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ChemComm is a Transformative Journal, and Plan S compliant

Impact factor: 4.9*

Time to first decision (all decisions): 18 days**

Time to first decision (peer reviewed only): 24 days***

Chair: Douglas Stephan

Indexed in Science Citation Index (SCI) and MEDLINE

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Meet the team

ChemComm is the Royal Society of Chemistry’s journal for urgent communications of outstanding significance from across the chemical sciences.

The RSC’s most cited journal, we have been one of the most trusted venues for rapid publication of short communications for more than 50 years.

ChemComm is here to support researchers throughout their careers. Whether you’re a first-time author or a senior academic you can trust us to handle your submission fairly and efficiently.

Our publication times are amongst the fastest in chemistry, and researchers typically receive a first decision on their peer-reviewed manuscript within 3 weeks of submission.

ChemComm is part of the RSC’s family of high impact general chemistry journals, alongside Chemical Science and Chemical Society Reviews.

Journal scope

ChemComm publishes urgent research which is of outstanding significance and interest to experts in the field, while also appealing to the journal’s broad chemistry readership. Our communication format is ideally suited to short, urgent studies that are of such importance that they require accelerated publication.

Our scope covers all topics in chemistry, and research at the interface of chemistry and other disciplines (such as materials science, nanoscience, physics, engineering and biology) where there is a significant novelty in the chemistry aspects.

Major topic areas covered include: 

  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Catalysis
  • Chemical Biology and medicinal chemistry 
  • Computational Chemistry and Machine Learning
  • Energy and sustainable chemistry
  • Environmental Chemistry
  • Green Chemistry 
  • Inorganic Chemistry
  • Materials Chemistry
  • Nanoscience
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Physical Chemistry
  • Polymer Chemistry
  • Supramolecular Chemistry

ChemComm Emerging Investigator Lectureship Award

This award recognises emerging scientists in the early stages of their independent academic careers who have made a significant contribution to the chemical sciences.

We expect to open nominations for the 2024 lectureship in Spring.

Read about eligibility, how to nominate, and see all award winners

Meet the team

Find out who is on the editorial and advisory boards for the ChemComm journal.

Article types

Chemical Communications publishes:

  • Communications
  • Feature articles
  • Highlights
  • Comments
See more information about these article types

Communications

ChemComm Communications are for the publication of urgent research which is of outstanding significance and interest to experts in the field, while also appealing to the journal’s general chemistry readership. Our Communication format (up to 4 journal pages in length) is ideally suited to short studies - which can be preliminary in nature - that are of such importance that they require accelerated publication.

Authors should write in a clear and concise way. Lengthy introductions and discussion, extensive data, and excessive experimental details and conjecture should not be included. Figures and tables will be published only if they are essential to understanding the work. The experimental evidence necessary to support the work described should be supplied as electronic supplementary information (ESI). However the ESI should not be used to include key results or discussion that do not fit within the 4 pages of the main text – articles of this type would be better suited to a full paper journal where there is space to include all key information in the main text.

Authors should use our Communication template for preparing their submissions. On submission authors are also asked to provide:

  • A statement indicating why the work should be published in ChemComm. This should include the significance and novelty of the work, and why it is of interest to the wide general readership of ChemComm.
  • Details of 5 suitable referees

Feature articles

ChemComm Feature Articles are reviews written by leading scientists on topics which are of significant interest to the journal’s general chemistry readership.

A Feature Article is not a typical review. It highlights the author’s contribution to a key field; however it should also include a balanced discussion of related work from other laboratories to set the author’s contribution within a wider context. A Feature Article should not contain original research.

A Feature Article should generally include:

  • A background to the research area; its importance and previous developments
  • A summary of the key aspects of the research recently published by the author
  • An outlook on future progression of the field, including how the author’s research could impact that.

Feature articles are generally between 10 and 16 pages in length, although longer articles may be acceptable after consultation with the editorial board. They can include photographs and brief biographies (max 100 words) for up to six authors, which should be supplied prior to acceptance. Authors are encouraged to use the article template for submission.

Feature articles in ChemComm are normally submitted by invitation; however we are happy to consider unsolicited submissions.

