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Scope of the Journal

ACS Omega is a global open-access journal for the publication of scientific articles that describe new findings in chemistry and interfacing areas of science, without any perceived evaluation of immediate impact. Articles in ACS Omega should advance the frontiers of science through original ideas, even if the full significance is not known. ACS Omega disseminates this knowledge globally and quickly by immediately making all accepted articles open access in perpetuity. Papers published in ACS Omega are therefore available to a much wider readership that includes industry, policy institutions, the media and the public, in addition to the traditional academic sector. 

Manuscript Types

ACS Omega publishes original Research Articles, Perspectives, Mini-Reviews, Reviews, and Viewpoints. Submissions are based on original work not previously published.

 

Research Articles. Reports of original research with chemical connections. Emerging multidisciplinary fields are especially encouraged; however, research submitted to the journal should be hypothesis driven or lead to a hypothesis. No minimum length requirement is imposed for original submissions, noting that for ACS Omega content traditionally considered as letters or rapid communications as well as full articles all fall into the category of Research Articles. The Editors request that authors explain their findings concisely and accurately. Authors are encouraged to use Supporting Information as appropriate. ACS Omega will publish Research Articles describing negative results. These are intended to contain three main components: a valid hypothesis that is expected to answer a relevant scientific question, scientifically rigorous research, and results that do not uphold the initial hypothesis. The results are then negative but can be of importance to researchers in the field or can give rise to a new hypothesis.

 

Perspectives. (by invitation only) are concise, peer-reviewed reports highlighting an emerging topic of broad interest. 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 an abstract, an appropriate number of references, and a TOC/Abstract graphic and a Future Outlook section. Authors of Perspectives are encouraged to also submit a video (3-5 min clip) highlighting the theme of their Perspective. Perspectives are invited by the Editors, but authors interested in submitting a Perspective should contact the journal prior to manuscript preparation and submission to seek conditional approval of the proposed topic. One-page proposals should be sent to the Managing Editors (managing.editor@omega.acs.org) for consideration.

 

Mini-Reviews. Mini-Review Articles are short reviews focusing on the most recent developments in an area. They are approximately 20 single-column A4 typed pages with 1.5 line spacing, excluding figures and references. References should be limited to 25-30. Mini-Reviews should include an Abstract and a TOC graphic and possess a Future Outlook section. In addition, authors are requested to include a brief biography. Authors need to submit proposals to the Co-Editors, Associate Editors and Managing Editors (managing.editor@omega.acs.org) for consideration. Mini Review articles are preferred in interdisciplinary areas between Chemistry and other disciplines. We also welcome Mini Reviews on emerging techniques, tools (imaging microscopy, spectroscopy and so on), cell assays, new analytical methods and new computational methods and so on.

 

Reviews. Reviews are concise yet complete surveys of the literature written by experts for non-experts. Their purpose is to acquaint readers of the journal with recent progress in key research areas, including cross-disciplinary areas. They should be written for a more general audience and provide a balanced view of the topic in question. Exclusive (or near-exclusive) focus on the author’s research is discouraged. Reviews are limited to 50 pages when text is double-spaced – and includes tables, figures, and references. Reviews should lay out the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. Reviews should include an Abstract and a TOC graphic. Authors may submit proposals to the editors via managing.editor@omega.acs.org for consideration. An invited review submission does not guarantee that it will be published. It is also incumbent on authors to submit copyright permissions for materials reproduced from other sources.

 

Viewpoint. (by invitation only). Viewpoint manuscripts are meant to provide general commentaries, tutorials, or educational insight into a research problem of interest to the journal’s broad readership. They may express critical scientific analysis / personal views on exciting topics, including issues around STEM research, to encourage dialogue within the community. Viewpoints are not intended to be reviews of the literature and must not include new scientific data. A Viewpoint must contain a Table of Contents graphic and an abstract, which should be a 2-5 sentence summary. Suggested limits are 2,000 words and no more than 2 figures, with no restriction on the number of references. All submitted Viewpoints will be rigorously editorially reviewed by at least two ACS Omega editors for content and the importance of the topic. Following the editorial review procedure, select articles will be sent out for peer review for final assessment at editorial discretion. If you have a topic that you wish to be considered for publication as a Viewpoint, please contact the Managing Editor office (managing.editor@omega.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).

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.

 

A cover letter should accompany each original submission. Recommended information includes the following:

  • title
  • name of the corresponding author, title, affiliation, and institute e-mail address
  • a synopsis of the article
  • a point-by-point response to reviewer comments (for resubmissions).

 

All Editorial correspondence concerning receipt, status, review, revision, and publication of a manuscript will be sent only to the designated corresponding author during the evaluation period. The corresponding author is responsible for communicating the manuscript status to all co-authors of the manuscript and for obtaining the co-authors’ assent to any substantial changes of content or interpretation made during revision.

Manuscript Text Components

Given the broad reach and the open availability of all content in ACS Omega, remember that chemists, scientists in related disciplines, and the broad public will read articles published. When writing, seek to communicate the science in a way that is accessible to all scientists.

