Polymer Chemistry publishes: Communications Full papers Reviews Minireviews Perspectives Tutorial reviews Comments and Replies Read the author guidelines for more information on article types and how to prepare your article for submission.

Polymer Chemistry

Q: Article processing charge (APC)

There are no fees to submit to or publish in this journal. As a hybrid journal, authors can choose to publish their article either through the journal's subscription model or as gold open access. Authors who choose the option to publish open access will be charged an APC of £3,100. If you choose open access you may be able to publish in this journal, with no APC to pay, if your institution has an open access agreement with us. You can use our Journal Finder to find out if your institution has an agreement and which journals are included. Check for agreements Read more about payments and funding for information on APCs, discounts, waivers, and open access agreements.

Scope

Polymer Chemistry welcomes significant advances across the breadth of polymer and macromolecular chemistry. The journal publishes research spanning polymer design, synthesis, polymerisation and modification, through to understanding the relationships between molecular structure, architecture, properties and function.

Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, new synthetic and polymerisation methods; polymerisation mechanisms and kinetics; precision and controlled polymer synthesis; polymer reactions, functionalisation and modification; supramolecular polymers and self-assembly; functional and responsive polymers; biomacromolecules and polymer-bioconjugates; and renewable, sustainable and circular polymer chemistry, including polymer recycling and depolymerisation. We also welcome chemically focused research on polymers for applications including energy, electronics, photonics, sensing, separations and biomedicine.

Advanced characterisation studies are welcomed where they provide new molecular-level understanding of polymer chemistry. Research does not need to demonstrate a direct application, but all submissions should provide significant innovation or insight in macromolecular chemistry.

Manuscripts primarily focused on application performance, with limited new insight into macromolecular chemistry, might be more suitable for RSC Applied Polymers.

Readership

Polymer chemists in industry and academia, plus materials scientists and bioscientists.

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Journal Impact Factor

3.9 (2025)

First decision time (all)

7 days

First decision time (peer reviewed)

26 days

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Indexing

eISSN: 1759-9962

Indexed in: Web of Science SCIE, Scopus

Publish in this journal

We encourage authors to review the information below and read our author guidelines before submitting their manuscript.

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Article processing charge (APC)

There are no fees to submit to or publish in this journal.

As a hybrid journal, authors can choose to publish their article either through the journal's subscription model or as gold open access. Authors who choose the option to publish open access will be charged an APC of £3,100.

If you choose open access you may be able to publish in this journal, with no APC to pay, if your institution has an open access agreement with us. You can use our Journal Finder to find out if your institution has an agreement and which journals are included.

Check for agreements

Read more about payments and funding for information on APCs, discounts, waivers, and open access agreements.

Check your manuscript

Get your manuscript submission ready with our new submission checker tool. You can instantly check if your manuscript meets your chosen journal's guidelines and requirements, check formatting and receive helpful hints to get you ready to submit.

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Article types

Polymer Chemistry publishes:

Communications
Full papers
Reviews
Minireviews
Perspectives
Tutorial reviews
Comments and Replies

Read the author guidelines for more information on article types and how to prepare your article for submission.

Our process and policies

Find guidance on our publishing process, editorial policies and the responsibilities of authors and reviewers throughout the publication process.

Our publishing process and editorial policies, including our initial assessment of submissions, our journal transfer service and the publication of accepted manuscripts.
Our guidance for authors on their responsibilities and the code of conduct they should follow when submitting to our journals.
Our guidance for reviewers on the procedure and requirements to assess manuscripts submitted to our journals.

Author guidelines

Our author guidelines explain how to prepare and submit your article and provide useful information on the review and publication process including transfers, revisions and any article processing charges (APCs) that may apply.

Read the guidelines for this journal

Meet the team

Meet the people supporting this journal, including its leadership, editors, advisors, and the editorial office.

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Contact the editorial office

We're here to help. Contact the editorial office if you have any questions about publishing your paper with us.

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Calls for papers

Any open calls for papers for this journal are shown below. All submissions to our open calls will undergo an initial assessment by the journal editors and subsequent peer review as per the usual policies of RSC journals.

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Emerging investigators series

Polymer Chemistry

Call for papers

Ongoing

Prizes and recognition