Highlights

Highlights are short, review-style articles that provide a balanced overview of the last 10 years of progress in a key field. They should appeal to ChemComm’s broad chemistry readership, and introduce non-specialists to fields that will continue to be important for the next generation of chemists.

Highlights should be written in an accessible way to appeal to research chemists (post-graduate level and higher) who are non-specialists in the field. They should stress the importance of the field to the chemists of today and the future, and authors are encouraged to give their view on how the field should develop.

While major contributions in an area should be highlighted, extensive referencing is not appropriate for Highlights, and new results should not be presented. Highlights can include photographs and brief biographies (max 100 words) for up to six authors, which should be supplied prior to acceptance. Authors are encouraged to use the article template for submission.

Comments

Comments and Replies are a medium for the discussion and exchange of scientific opinions between authors and readers concerning material published in ChemComm.

For publication, a Comment should present an alternative analysis of and/or new insight into the previously published material. Any Reply should further the discussion presented in the original article and the Comment. Comments and Replies that contain any form of personal attack are not suitable for publication. 

Comments that are acceptable for publication will be forwarded to the authors of the work being discussed, and these authors will be given the opportunity to submit a Reply. The Comment and Reply will both be subject to rigorous peer review in consultation with the journal’s Editorial Board where appropriate. The Comment and Reply will be published together.

Journal specific guidelines

The following guidelines are journal specific. For general guidance on preparing an article please visit our Prepare your article and Resources for authors pages, the content of which is relevant to all of our journals.

Double-anonymised peer review option

ChemComm is now offering authors the option of double-anonymised peer review. Both single- and double-anonymised peer review are now available to authors.

  • Single-anonymised peer review - where reviewers are anonymous but author names and affiliations are known to reviewers (this is the traditional peer review model used on ChemComm.)
  • Double-anonymised peer review - where authors and reviewers' identities are concealed from each other

Read our guidelines for authors and reviewers

Read more

Experimental guidelines

Experimental information must be provided to enable other researchers to reproduce accurately the work. The experimental details and the characterisation data should preferably be provided as electronic supplementary information (ESI), although on occasion it may be appropriate to include some or all of this within the body of the communication. This will depend on the nature of the research being reported.

The synthesis of all new compounds must be described in detail. Synthetic procedures must include the specific reagents, products and solvents and must give the amounts (g, mmol, for products: %) for all of them, as well as clearly stating how the percentage yields are calculated. They must also include all the characterisation data for the prepared compound or material. For multistep synthesis papers, spectra of key compounds and the final product should be included. For a series of related compounds, at least one representative procedure which outlines a specific example that is described in the text or in a table and which is representative for the other cases must be provided.

 

Characterisation of new compounds & computational results

Characterisation of new compounds

It is the responsibility of authors to provide fully convincing evidence for the homogeneity, purity and identity of all compounds they claim as new. This evidence is required to establish that the properties and constants reported are those of the compound with the new structure claimed. Referees will assess, as a whole, the evidence presented in support of the claims made by the authors. The requirements for characterisation criteria are detailed below.

Organic compounds

Authors are required to provide unequivocal support for the purity and assigned structure of all compounds using a combination of the following characterisation techniques.

Analytical
Elemental analysis (within ±0.4% of the calculated value) is required to confirm 95% sample purity and corroborate isomeric purity. Authors are also requested to provide copies of 1H,13C NMR spectra and/or GC/HPLC traces; however, if satisfactory elemental analysis cannot be obtained, copies of these spectra and/or traces must be provided. For libraries of compounds, HPLC traces should be submitted as proof of purity. The determination of enantiomeric excess of nonracemic, chiral substances should be supported with either GC/HPLC traces with retention times for both enantiomers and separation conditions (that is, chiral support, solvent and flow rate) or for Mosher Ester/Chiral Shift Reagent analysis, copies of the spectra.

Physical
Important physical properties - for example, boiling or melting point, specific rotation, refractive index - including conditions and a comparison to the literature for known compounds should be provided. For crystalline compounds, the method used for recrystallisation should also be documented (that is, solvent etc).

Spectroscopic
Mass spectra and a complete numerical listing of 1H,13C NMR peaks in support of the assigned structure, including relevant 2D NMR and related experiments (that is, NOE, etc) is required. As noted in 'Analytical', authors are requested to provide copies of these spectra. Infrared spectra that support functional group modifications, including other diagnostic assignments, should be included. High-resolution mass spectra are acceptable as proof of the molecular weight providing the purity of the sample has been accurately determined as outlined above.

