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Scope of the Journal

Langmuir focuses on the science and engineering of systems and materials in which the interface dominates structure and function. Manuscript submissions on the rational design of interfaces, new concepts, and studies in emerging areas are welcome. The following topics are examples within the scope of Langmuir.

  • Polymer interfaces and films
  • Adsorption, wetting, adhesion and dynamics
  • Membranes and biofouling
  • Surfactants, emulsions, microemulsions, vesicles, suspensions, foams and gels
  • Fundamental theory and computations of interfacial properties
  • Droplets and their dynamics
  • Active and adaptive colloids and nanoparticles, self-assembly
  • Drug delivery, nanomedicine, carriers, targeting, uptake and controlled release
  • Advances in surface/interface characterization techniques
  • MOFs, COFs, zeolites and other porous materials
  • Sensors and biosensors
  • Rheology, mechanics and non-equilibrium thermodynamics
  • Van der Waals materials (1D, 2D, 3D and layered)
  • Interfaces for sustainability and energy
  • Electrochemistry, heterogeneous catalysis, photocatalysis
  • Single molecule, single atom catalysts and particle dynamics under confinement.

This information is also available on the journal website.

Manuscript Types

Langmuir publishes Articles, Invited Feature Articles, Perspectives, Reviews, Tutorials, and Comments. Submissions are based on original work not previously published. The Editors welcome submissions for Articles and Reviews. Potential authors are encouraged to submit proposals of their Invited Feature Articles, Perspectives, and Tutorials to the Editor-in-Chief (eic@langmuir.acs.org). Letters and Communications are not published, but short, complete articles are appropriate. All manuscripts should be as concise as thoroughness permits.

Articles are original scientific accounts (primary literature) that address contemporary problems and questions relevant to interface science. Articles are expected to clearly state well-defined claims or hypotheses and support them with appropriate data. While there is no strict page limit, authors should aim for a concise presentation within 10 journal pages, including references. Reviewers will be asked to comment on the article’s length, the quality of the figures, and the relevance of the references. During the review process, the editor may request that an article be shortened or that the number of figures be reduced. The length of all other manuscripts categories will be determined at the editor’s discretion. Authors are also encouraged to use Supporting Information as appropriate.

 

Perspectives (by invitation only) are brief reports (3-5 journal pages) in which an Early- or Mid-Career Researcher (EMCR) summarizes a personal view of (1) an emerging area or finding of particular interest in which the interface dominates structure and function, or (2) elaborates on the author’s opinion on important unanswered questions and approaches being taken to address them. Perspectives are not intended to be comprehensive looks at a field.

Perspectives are typically 4,000 words and ~4 figures/tables. They should include a brief abstract of ~120 words, ~20 references, a TOC/Abstract graphic, and short biographies for each author. Portrait photograph(s) are optional but appreciated. An expert review will be provided.

 

Invited Feature Articles (by invitation only) are written by well-established experts in a field who have made multiple, important contributions to a specific topic in recent years, and are intended to be a general overview of the authors’ own recent work or a critical survey of recent work in the subfield of interface science, written to capture interest and inform specialists in other subfields as well. An Invited Feature Article consists of a clear and concise summary of the most recent activity of the author and their research group with the broad readership of Langmuir in mind.

Invited Feature Articles are typically 12 journal pages and ~15 figures/tables. They should include an abstract of ~300 words, ~120 references, a TOC/Abstract graphic, and short biographies for each author. Portrait photograph(s) are optional but appreciated. If there are more than four authors, a group photograph is encouraged. These articles should contain the following: (1) an introduction that familiarizes readers with the presented work and outlines the important questions to which answers are being sought; (2) a critical evaluation of interesting, new, and recent contributions by the author, or others to the field; (3) a summary that mentions possible future directions and some speculation about the most important of these.