 

Title. Titles should clearly and concisely reflect the emphasis and content of the paper and be accessible to a broad audience. Titles are one of the most important tools for current awareness and information retrieval—they provide readers a first opportunity to understand the purpose of the article. Authors should avoid uncommon abbreviations in titles. It is recommended that the length of titles not exceed 15 words.

 

Author List. Include all who have made substantial contributions to the work. To facilitate indexing and retrieval and for unique identification of an author, use first names, initials, and surnames (e.g., Katherine M. Jones) or first initials, second names, and surnames (e.g., K. Mary Jones). At least one author must be designated with an asterisk as the person to whom correspondence should be addressed.

 

Institution Address. The author affiliation(s) listed should be the institution(s) where the work was conducted. If the present address of an author differs from that at which the work was done, that address should be given in an Author Information note.

Many Funders and Institutions require that institutional affiliations are identified for all authors listed in the work being submitted. ACS facilitates this requirement by collecting institution information during manuscript submission under Step 2: Authors and Affiliations in ACS Paragon Plus.

 

Abstract. All Research Articles should contain an abstract, including an Abstract (TOC) graphic, which should state the purpose of the research briefly and provide a succinct, informative summation of the most important results and conclusions. Pasting the abstract in the text box on the Web submission page does not replace the need for including an abstract in the manuscript document.

 

Introduction. Clearly state the purpose of the research and put it into the context of earlier work in the area, aiming for brevity.

 

Results and Discussion. Authors can provide a unified “Results and Discussion” section or separate sections with “Results” and “Discussion”. Explain the motivation for the work. Present results concisely. The discussion should interpret the results and relate them to existing knowledge in the field and explain the advance made by these results. To conserve space, please submit supplemental information in a separate file for online Supporting Information (note, all content submitted is subject to review).

 

Conclusions (Optional heading). This section briefly summarizes the principal conclusions of the work and is recommended.

 

Methods (Optional heading). Provide a clear, unambiguous description of materials, methods, and equipment in sufficient detail to permit repetition of the research either within the body of the Article or under a separate, optional “Methods” heading. Describe experimental procedures in detail, but published procedures may be referred to by literature citation of both the original and any published modifications. Extensive descriptions of methods may be included as Supporting Information. Articles reporting data from experiments on live animals must include a statement identifying the approving committee and certifying that such experiments were performed in accordance with all national or local guidelines and regulations. Results from experiments involving humans or tissue samples must additionally include a statement that informed consent was obtained from the subject or from the next of kin. Authors must emphasize any unexpected, new, and/or significant hazards or risks associated with the reported work. This information should be in the experimental details section of the full article or communication. The Editors prefer that the Methods section is placed after the Conclusions section, although this is not mandatory.

 

Acknowledgment. Include financial support, technical assistance, advice from colleagues, gifts, etc. Be precise and thorough when acknowledging funders and include grant numbers where appropriate.

 

References. Compile all references together in a list at the end of the manuscript text. Many references will link directly to the cited article or other Web sites. It is crucial that authors verify the accuracy of references cited. Unnecessarily long lists of references should be avoided, and excessive self-citation is not permitted. However, authors must reference all previous publications in which portions of the present work has appeared. Literature references should be numbered with Arabic numerals in the order of their first citation in the text and the corresponding superscripted numbers inserted at the appropriate locations in the text. Articles accepted for publication should be cited as “in press”; the DOI should be given if the paper is published online only. ACS Omega will use the following reference style for published articles.

 

For journals:

  • Moreau, P.; Anizon, F.; Sancelme, M.; Prudhomme, M.; Bailly, C.; Severe, D.; Riou, J.-F.; Fabbro, D.; Meyer, T.; Aubertin, A.-M. Syntheses and biological activities of rebeccamycin analogues. Introduction of a halogenoacetyl substituent. J. Med. Chem. 1999, 42, 584–592.

 

For journal articles published online ahead of print or online only, the DOI should be used:

  • Liu, C.; Yang, S. Synthesis of angstrom-scale anatase titania atomic wires. ACS Nano 2009, DOI: 10.1021/nn900157r.

 

For books:

  • Fierke, C. A.; Hammes, G. G. Transient kinetic approaches to enzyme mechanisms. In Contemporary Enzyme Kinetics and Mechanism, 2nd ed.; Purich, D., Ed.; Academic Press: New York, 1996; pp 1–35.

 

Titles of journals are abbreviated according to Chemical Abstracts Service Source Index (CASSI). Authors should consult The ACS Guide to Scholarly Communication for the appropriate style to use in citations of patents, conferences, and other publications. Cite papers that are in preparation or have been submitted but not yet accepted in the text as unpublished experiments or personal communications.

 

Nomenclature. Use abbreviations and acronyms sparingly, and all usage should be defined at the first occurrence in the text. Use systematic and standard nomenclature appropriate for your field of study.