Polymers

For all soluble polymers, an estimation of molecular weight must be provided by a suitable method - for example, size exclusion chromatography, including details of columns, eluents and calibration standards, intrinsic viscosity, MALDI TOF, etc. In addition, full NMR characterisation (1H,13C) as for organic compound characterisation (see 'Organic compounds' in this section) should be included. Small molecules on the route to the polymers should be characterised as above and NMR data should be tabulated.

Inorganic and organometallic compounds

A new chemical substance (molecule or extended solid) should have a homogeneous composition and structure. Where the compound is molecular, authors must provide data to unequivocally establish its homogeneity, purity and identification. In general, this should include elemental analyses that agree to within ±0.4% of the calculated values. In cases where elemental analyses cannot be obtained (for example, for thermally unstable compounds), justification for the omission of this data should be provided. Note that an X-ray crystal structure is not sufficient for the characterisation of a new material, since the crystal used in this analysis does not necessarily represent the bulk sample.

In rare cases, it may be possible to substitute elemental analyses with high-resolution mass spectrometric molecular weights. This is appropriate, for example, with trivial derivatives of thoroughly characterised substances or routine synthetic intermediates. In all cases, relevant spectroscopic data (NMR, IR, UV-vis, etc) should be provided in tabulated form or as reproduced spectra. These may be relegated to the electronic supplementary information (ESI) to conserve journal space. However, it should be noted that, in general, mass spectrometric and spectroscopic data do not constitute proof of purity, and, in the absence of elemental analyses, additional evidence of purity should be provided (melting points, PXRD data, etc).

Where the compound is an extended solid, it is important to unequivocally establish the chemical structure and bulk composition. Single crystal diffraction does not determine the bulk structure. Referees will normally look to see evidence of bulk homogeneity. A fully indexed powder diffraction pattern that agrees with single crystal data may be used as evidence of a bulk homogeneous structure, and chemical analysis may be used to establish purity and homogeneous composition.

Magnetic measurements

If data from magnetic measurements are presented, the manuscript must provide a thorough description of the experimental details pertaining to how the sample was measured (in a gelatin capsule, Teflon capsule, as a powder, etc). If the data have been corrected for sample or sample-holder diamagnetism, the diamagnetic correction term must be provided and the manner in which it was determined (for example, calculated using Pascal’s constants, measured) must be stated.

Any fit of magnetic data [for example, χ(T), χ(1/T), χT(T), μ(T), M(H), etc] to an analytical expression must be accompanied by the Hamiltonian from which the analytical expression is derived, the analytical expression itself, and the fitting parameters. If the expression is lengthy, it may be included in the electronic supplementary information instead of within the main manuscript text. Its inclusion as supplementary information should be noted in the electronic supplementary information paragraph at the end of the manuscript. When an exchange coupling constant (J) is quoted in the abstract, the form of the Hamiltonian must also be included in the abstract.

Nano-sized materials (such as quantum dots, nanoparticles, nanotubes, nanowires)

It is essential that the authors not only provide detailed characterisation on individual objects (see 'Inorganic and organometallic compounds') but also a comprehensive characterisation of the bulk composition. Characterisation of the bulk of the sample could require determination of the chemical composition and size distribution over large portions of the sample.

Biomolecules (for example, enzymes, proteins, DNA/RNA, oligosaccharides, oligonucleotides)

Authors should provide rigorous evidence for the identity and purity of the biomolecules described. The techniques that may be employed to substantiate identity include the following.

  • Mass spectrometry
  • LC-MS
  • Sequencing data (for proteins and oligonucleotides)
  • High field 1H,13C NMR spectroscopy
  • X-ray crystallography

Purity must be established by one or more of the following.

  • HPLC
  • Gel electrophoresis
  • Capillary electrophoresis
  • High field 1H,13C NMR spectroscopy

Sequence verification also needs to be carried out for nucleic acid cases involving molecular biology including all mutants; for new protein or gene sequences, the entire sequence must be provided. For organic synthesis involving DNA, RNA oligonucleotides, their derivatives or mimics, purity must be established using HPLC and mass spectrometry as a minimum.