Proposals should contain a title, a short description of the topic (~400 words), and a list of 5-10 lead references that might form the foundation of the final manuscript. Authors are strongly encouraged to remember that interface science should be the primary focus of the work and to address in the cover letter what differentiates their submission from the most recent and related Reviews, Perspectives, and Invited Feature Articles published in the topic area.

 

Reviews provide historical background of the field and key findings that have been responsible for the field’s growth. They are intended to provide the community with a compelling, informative, and instructive scientific story, including the chronology of those advances. Mere presentation of data and progress in Reviews simply serves as a compilation of literature and they are not considered suitable for publication. A short section speculating on future trajectories may be included, but this should not form the main part of the article.

Reviews are typically 12 journal pages and ~15 figures/tables. They should include an abstract of ~300 words, ~120 references, a Table of Contents (TOC)/Abstract graphic, and short biographies for each author. Portrait photograph(s) are optional but appreciated; if author photos are submitted, additional permission forms will be required.  

 

Tutorials (by invitation only) are practical guides on performing specific types of experimental procedures relevant to interface science. Generally, Tutorials will be relatively new types of experimental procedures that have not been widely adopted but that could be broadly useful to the community served by Langmuir. A successful Tutorial will lead the uninitiated reader (perhaps in the initial stages of graduate studies) through the steps necessary to obtain reliable data from an experimental procedure without focusing on one model or type of equipment.

Tutorials are typically 12 journal pages and ~15 figures/tables. They should include an abstract of ~300 words, ~120 references, and a TOC/Abstract graphic.

 

Comments are brief responses to articles published in Langmuir and should be no more than two manuscript pages in length. A Comment could be a respectful presentation of an alternative points of view to one that has appeared in a recent issue of Langmuir. It could point out perceived errors in approaches, results, or conclusions. The authors of the original Article will be offered the opportunity to submit a response to the Comment, but the thread will be terminated at that point. Both Comments and responses to Comments will be peer-reviewed, and the author(s) of the original Article will be invited to review the Comment and the author of the Comment will be invited to review the response.

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. Learn more about document templates here

 

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

Acceptable Software, File Designations, and TeX/LaTeX

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

Cover Letter

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

 

A letter to the Editor-in-Chief should accompany the manuscript and contain the following elements in addition to a general description of the submission:

  • A short explanation of why the manuscript is appropriate for Langmuir.
  • A description of any Supporting Information and/or review-only material.

Manuscript Text Components

The elements of a Langmuir Article are provided below. The order of the sections indicated in this list should be the same as those appearing in the manuscript. Manuscripts may be single or double spaced, or authors may use a special template provided here. The preparation of Invited Feature Articles, Reviews and Tutorials, Additions and Corrections, and Comments may vary, and authors of these types of articles should consult the previous section and/or the appropriate editor for detailed guidance.

Title

Titles are of great importance for information retrieval and should be carefully constructed for this purpose. They should be clear, concise, and reflect the emphasis and content of the manuscript. Avoid acronyms and words such as “First”, “Novel”, “Facile”, and “One-Pot”.

Author List

Bylines should include all those 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., John R. Smith) or first initials, second names, and last names (e.g., J. Robert Smith). At least one author must be designated with an asterisk to indicate the person to whom readers may send correspondence.

 

The author who submits the manuscript for publication accepts the responsibility of notifying all co- authors that the manuscript is being submitted. Deletion of an author after the manuscript has been submitted requires a confirming letter to the Editor-in-Chief from the author whose name is being deleted. For more information on the ethical responsibilities of authors, see the Ethical Guidelines to Publication of Chemical Research.

Abstract

The abstract should state concisely the scientific problem(s) or hypotheses addressed in the Article, the approach taken to resolve it, and the key results.

