Chemical Science

Edge articles

Chemical Science publishes all original research in one format: Edge articles. Chemical Science editors understand that traditional two- or three-page limits for the dissemination of new research are not suitable across all sub-fields of chemistry. Edge articles have absolutely no page limits, although we anticipate that most will fall between four and 10 pages.

Edge articles enable novel research findings to be presented in a succinct and exciting way, without the need for abridged discussions or perspectives. As a result, we hope these frontier research studies will be more widely accessible to a larger chemistry audience.

Lengthy introductions and discussion, extensive data, and excessive experimental details and non-experiment-based conjecture should not be included. Authors are encouraged to place experimental procedures and characterisation data in the electronic supplementary information (ESI) where appropriate.

In addition, authors are encouraged to use the article template, available from our Author templates & services page, for preparing their submissions. However, the use of the template for Edge article submissions is not essential.

Minireviews

Minireviews are short, personal accounts of a new area of research. They can be speculative in nature, putting a new area in perspective. These are normally published by invitation of the Chemical Science associate editor board or the editorial office. However, suggestions from authors are welcome and enquiries regarding the submission of Minireviews should be directed to the editorial office.

Minireviews are typically three to four pages in length. They can include photographs and brief biographies (max 100 words) for up to six authors.

For inclusion in the articles, biographies and photographs must be supplied prior to acceptance. All Minireviews undergo a rigorous and full peer review procedure, in the same way as regular research articles.

Perspectives

A Perspective should be a concise and critical appraisal of a research area, within the chemical sciences, that will be of interest to the broad general readership of the journal. Perspectives should provide the reader with an overview of a subject and give insight into the field's progression and the potential challenges ahead.

Perspectives should be selective rather than comprehensive in their coverage. It is expected that Perspectives will be 10-12 pages in length and contain no more than 100 references. They can include photographs and brief biographies (max 100 words) for up to six authors. For inclusion in the articles, biographies and photographs must be supplied prior to acceptance.

Written by leaders in their fields, Perspectives are normally published by invitation of the Chemical Science associate editor board. However, suggestions from authors are welcome and enquiries should be directed to the editorial office.

To help the editorial office judge the suitability of a proposed Minireview or Perspective for the journal, authors may be asked to submit a synopsis. The aim is not to provide an extra burden for the author, but to ensure the article will appeal to the journal's broad readership.

Acceptance of the synopsis by the editorial office does not guarantee publication of the final manuscript. Synopses should include the following.

• a paragraph explaining the current importance of the field, its implications for the wider scientific community, and the communities of readers who will find the article of interest
• a structured outline of the review, giving section headings and expanding on each of these
• a selection of representative references to indicate its breadth and timeliness.

All Minireviews and Perspectives undergo a rigorous and full peer review procedure, in the same way as regular research articles.

Articles submitted to Chemical Science that are too specialised for the general chemistry audience should be directed to the appropriate RSC specialist title.

Reproduction of colour images is unlimited and without charge.

Comments

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

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.

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 encouraged to provide copies of ¹H,¹³C NMR spectra and/or GC/HPLC traces. 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 SFC/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, etc - 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. Authors are encouraged 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 provided the purity of the sample has been accurately determined as outlined above.

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 include the ¹H,¹³C and MS data of this specific compound.

For multistep synthesis papers, spectra of key compounds and of the final product should be included. For a series of related compounds, at least one representative procedure that 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.

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 to full NMR characterization (¹H,¹³C) - as for organic compound characterisation (see above).

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 a series of related compounds, at least one representative procedure that outlines a specific example described in the text or in a table, and which is representative for the other cases, must be provided.

Inorganic and organometallic compounds

A new chemical substance (molecule or extended solid) should have a homogeneous composition and structure. New chemical syntheses must unequivocally establish the purity and identity of these materials.Where the compound is molecular, minimum standards have been established. For manuscripts that report new compounds or materials, data must be provided to unequivocally establish the homogeneity, purity and identification of these substances. 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. Again, 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.).

Experimental data for new substances should also include synthetic yields, reported in terms of grams or moles, and as a percentage.

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.

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 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.

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

For nano-sized materials it is essential that the authors not only provide detailed characterisation on individual objects (see above) 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.

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 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.

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 mass spectrometry, LC-MS, sequencing data (for proteins and oligonucleotides), high field 1-H or 13-C NMR, and X-ray crystallography. Purity must be established by one or more of the following.

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

Sequence verification also needs to be carried out for nucleic acid cases involving molecular biology. 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). It is not however necessary to provide this level of characterisation for the oligonucleotide into which the novel monomer is incorporated.