For new derivatives comprising modified monomers, the usual organic chemistry analytical requirements for the novel monomer must be provided (see 'Organic compounds'). However, it is not necessary to provide this level of characterisation for the oligonucleotide into which the novel monomer is incorporated.

Computational results

Authors must provide sufficient information to enable readers to reproduce any computational results. If software was used for calculations and is generally available, it must be properly cited in the notes and references. References to the methods upon which the software is based must also be provided. Equations, data, geometric parameters/coordinates, or other numerical parameters essential to reproduction of the computational results (or adequate references when available in the open literature) must be provided. Authors who report the results of electronic structure calculations in relative energies should also include in electronic supplementary information the absolute energies obtained directly from the computational output files. Computational results obtained using methods, parameters, or input data that are not adequately described in the manuscript or in the referenced literature are not acceptable for publication.

Guidelines on writing titles, abstracts & table of contents information

More details

The title, abstract and table of contents graphic are the first parts of your manuscript that editors, referees and potential readers will see, and once published they play a major part in a researcher’s decision to read your article. Therefore it’s important that these clearly and concisely show the main findings of your research and why they are important.

Title
This should be short and straightforward to appeal to a general reader, but detailed enough to reflect the contents of the article.

  • Keep it short – up to 15 words is ideal
  • Use easily recognisable words and phrases that can be read quickly 
  • Use general terms for compounds and procedures rather than specific nomenclature, very specialised terms or non-standard abbreviations
  • Avoid using terms such as “novel”. Instead say why your findings are important
  • Use keywords and familiar, searchable terms – these can increase the chances of your article appearing in search results. Around 70% of our readers come via search engines

Table of contents information
This consists of a small graphic and short text which will appear in the journal contents listing

The graphic should:

  • be 8 cm wide x 4 cm high
  • be a clear representation of what your research is about; consider what would grab the attention as a reader scans though article listings
  • include only one or two key elements; it’s much better to have a small amount of information that stands out rather than a lot of information which is too small to understand
  • only include text that is large enough to read and in Arial, Times or Helvetica font
  • avoid reusing figures from the article such as graphs or spectra which often, on their own, don’t convey what your research is about

Information on required formats for graphics can be found in our submission guidelines.

The text should:

  • be 15–25 words
  • focus only on the key findings and their importance, not the processes used; think about what would grab the attention of the reader and encourage them to read the full article
  • use easily recognisable words and phrases that can be read quickly
  • not repeat the information given in the title 

Abstract
This is a single paragraph which summarises your research. It will help readers to decide whether your article is of interest to them.

  • The length can vary, typically up to 100 words, but it should always be concise and easy to read
  • It should set out the objectives of the work, the key findings and why this research is important (compared to other research in its field)
  • It should emphasise (but not overstate) the significance and potential impact of your research
  • Avoid including detailed information on how the research was carried out; this should be described in the main part of the manuscript

Like your title, make sure you use familiar, searchable terms and keywords

Expand for examples

Titles

Asymmetric Si-rhodamine scaffolds: rational design of pH-durable protease-activated NIR probes in vivo
From DOI 10.1039/C9CC09666C

Flexible and printable dielectric polymer composite with tunable permittivity and thermal stability
From DOI 10.1039/C9CC08648J

Carbon free silicon/polyaniline hybrid anodes with 3D conductive structures for superior lithium-ion batteries
From DOI 10.1039/C9CC09132G

Borohydride intermediates pave the way for magnesium-catalysed enantioselective ketone reduction
From DOI 10.1039/C9CC09111D

Peptide nucleic acids harness dual information codes in a single molecule
From DOI 10.1039/C9CC09905K

Table of contents entries

A new naphthalimide based NADH mimic that functions as a fully reversible fluorescent “on off” probe for redox state has been synthesised and evaluated.
From DOI: 10.1039/C9CC09748A

Peptide nucleic acids simultaneously encode information from nature's two fundamental biopolymers for life: nucleic acids and proteins. From DOI: 10.1039/C9CC09905K

We report an efficient and environmentally friendly electrochemical approach to perform the bromo cyclization of tryptophol, tryptamine and tryptophan derivatives. From DOI 10.1039/C9CC09276E

 