Text

The text of Articles should be subdivided into the following sections: Introduction, Experimental Section, Results and Discussion, and Conclusions. These sections should not be numbered in the manuscript. The Introduction should explicitly state the scientific problem(s) or hypotheses described in the article, and it should explain why this problem is of fundamental importance to the field of interface science.  The Introduction should also give a concise and balanced account of the scientific literature that frames the content of the Article. The Experimental Section should contain a complete description only of the procedures and materials that are essential to understanding the Results and Discussion. 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 article. Additional experimental details and lengthy discussions of procedures should be placed in the Supporting Information.  The results and discussion should be combined within a single section.

References and Footnotes

References and explanatory notes should be grouped after the main text. They should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text. References must be individually numbered. Unpublished references must be provided as Information for Review Only during the submission process. Self-citations are limited to 25% of the total, though exceptions can be made upon consultation with the editor. Editors reserve the right to limit the total number of citations and the number of self-citations.

 

References upon initial submission should adhere to the guidelines for Review Ready Submission (page 4 of this document). For publication, references should adhere to the normal ACS journal format and should include the following components: author names, article titles, CAS Source Index (CASSI) journal abbreviations, proper punctuation and arrangement, and full page ranges.  Examples are provided below.

Reference Format:

  1. Boisselier, E.; Astruc, D. Gold Nanoparticles in Nanomedicine: Preparations, Imaging, Diagnostics, Therapies and Toxicity.  Chem.  Soc.  Rev.  2009, 38, 1759–1782.
  2. Ghosh, P.; Han, G.; De, M.; Kim, C. H.; Rotello, V. M. Gold Nanoparticles in Delivery Applications.  Adv.  Drug Delivery Rev.  2008, 60, 1307–1315.
  3. Sperling, R. A.; Rivera, P.; Gil, Zhang, F.; Zanella, M.; Parak, W. J. Biological Applications of Gold Nanoparticles.  Chem.  Soc.  Rev.  2008, 37, 1896–1908.
  4. Giljohann, D. A.; Seferos, D. S.; Daniel, W. L.; Massich, M. D.; Patel, P. C.; Mirkin, C. A. Gold Nanoparticles for Biology and Medicine.  Angew.  Chem., Int.  Ed. 2010, 49, 3280– 3294.
  5. Thomas, M.; Klibanov, A. M. Enhancing Polyethylenimine's Delivery of Plasmid DNA into Mammalian Cells.  Proc.  Natl.  Acad.  Sci.  U.S.A.  2012, 100, 9138–9143.
  6. Rosi, N. L.; Giljohann, D. A.; Thaxon, C. S.; Lytton-Jean, A. K. R.; Han, M. S.; Mirkin, C. A. Oligonucleotide-Modified Gold Nanoparticles for Intracellular Gene Regulation. Science 2006, 312, 1027–1030.

 

Authors are responsible for the accuracy of the references. Because subscribers to the Web editions of ACS journals are now able to link directly to the “CAS” tag following each reference to retrieve the corresponding abstract at Chemical Abstracts Service, the accuracy of references is critical. Further guidance on references is available in the References chapter of The ACS Style Guide.

Nomenclature

Nomenclature should conform to current American usage. If possible, authors should use systematic names similar to those in 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, telephone: (614) 447-3870, fax: (614) 447-3747, e-mail: answers@cas.org.

Graphics

Graphics guidelines are available below.

Supporting Information for Publication

Authors are strongly encouraged to use Supporting Information to submit tables, graphs, spectra, mathematical derivations, experimental details, expanded discussion of peripheral points, and other information that is essential for expert reviewers to judge the work and for the work to be reproduced. Detailed information of this type may hinder the effective presentation of the main scientific points.

 

Note, however, that a general reader should be convinced that the data presented in the main text of the Article fully supports the conclusions. The Supporting Information will be included in the Web edition of the journal and is available free of charge. Material deposited as Supporting Information is considered to be part of the publication and should not be submitted for re-publication as part of a future manuscript.

