal articles were cited more than 3.1 million times in 2017, an increase of 8 percent over the previous year. Overall, 90 percent of the Society’s journals covered by Clarivate’s analysis posted Impact Factors of 3 or higher in 2017, with almost half of ACS titles achieving Impact Factors greater than 5. Notably, those journals that the Society introduced within the last 15 years currently rank near or above the overall ACS portfolio median of 4.700.

A number of measures demonstrate that ACS journals continue to be the most-influential in chemistry. Article output increased substantially across the portfolio, with 45,000 articles published in 2017 — an increase of 8 percent over the previous year. In addition to strong publishing and citation data, ACS journals set a new record in 2017 with more than 100 million full-text downloads. Taken together, these notable achievements further emphasize the Society’s influence and central role in publishing high-quality articles on a broad scale in partnership with the global research community.

“As a professional society, we are grateful to our authors, editors and referees for making ACS journals again among the most-impactful across the chemical sciences,” says James Milne, Ph.D., senior vice president of the Journals Publishing Group within ACS Publications. “While we are gratified to see that Clarivate’s latest citation-based Impact Factor metrics continue to demonstrate the significance of ACS journals and their hard-earned reputations as the most trusted sources of comprehensive chemical knowledge, we remain mindful that Impact Factors are but one context within which to assess the overall value of a scientific publication to the community it serves. The hallmark of our Society’s research journals is that they are overseen by a diverse group of editors and editorial boards comprised of active scientists drawn from across the international scientific community. Many factors are involved in establishing and maintaining a research journal’s reputation for excellence — including scientific rigor and editorial selectivity; attentive service to authors that includes objective standards of peer review and rapid turnaround during publication; broad web and mobile dissemination and reliable archiving; value-added content, such as incisive reviews and editorial commentaries; social sharing and multimedia features; and ease of access to supporting data and information to enable reproducibility — to name but a few. ACS Publications strives for excellence in all of these areas.”

The 2017 JCR metrics affirmed the continued influence of the Society’s flagship research journal — the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS) — as the preeminent forum for publishing groundbreaking findings of broad scientific significance across the chemical sciences. JACS recorded its highest-ever Impact Factor at 14.357 and again ranks ahead of two other leading chemistry society publications, both Wiley’s Angewandte Chemie International Edition and the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Chemical Science. JACS continues to be the most-cited journal in chemistry, tallying more than half-a-million citations in 2017, up nearly 4 percent from the prior year.

ACS Central Science, the Society’s award-winning, fully open access journal that began publication in 2015, has quickly emerged as the gold standard for publishing interdisciplinary chemical research of exceptional quality. Accompanied by commentary from recognized experts, timely reviews, engaging interviews and in-depth news articles, the journal’s published research authors benefit from highly selective editorial review, broad media exposure, rapid time to publication and global open access to all interested readers. ACS Central Science achieved a notable Impact Factor of 11.228 in 2017, up by 41 percent over the prior year.

Chemical Reviews achieved its highest-ever Impact Factor at 52.613, up 10 percent, and ranked at number 4 out of the approximately 12,000 total scientific periodicals covered by the 2017 JCR. Chemical Reviews is recognized for its comprehensive, authoritative and critical reviews of important developments across all traditional, as well as emerging, areas of chemistry worldwide. Chemical Reviews and Accounts of Chemical Research (20.955), another preeminent ACS journal that features thought-provoking perspectives on discoveries in the chemical sciences, serve as invaluable research and education resources, in keeping with the Society’s scholarly mission.

In 2017, two ACS journals became eligible for partial Impact Factors, illustrating the value ACS adds to research being conducted in new and emerging fields of science. ACS Energy Letters achieved a remarkable partial Impact Factor of 12.277, the highest entry Impact Factor achieved by an ACS journal, highlighting the broad appeal of its editorial coverage of alternative energy capture, conversion and storage. ACS Sensors attained a first-time partial Impact Factor of 5.711, underscoring its swift recognition as a preferred forum for innovative sensors research.

Of the 52 ACS journals with JCR rankings, more than 80 percent are positioned solidly within the top quartile of their respective topical categories. Within those top groupings are a number of journals that achieved their highest-ever Impact Factors in 2017. In addition to those journals mentioned above, those highly ranked within their cohorts include:

  • ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (8.097)
  • ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering (4.432)
  • ACS Catalysis (11.384)
  • ACS Infectious Diseases (4.325)
  • ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters (3.794)
  • ACS Photonics (6.880)
  • ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering (6.140)
  • Chemistry of Materials (9.890)
  • Environmental Science & Technology (6.653)
  • Environmental Science & Technology Letters (5.869)
  • Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research (3.141)
  • Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (3.412)
  • Journal of Chemical Education (1.758)
  • Organic Process Research & Development (3.584)

This year’s JCR results clearly demonstrate ACS’ commitment to be the most-authoritative, comprehensive and indispensable provider of chemistry-related information — in keeping with the Society’s vision of “improving people’s lives through the transforming power of chemistry.” For full 2017 JCR data for ACS journals, visit: http://axial.acs.org/JCR/.

About the American Chemical Society

The American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society, is a not-for-profit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. ACS does not conduct research, but publishes and publicizes peer-reviewed scientific studies. Through its Publications Division, the Society publishes 50+ peer-reviewed journals and eBooks. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature. The Publications Division offers high-quality service to authors and readers, including rapid time to publication, cutting-edge web and mobile delivery platforms and comprehensive open-access options. The Society's main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

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