Articles should be submitted using our online submission system. We do not accept submissions by post or email. Details of what files you need to provide can be found below. You will also be asked to supply the names and contact details of all co-authors.
Your submission will be acknowledged as soon as possible - please contact the journal editorial office if you have not received an acknowledgement within two working days.
On this page:
What to send & when
Cover letter guidance
Figures, graphics images & cover artwork
Help with our submission system
What to send & when
On submission
When you submit your manuscript to a Royal Society of Chemistry journal, please provide the following.
- Article text as a Word, PDF or LaTeX file (if you use LaTeX, please also include a PDF version); submissions to Chemical Communications and Catalysis Science & Technology must use our Communication template, for other journals this is optional
- Numbered figures either included within or at the end of the text; for specifications see information below
- A cover letter, including a statement of the importance of the work
- A list of preferred reviewers; these should be entered in the manuscript submission system
- Any electronic supplementary information (ESI)
- Any CCDC numbers, as well as CheckCIF files for each crystal structure; see the experimental data section for more information
Please consult individual journal guidelines for details of any additional required files
The submission system allows for up to five files to be uploaded at once. Alternatively a ZIP file containing up to 20 files can be uploaded. All files relating to a single manuscript should be uploaded simultaneously during one transaction.
At revision
As well as your revised manuscript, you will be asked to provide a response to the referees, your figures as separate high-resolution files and a table of contents entry. Full details of what you should include will be sent to you by the editor when required.
Licence to publish
Corresponding authors are required to agree to a licence to publish after their article is accepted for publication. Alternatively, a downloadable PDF version is available, which can be completed and returned by email or post to the editorial office.
Cover letter guidance
A cover letter (sometimes referred to as a justification or letter to reviewers) is an excellent opportunity for you to promote your work to the editor and reviewers. This is a chance for you to explain the importance of the work submitted and why it is most suitable for the journal. Your cover letter will be sent to reviewers.
Things to consider:
- Make sure you state the correct journal name
- Address your letter to the relevant Associate Editor or Executive Editor
- Include a succinct statement about the importance and/or impact of your work
- Avoid repeating information that is already in your abstract or introduction
- Check your spelling
- Don’t include preferred/non-preferred reviewers in your letter as these should be entered in the manuscript submission system only
- Don’t refer to themed issue invitations or invited articles as these should be entered in the manuscript submission system only
NB: Some journals may have particular requirements to be included in the cover letter, please check the journal specific guidelines for further information.
Figures, graphics, images & cover artwork
Figures & graphics
- Colour figures may be used free of charge both online and in print (we use CMYK colour model).
- Figures should be supplied as TIFF files, with a resolution of 600 dpi or greater. You can supply EPS files instead, but we will need to convert these to TIFF files in the final article.
- Files should fit within either single column (8.3 cm) or double column (17.1 cm) width, and must be no longer than 23.3 cm.
- Schemes and structures should be drawn to make best use of single and double column widths.
- Any text, numerical data or scale bars should be clearly legible and sized appropriately so that any data may be accurately interpreted.
- Figures including logos, trademarks or brands names (for example Lego® or Rubik’s Cube®) should not be used. You must obtain permission to use any figure or graphic belonging to someone else; see our guidance on using third party material in Royal Society of Chemistry publications.
Table of contents entry
A table of contents entry (graphical abstract) is required, which should be submitted at the revision stage. This should include an eye-catching graphic and 1-2 sentence(s) of text to summarise the key findings of the article to the reader. It will appear in the table of contents and feeds – for example, RSS feeds.
The graphic should:
- Be simple, but informative.
- Capture the reader’s attention (the use of colour is encouraged).
- Include a structure, scheme, graph, drawing, photograph or combination that conveys the message of the article. Please note, complex schematics or spectra should be avoided
- Be original, unpublished artwork created by one of the co-authors. Preferably, the graphic should not be reused and appear again within the article.
- Be suitable for, and uphold the standards of, a scholarly publication that has a global reach.
- Not contain any elements that are offensive or inappropriate, in particular words or images that are discriminatory.
- Not contain large amounts of text. Text should be limited to the labelling of compounds, reaction arrows and diagrams, with long phrases or sentences being avoided. Any text should be clearly legible to a reader.
- Not contain logos, trademarks or brands names.
The text should:
- Be concise and focus only on the key findings of the manuscript and their importance.
- Avoid repeating or paraphrasing the title or abstract.
Table of Contents specifications:
- The figure should be a maximum size of 8 cm wide x 4 cm high.
- Figures should be supplied as TIFF files, with a resolution of 600 dpi or greater.
- The text supplied should be 1-2 sentences long, using a maximum of 250 characters.
Photographs
- Photographs should be provided at the best resolution available (minimum 600 dpi) as TIFF, PDF or JPEG files.
- Biography photographs should be 4 cm wide x 5 cm high (individual photograph) or 8.3 cm wide x 5 cm high (group photograph).