 

Figures, tables, and other display items in the Supporting Information should be numbered in consecutive order (Figure S1, Figure S2… or Table S1, Table S2…). These identifiers may be referred  to in the main text (e.g., "see Figure S1"). The pages in the Supporting Information should also be numbered consecutively (S1, S2, etc.).

 

Supporting Information must be submitted at the same time as the manuscript and uploaded separately to the ACS Paragon Plus Environment. A list of acceptable file types is available on the Web. All Supporting Information files of the same type should be prepared as a single file (rather than submitting a series of files containing individual images or structures). For example, all Supporting Information available as PDF files should be contained in a single PDF file. A cover page that provides the Article title, author names, and corresponding author’s contact information should precede the Supporting Information. A table of contents should also be included on the cover page.

 

If the manuscript is accompanied by any supporting information files for publication, a brief description of each file is required. The Supporting Information paragraph and descriptions should be placed at the end of the manuscript before the list of references.

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

Resources available on the ACS Publishing Center include 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

Langmuir authors may deposit an initial draft of their manuscript in a preprint service such as ChemRxiv, bioRxiv, arXiv, or the applicable repository for their discipline before the manuscript is accepted for publication in Langmuir. Authors may revise the preprint version of their manuscript up until a final acceptance decision has been issued. The Direct Journal Transfer feature of ChemRxiv is now available and can be used to submit posted preprints to Langmuir for editorial consideration and peer review.

 

Please note any use of a preprint server in the cover letter and include a link to the preprint, and as appropriate, state how the manuscript has been adjusted/updated between deposition and submission. All other prior/redundant publication is forbidden. Upon publication in Langmuir, authors should add a link from the preprint to the published article via the Digital Object Identifier (DOI). Some preprint servers, including ChemRxiv and bioRxiv, add this link for authors automatically after publication. 

 

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

Editorial Policies

Peer Review

Manuscripts submitted to Langmuir undergo anonymous peer review. The reviewers are asked to comment on the manuscript's significance, originality, scope, technical quality, and relevance to interface science. The reviewers are also asked whether the claims made in the manuscript are fully supported with appropriate and reproducible data. The reviewers act only in an advisory capacity, however, and the final decision of whether to accept or reject a manuscript lies with the editor.

Additions and Corrections

Additions and Corrections may be used to address important issues or correct errors and omissions of consequence that arise after publication of an article. They are not intended to report subsequent scientific progress or refinements, which often in part consist of reinterpreting previously published data. Additions and Corrections may be requested by the author(s) or initiated by the Editor after discussions with the corresponding author. All Additions and Corrections are subject to approval by the Editor, and 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 of the article coauthors prior to submitting an Addition and Correction, or provide evidence that such approval has been solicited. For proper formatting, see examples in a current issue of the Journal.

 

Addition/Corrections should consist of a submitted manuscript document file that contains the following information:

  • The document title lines should include title, authors, affiliations and citation (including the DOI) of the original published manuscript.
  • The submitted addition/correction manuscript file should contain text that explains exactly what is being corrected and why. A statement should also be included indicating whether the conclusions of the work have been affected, and if so in what way.
  • All authors are deemed to be equally responsible for any errors. A statement of regret for the mistake may be included. Statements should not be included that attempt to assign responsibility for any errors or mistakes to any particular authors or persons.
  • If graphics are being corrected, the manuscript file should contain the graphics, along with captions that clearly describe the contents of the figures. The figure(s) should be labeled with numbers consistent with the figure number(s) in the original paper that is (are) being corrected.

Providing Potential Reviewer Names

Please suggest six 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

Langmuir 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. 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. Images chosen for the front cover will be published at no cost to the author.

 

Cover image submissions should be scientifically and visually exciting. Colorful images without text or structures are preferred. 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. For examples of cover art designs, please refer to recent issues.

 

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 (less than 50 words) explaining the image, as supplementary files to ACS Paragon Plus with their revised manuscript.

 

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

Web Enhanced Objects (WEO)

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

 

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