RSC Advances

Scope

Both Papers and Review articles will be considered for this issue. All submissions will be subject to an initial assessment by Associate Editors and, if suitable for the journal, they will be subject to rigorous peer review to meet the usual high standards of RSC Advances.

How to submit

If you would like to submit to this issue please notify the Editorial Office by using pre-submission queries. The manuscript should be prepared according to our article guidelines and submitted via our RSC Advances online system.

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. Copies of the ¹H,¹³C NMR spectra must be provided for all new compounds.

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 recrystallization 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 should 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 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.

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 characterization-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 more appropriate for the supplementary information. 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 (for example, 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 both outlines a specific example that is described in the text or in a table and is representative for the other cases must be provided.

All nanoparticulate materials must have be purified from synthesis by-products and residual parent compounds, ions etc. If they are to be applied in dispersed form (for example, as nanoparticulate drug carrier), sufficient data on the dispersion state must be provided (for example, by dynamic light scattering, centrifugal analysis, nanoparticle tracking analysis).

Biomolecules (such as 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 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'). It is not however necessary to provide this level of characterisation for the oligonucleotide into which the novel monomer is incorporated.

Electrophoretic gels and blots

All Western blot and other electrophoresis data should be supported by the underlying raw images: an image of the full gel or blot, uncropped and unprocessed, should be provided in the supplementary information on submission. All samples and controls used for a comparative analysis should be run on the same gel or blot.

When illustrating the result, any cropping or rearrangement of lanes within an image should be stated in the figure legend and with lane boundaries clearly delineated. Alterations should be kept to a minimum required for clarity. Each image should be appropriately labelled, with closest molecular mass markers and lanes labelled. All details must be visible, over- or underexposed gels and blots are not acceptable. Authors should be able to provide raw data for all replicate experiments upon request.

FAQ

How long will it take for an issue in progress to be completed?

This will vary issue-by-issue, but typically issues will be completed within a week.

How will I know if the issue I am viewing is complete or not?

If an issue is incomplete, the text 'Issue in Progress' will be displayed after the issue number. For closed issues, this text is replaced with the full page extent of the issue.

Will advance articles still be published?

Advance articles will no longer be published as these will be replaced by the publication of the final citable article with page numbers.

Why are some of the subject categories missing from some issues?

When you sort an issue by subject, only subject areas that contain articles will be displayed. For example, if there were no articles published and assigned to the 'Analytical subject' category in that issue, then that category will not appear in the subject list for that issue.

Will I be able to browse issues by sub-categories?

Not at this time. You are able to browse issues only using the 12 main categories.

Will RSC Advances still publish themed issues?

We will continue to publish web-themed collections online that appear under the 'Themed collections' tab on the journal homepage.

How will this new publication procedure affect the table of contents alerts?

You can still register and receive table of contents alerts for RSC Advances issues in the normal way. However, you can now also opt to receive subject-based e-alerts which will provide you with just a list of the articles in that issue that will be of interest to you.

Will the new publication process delay the publication of my article?

Publication times will remain short.

Will the page numbers change or be adjusted later on to fit into an issue?

Once page numbers are assigned to an article these will be the final page numbers for the article.

Can I still publish articles back-to-back?

Under the new process, it will not be possible to publish related articles back-to-back in an issue.