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What would you like to know about Green Chemistry?

Impact factor: 11.034*

Time to first decision (all decisions): 15.0 days**

Time to first decision (peer reviewed only): 30.0 days***

Chair: Philip Jessop

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Scope

Green Chemistry provides a unique forum for the publication of innovative research on the development of alternative green and sustainable technologies. 

The scope of Green Chemistry is based on, but not limited to, the definition proposed by Anastas and Warner (Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice, P T Anastas and J C Warner, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1998). Green chemistry is the utilisation of a set of principles that reduces or eliminates the use or generation of hazardous substances in the design, manufacture and application of chemical products.

Green Chemistry is at the frontiers of this continuously-evolving interdisciplinary science and publishes research that attempts to reduce the environmental impact of the chemical enterprise by developing a technology base that is inherently non-toxic to living things and the environment. Submissions on all aspects of research relating to the endeavour are welcome.

The journal publishes original and significant cutting-edge research that is likely to be of wide general appeal. To be published, work must present a significant advance in green chemistry. Papers must contain a comparison with existing methods and demonstrate advantages over those methods before publication can be considered. For more information please see this Editorial.

Coverage includes the following, but is not limited to:

  • Design (e.g. biomimicry, design for degradation/recycling/reduced toxicity…)
  • Reagents & Feedstocks (e.g. renewables, CO2, solvents, auxiliary agents, waste utilization…)
  • Synthesis (e.g. organic, inorganic, synthetic biology…)
  • Catalysis (e.g. homogeneous, heterogeneous, enzyme, whole cell…)
  • Process (e.g. process design, intensification, separations, recycling, efficiency…)
  • Energy (e.g. renewable energy, fuels, photovoltaics, fuel cells, energy storage, energy carriers…)
  • Applications (e.g. electronics, dyes, consumer products, coatings, pharmaceuticals, preservatives, building materials, chemicals for industry/agriculture/mining…)
  • Impact (e.g. safety, metrics, LCA, sustainability, (eco)toxicology…)

Green chemistry is, by definition, a continuously-evolving frontier. Therefore, the inclusion of a particular material or technology does not, of itself, guarantee that a paper is suitable for the journal. To be suitable, the novel advance should have the potential for reduced environmental impact relative to the state of the art. Green Chemistry does not normally deal with research associated with 'end-of-pipe' or remediation issues.

Occasionally the Editors may decide to publish something outside the defined scope of the journal if the work would be of interest to the green chemistry community and/or have the potential to shape the field.

 

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Meet our Chair and all other board members for the Green Chemistry journal.

Article types

Green Chemistry publishes:

  • Communications
  • Full papers
  • Critical reviews
  • Tutorial reviews
  • Perspectives
  • Comments

 

 

See more information about these article types

Communications

These must report preliminary research findings that are highly original, of immediate interest and are likely to have a high impact on the green chemistry community. Communications are given priority treatment, are fast-tracked through the publication process and appear prominently at the front of the journal in a dedicated Communications section.

The key aim of Communications is to present innovative chemical concepts with important implications. Authors should provide at the time of submission a short paragraph explaining why their work justifies urgent publication as a Communication. Ideally, a Full paper in Green Chemistry should follow each Communication.

Full papers

These must represent a significant development in the particular field and are judged according to originality, quality of scientific content and contribution to existing knowledge. Although there is no page limit for Full papers, appropriateness of length to content of new science will taken into consideration.

Critical reviews

These must be a critical evaluation of the existing state of knowledge on a particular facet of green chemistry; however, original work may be included. Simple literature surveys will not be accepted for publication. Potential review writers should contact the editor before embarking on their work.

Tutorial reviews

Tutorial reviews are a type of review that provide an essential introduction to a particular area of green chemistry. The article should have particular appeal to younger researchers and established researchers seeking new fields to explore. Tutorial reviews should not contain unpublished data.

Perspectives

These may be articles providing a personal view of part of one discipline associated with Green Chemistry or a philosophical look at a topic of relevance.

Comments

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

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

All submissions should include evidence of the green advance that the work presents. This should also be highlighted in a cover letter.

All papers must be written so as to be widely accessible (conceptually) to a broad audience of chemists and technologists as well as, for example, final year undergraduates.

If toxic or otherwise potentially harmful solvents, reagents or materials are used, authors need to ensure that alternatives have been checked or their use can be justified by other technical reasons. For further information on the use of solvents please refer to: CHEM21 selection guide of classical- and less classical-solvents’ by Denis Prat et. al., Green Chem., 2016, 18, 288-296. DOI: 10.1039/C5GC01008DJ.

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.

Characterisation of new compounds

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 characterisation (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 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.

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 electornic 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 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.

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 that outlines a specific example described in the text or in a table, and that 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 the following.

  • Mass spectrometry
  • LC-MS
  • Sequencing data (for proteins and oligonucleotides)
  • High field 1H,13C NMR
  • 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 section above). however, it is not necessary to provide this level of characterisation for the oligonucleotide into which the novel monomer is incorporated.

Open access publishing options

Green Chemistry is a hybrid 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.

Gold open access

For authors who want to publish their article gold open access, Green Chemistry charges an article processing charge (APC) of £1,800 (+ 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 Green Chemistry may already be covered.

Check if your institution is already part of our Read & Publish community.

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

Traditional subscription model

Authors can also publish in Green Chemistry 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

The journal appeals to a broad international readership spanning many communities, including all academic and industrial scientists interested in the development of alternative sustainable technologies.

Subscription information

Green Chemistry is part of the RSC Gold subscription package.

Online only 2023: ISSN 1463-9270, £2,578 / $4,544

*2021 Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate Analytics, 2022)

**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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Green Chemistry

Pre-submission queries please contact Michael A. Rowan, Executive Editor
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Post-submission queries please contact Gisela Scott, Editorial Production Manager
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