Chemical structures
Structures should ideally be prepared with chemistry drawing software, preferably as ChemDraw files. Chemwindow files (.cwg/.cw2), ISIS/Draw exported in sketch format (.skc) and ChemSketch exported in ChemDraw format (.cdx) may also be supplied.
You should use the settings below or you can use our chemical structure templates to format these for you.
- Chain bond angle = 120o
- Fixed bond angle = 15o
- Bond length = 0.43 cm or 12.2 pt
- Bond width = 0.016 cm or 0.5 pt
- Bold bond width = 0.056 cm or 1.6 pt
- Double bond space = 20% of bond length
- Stereo bond width = 0.056 cm or 1.6 pt
- Hash spacing = 0.062 cm or 1.8 pt
- Captions/atom labels = Arial/Helvetica, 7 pt
Wherever possible, please send all ChemDraw files with the final version of your manuscript. We can use chemical drawings to highlight your research and make it more discoverable via our ChemSpider database.
Crystal structure images
A conventional line drawing of the structure should normally be included and one perspective diagram (or stereo pair) if appropriate. Packing diagrams should not be included unless required to illustrate a specific chemical point. The atom numbering scheme should be clearly shown in one of the diagrams.
Journal cover artwork
Appearing on the cover of the journal in which your work is published is an excellent way to promote your work and attract readers.
If you would like us to consider your artwork for the cover of a journal, please get in touch with that journal’s editorial team. Use of artwork is at the editor's discretion. Authors will be required to pay a fee for production costs.
If chosen for a cover:
- your article will be free for everyone to access for six weeks
- your cover will illustrate the online contents page of the journal issue
- the image will appear on all pdfs of your article – anyone downloading it will see your work
- we will promote your article on social media to boost its visibility
We will also send you high quality prints of the cover, and a digital version for you to use in presentations and your own promotion.
Help with our submission system
We handle all our peer review through the online system ScholarOne Manuscripts. This system requires the use of pop-ups, so you'll need to enable these in your browser before you start.
An author guide and FAQ section is available from ScholarOne Manuscripts to help you learn and navigate the system.
Registering a new account FAQ
New users will need to set up an account on the system before starting. To do this go to the ScholarOne homepage and click on 'Register here' under 'New User?' to the right of the page. It takes only a few minutes to complete the form; once done you will be able to access your account immediately.
I am trying to register my account and am getting a 'Marketing Flag' error. What do I do?
A Marketing Flag error occurs when you have not completed a required field. You are required to respond to the question that reads 'Do you wish to receive emails from the Royal Society of Chemistry about its related activities, products and services?', which can be found in the 'User ID & Password' section of the form, underneath the area where you can add keywords. Please select 'Yes' or 'No' from the dropdown menu.
I’ve forgotten my password, or need to change it, how can I do this?
If you have forgotten your password, go to the journal homepage and click the ‘Submit your article’ link. From this page, select ‘Reset Password’. Your login details will be sent to you.
If you do not receive an email containing your login details, or your email address has changed, please contact the specific journal office.
What is your policy on data protection?
The Royal Society of Chemistry will use the information you supply for the provision and administration of its activities, products and services. It will treat the information you supply in the strictest confidence. There is more information on our Privacy & cookies page.
If you are still having trouble please contact our manuscript support team.
Submitting a review FAQ
You should submit your review through your ScholarOne account. You can access this by using the link in our invitation email or by logging in to your account.
I am not receiving many manuscripts for review or they are not in my subject area, how can I improve this?
Our editors use keywords to search for appropriate reviewers for manuscripts. If you are not receiving many requests, or are not being sent appropriate manuscripts for your expertise, then please review the keywords on your account. You can find these by logging in to your account and clicking the orange triangle by your name in the top left corner. Select the option 'User ID & Password' and a new page will load. There is a list of searchable keywords to choose from, or you may add your own terms in the boxes on the right hand side of the page. You can also add a brief explanation of your research interests in the 'Research Interests' box located underneath the keywords section.
I am very busy and need to take a period off from reviewing, how can I do this?
If you log in to your account and click the orange triangle by your name in the top left corner you will receive several account options. Select the option 'User ID & Password' and a new page will load. On this page there is a box for 'Unavailable Dates' where you can select a time frame during which we will not contact you to request your help in reviewing manuscripts.
I can’t access the manuscript or files I need are missing, what should I do?
Some files do not display in the PDF document provided for reviewers, usually these are movie files, files related to crystal data, or certain types of image files. First, check the supplementary files which can be accessed from the Files tab at the top of your score sheet. If the files you need are not there then please contact the office who will be able to request them and send them to you.
I can’t attach a file with my review, what should I do?
Some Royal Society of Chemistry journals do not allow you to attach files when you submit a review. If you want to submit a graphic, or use equations or symbols that do not display correctly in the online review form then please complete the rest of the form and send the file containing additional information to the editorial office via email.
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