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

Advancing scientific discoveries can be enhanced when data and materials are made available and readily exchanged. ACS Omega requires that authors adhere to the standards for reporting and characterization of data. It is also recommended that authors deposit data in databases appropriate to their fields.

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

Submission of a manuscript to ACS Omega is contingent upon the agreement by all the authors that the reported work has not received prior publication and that no portion of this or any other closely related work is under consideration for publication.

ACS Omega authors are allowed to deposit an initial draft of their manuscript in a preprint service, such as ChemRxiv,  bioRxiv, arXiv, or the applicable repository for their discipline prior to submission. 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.

For the ACS Publications policy on theses and dissertations, click here.

All other prior/redundant publication is forbidden.

Editorial Policies

Open Access and Article Publishing Charges at ACS Omega

ACS Omega is a fully open access journal, with all content published under an open access license. There is therefore no subscription charges and no charge to access, read, and download articles published in the journal. Authors of accepted manuscripts will need to pay an Article Publishing Charge (APC) to publish their research in ACS Omega. The default license for authors will be CC BY-NC-ND, with the option to upgrade to CC BY. Country discounts apply for authors based in countries with lower-income economies, detailed here. Authors from institutions with ACS Read + Publish Agreements are eligible to have their APC covered through these agreements. Information can be found here.

Pricing details can be found here.

All published content in ACS Omega is automatically deposited and indexed in PubMed Central. For more information on the ACS AuthorChoice program and deposition into institutional repositories, click here.

For assistance with open access, please contact support@services.acs.org.

 

Anonymity of Peer Review

All manuscripts are subject to critical, single-anonymized peer review. It is to be understood that the final decision relating to a manuscript’s suitability rests solely with the Editor. The journal disapproves of attempts by authors to determine the identity of reviewers. This journal’s policy is to neither confirm nor deny speculation about the identities of reviewers.

 

Providing Potential Reviewer Names

Authors are requested to provide the names of four to six reviewers competent to referee their manuscripts. They may also suggest in their cover letter that certain individuals not be used as referees along with justification for the request. Such requests will generally be honored by the Editors, unless it is believed that the specific individual’s opinion is vital in the consideration of the manuscript. Authors should not suggest reviewers from the authors’ institutions or reviewers who may have a real or perceived conflict of interest. Whenever possible, suggest academic email addresses rather than personal email addresses.

 

Submission.

Manuscripts must be submitted via ACS Paragon Plus, where complete instructions and an overview of the submission process are available. The Web submission site employs state-of-the-art security mechanisms to ensure that all electronically submitted papers are secure. These same security mechanisms are also utilized throughout the peer-review process, permitting access only to Editors and reviewers who are assigned to a particular paper.

Checklist for Accepted Manuscripts.

Manuscripts accepted for publication in ACS Omega have to adhere to the following formatting checklist:

1. Title in PDF matches the Manuscript Details entered into ACS Paragon Plus

2. Complete author list (names must be entered into ACS Paragon Plus in the same sequence as they appear on the first page of the manuscript)

3. Complete affiliations for all authors: full mailing addresses of institutional affiliations where research for the paper was conducted (Note: current addresses that differ from the research affiliations should be included as footnotes). E-mail address are required for all authors as well

4. Abstract present and labeled

5. TOC graphic present and labeled

6. All numbered components are present in the manuscript file and labeled (no gaps in numbering)

  • Schemes
  • Tables
  • References
  • Equations
  • Figures

7. Figures are legible, and figure labels and lettering are also legible

8. References are included at the end of the manuscript text and cited by a number (not Harvard style, that is, not as “Smith and Jones, 1999”)

9. Experimental Section is included in the manuscript file, preferably after the Conclusions section

10. Supporting Information is in a separate file(s) and properly tagged as being for publication or for review only. It should be publication ready, e.g., no highlights or track changes

11. All graphics are in the manuscript and/or included as a separate file

12. No parts of a manuscript that should be published as part of the main paper are in Supporting Information files

13. Any form of track changes should be accepted/removed before acceptance

14. JPA is present and properly signed

15. Funding sources are identified for the work presented in the manuscript

 

Security Concerns.

Certain papers may represent a potential security risk for the public. Such papers will be brought to the attention of the Editors. If necessary, outside reviewers with expertise in security matters will be consulted.

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, all author concerns are resolved, and payment has been received. ASAP publication typically occurs within 1-2 working days of receipt of page proof corrections (provided payment has been resolved), which can be a few 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.

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

Authors publishing in ACS Omega retain copyright of their published research and may publish via a choice of CC BY-NC-ND or CC BY license. ACS offers options by which authors can fulfill the requirements for open access and deposition into repositories for funded research. Visit our 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 and 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

ACS Omega 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 artistic and scientifically accurate representation 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 × 10.00 in. (or 20.80 cm × 25.40 cm). Please note that the journal title will cover the top 2.5 in. (6.35 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 Supplementary Cover Art 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.