American Chemical Society solidifies its impact as a global leader in scientific publishing

WASHINGTON, July 5, 2022 — American Chemical Society (ACS) journals have once again sustained consistent growth, reporting impressive levels of impact, citations and output through 2021. The 2022 Journal Citation Reports™ from Clarivate, released on June 28, 2022, substantiate the commitment, quality and innovation of the ACS journals portfolio and its impact in an expansive field of science.

The 2021 Journal Impact Factor™ examines the papers published by a journal in the two years prior to the Journal Citation Reports™ year (2021); it measures performance by dividing the total citations a journal earned in 2021 by the number of scholarly works it published in 2019 and 2020. This metric is one of the measures commonly used to calculate the relative influence and impact of a journal in a particular field of study.

Portfolio-wide, 53 of the 59 ACS journals receiving 2021 Journal Impact Factors™ saw increases from the prior year, with 40 achieving their highest-ever rating (Journal Citation Reports™, Clarivate, 2022). In 2021, total citations across the ACS portfolio increased to more than 4.6 million, representing more than 10% growth over the previous year. The median Journal Impact Factor™ across the entire portfolio increased from 5.097 to 5.780, representing a substantial increase of 13.4%.

“As societal and humanitarian crises continue to erupt globally, the accelerated use and dissemination of ACS published research is testimony to the importance of the work our scientific community is producing, publishing and sharing through ACS journals at a critical time,” says Sarah Tegen, Ph.D., senior vice president, Journals Publishing Group at ACS. “It also validates the importance of making scientific research easily available and accessible to a broad and diverse global community. We are grateful to the authors, reviewers and readers who continue to assure that the quality and reach of the scientific research published and shared through ACS journals remains world leading, year after year.”

ACS’ flagship journals continue to sustain growth by providing relevant, timely and high-quality peer-reviewed research. The Journal of the American Chemical Society received a Journal Impact Factor™ of 16.383, an increase of 6.3% over the previous year. And in 2021, the journal received more than 630,000 citations overall. Chemical Reviews had an impressive 18.9% increase in its Journal Impact Factor™ and received over 240,000 citations, while Accounts of Chemical Research reported 9.3% growth over the previous year and garnered close to 90,000 citations.

The Journal Impact Factor™ for ACS Omega has increased every year, with 2021 being no exception. Its rating increased by 18% to 4.132, and it generated over 41,500 citations in 2021 — 79% more citations than in 2020. ACS Omega has retained its position over the primary competitor RSC Advances  in this open access, mission-equivalent chemistry space. The Journal of Chemical Education, which is co-published with the ACS Division of Chemical Education, achieved its highest ever Journal Impact Factor™ of 3.208 and a 7.7% growth rate preceding the release of its 100th volume.

The increased usage and citations of ACS-published research in 2021 demonstrates how ACS continues to be a world leader in scholarly publishing as the “most-cited, most-trusted and most-read” publisher of scientific research:

• Researchers from over 100 countries published nearly 60,000 articles in ACS journals.
• Authors cited ACS journal articles more than 4.6 million times.
• Readers downloaded ACS full-text articles more than 220 million times.

As COVID-19 continues to capture the focus and attention of many researchers in the biological and medicinal chemistry space, the Journal Impact Factors™ of several ACS biology and medicinal chemistry journals posted impressive results, receiving higher-than-ever ratings. ACS Chemical Neuroscience saw a 30.8% increase over the previous year, with 12,168 citations; the Journal Impact Factor™ for the Journal of Natural Products, which is co-published with The American Society of Pharmacognosy, increased by almost 19% and received over 34,300 citations; and ACS Infectious Diseases’ Journal Impact Factor™ increased by 9.7% and was cited 5,660 times. Molecular Pharmaceutics’ Journal Impact Factor™ increased by 8.6% to 5.364, and the journal received 24,761 citations; the Journal Impact Factor™ for the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry grew 8.0% to 8.039,with 92,468 citations; ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters saw a 6.6% increase to a Journal Impact Factor™ of 4.632, with 9,499 citations; and the Journal Impact Factor™ for Biochemistry increased by 5%, to 3.321, thanks to an impressive 76,644 citations in 2021.

Indicative of their continued value and impact across all fields of chemistry, many ACS topically focused journals also achieved their highest Journal Impact Factor™ in 2021, with equally impressive citation counts. Two of the most-impactful and most-cited journals across the ACS portfolio were Chemical Reviews and ACS Nano. Chemical Reviews earned a Journal Impact Factor™ of 72.087, reflecting an 18.9% increase over the previous year, and was cited close to 250,000 times. ACS Nano scored a Journal Impact Factor™ of 18.027, up 13.5%, and was also cited close to 250,000 times.  

A number of other topically focused journals achieved both impressive increases in their Journal Impact Factors™, as well as elevated citation counts:

• Environmental Science & Technology rose 25.8%, scoring 11.357 (259,945 citations).
• Environmental Science & Technology Letters saw a 51% uptick, scoring 11.558 (8,444 citations).
• ACS Materials Letters increased 34.4%, scoring 11.170 (3,583 citations).
• ACS Central Science grew by 28.7%, scoring 18.728 (16,220 citations).
• ACS Sensors rose 24.7%, scoring 9.618 (16,180 citations).
• Journal of Proteome Research scored 5.370, indicating a 20.2% increase (28,041 citations).

“The events of 2021 substantiated and accelerated the urgency to disseminate scientific research to expanded segments of society at times of crisis. ACS Publications continues to lead by transforming and innovating the ways we make research accessible and available to the communities that need it most,” says James Milne, Ph.D., president, ACS Publications Division. “Our mission as part of the global chemistry community is to advance chemistry and to support researchers in their scientific pursuits, and 2021 has shown our continued commitment to and success  in doing so.”

Discover the data behind the 2022 Journal Citation Reports™ results and some of 2021’s most-read and most-cited articles from our expansive and diverse portfolio of journals.