Polyoxometalates (POMs) were self-assembled on cetyltriethylammonium bromide-covered gold nanorods and formed periodic POM rings, which could be used as templates for the synthesis of Ag nano-rings. From DOI 10.1039/C9CC06968B

Abstracts

Cytochalasans are highly complex fungal metabolites which exhibit diverse biological activities. Little is known of the chemical steps involved in the construction of the tricyclic core, which consists of an octahydro-isoindole skeleton fused to a macrocyclic ring. Here, using a directed gene knockout and complementation strategy, we show that PyiF is implicated as the proposed intramolecular [4+2] Diels–Alderase required for construction of the tricyclic core of pyrichalasin H

From DOI 10.1039/C9CC09590J

A one-step process has been developed to produce a polymer coating which is hydrophobic and oleophilic, but which oil slides off and water adheres to at all tilt angles – including when vertically inclined or inverted. The polymer is transparent, and the plasma coating process is independent of substrate composition and geometry.

From DOI 10.1039/C9CC08896B

The aplyronines are a family of highly cytotoxic marine natural products with potential application in targeted cancer chemotherapy. To address the severe supply issue, function-oriented molecular editing of their macrolactone scaffold led to the design of a series of simplified aplyronine analogues. Enabled by a highly convergent aldol-based route, the total synthesis of four analogues was achieved, with a significant improvement in step economy versus previous compounds, and their cancer cell growth inhibition in the HeLa cell line was determined. The modular strategy presented offers a means for significantly shortening their chemical synthesis to facilitate the continued development of this promising class of anticancer agent.

From DOI 10.1039/C9CC09050A

Shell-isolated nanoparticle-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SHINERS) is applied to the study of a state-of-the-art water oxidation electrocatalyst, IrOx, during oxygen evolution. The excellent sensitivity allows for in situ detection of surface intermediate species during cyclic voltammetry. Features in the Raman spectrum are correlated with the redox behaviour of the electrode, demonstrating a way to study the mechanisms of electrocatalytic water splitting using equipment available in most laboratories.

From DOI 10.1039/C9CC08284K 

Conjugate addition of thiols to benzoquinones has been coupled to in situ electrochemical oxidation of the resulting hydroquinone to enable full substitution of quinone C–H bonds. The sulfonated thioether-substituted quinones exhibit high solublity and stability in aqueous solution and have redox potentials ranging from 440–750 mV vs. SHE. The electrosynthetic protocol is effective on >100 g scale.

From DOI 10.1039/C9CC08878D

Open access publishing options

ChemComm is a hybrid (transformative) journal and gives authors the choice of publishing their research either via the traditional subscription-based model or instead by choosing our gold open access option. Find out more about our Transformative Journals. which are Plan S compliant.

Gold open access

For authors who want to publish their article gold open access, ChemComm charges an article processing charge (APC) of £2,500 (+ any applicable tax). Our APC is all-inclusive and makes your article freely available online immediately, permanently, and includes your choice of Creative Commons licence (CC BY or CC BY-NC) at no extra cost. It is not a submission charge, so you only pay if your article is accepted for publication.

Learn more about publishing open access.

Read & Publish

If your institution has a Read & Publish agreement in place with the Royal Society of Chemistry, APCs for gold open access publishing in ChemComm may already be covered.

Use our journal finder to check if your institution has an open access agreement with us.

Please use your official institutional email address to submit your manuscript and check you are assigned as the corresponding author; this helps us to identify if you are eligible for Read & Publish or other APC discounts.

Traditional subscription model

Authors can also publish in ChemComm via the traditional subscription model without needing to pay an APC. Articles published via this route are available to institutions and individuals who subscribe to the journal. Our standard licence allows you to make the accepted manuscript of your article freely available after a 12-month embargo period. This is known as the green route to open access.

Learn more about green open access.

Readership information

ChemComm is for academic and industrial chemists in all areas of the chemical sciences.

Subscription information

ChemComm is part of RSC Gold, Core Chemistry and General Chemistry subscription packages.

Online only 2024: ISSN 1364-548X, £3,695 / $6,508

*2022 Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate Analytics, 2023)

**The median time from submission to first decision including manuscripts rejected without peer review from the previous calendar year

***The median time from submission to first decision for peer-reviewed manuscripts from the previous calendar year

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