Chemical Reviews

Chemical Reviews

Chemical Reviews is a peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing comprehensive review articles in Chemistry and related fields. Established in 1924 and published by the American Chemical Society, the journal synthesizes advances across subfields such as Organic chemistry, Inorganic chemistry, Physical chemistry, Materials science, and Biochemistry. It serves researchers associated with institutions like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, Harvard University, University of Cambridge, and ETH Zurich who seek authoritative overviews linking primary research from bodies such as National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and industrial laboratories including DuPont, BASF, and Pfizer.

History

The journal was founded in 1924 amid expansion of scientific publishing led by organizations like the American Chemical Society and contemporaries such as Journal of the American Chemical Society and Nature. Early editors coordinated peer review practices with academic groups at the University of Chicago and the Rockefeller Institute to codify standards later echoed by editorial policies at Science and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Throughout the 20th century Chemical Reviews published thematic issues reflecting global events influencing research priorities, including the interwar years, the post-World War II expansion supported by initiatives like the G.I. Bill and Cold War funding through agencies such as the Department of Defense. Landmark review articles in the latter half of the century addressed breakthroughs connected to the work of laureates from the Nobel Prize community and institutional advances at centers like Bell Labs and Max Planck Society.

Scope and Content

The journal commissions exhaustive reviews covering topics at the interface of Organic chemistry, Organometallic chemistry, Supramolecular chemistry, Physical chemistry, Electrochemistry, Photochemistry, Surface science, Catalysis and Polymer chemistry. Reviews synthesize results from experimental groups at universities including Stanford University, Yale University, University of California, Berkeley, and research institutes such as Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Content frequently integrates methodologies tied to instrumentation developed by firms like Thermo Fisher Scientific and Bruker, and techniques promulgated in conferences such as the American Chemical Society National Meeting and international symposia hosted by IUPAC. Special issues have examined intersections with Materials Research Laboratory initiatives, translational themes relevant to companies like Merck and GlaxoSmithKline, and emergent topics referenced in reviews authored by fellows of bodies such as the Royal Society and the National Academy of Sciences.

Publication and Editorial Practices

Published biweekly by the American Chemical Society, the journal operates under an editorial board comprising scholars appointed from universities like University of Oxford, Imperial College London, Peking University, and University of Tokyo. Manuscript solicitation is common: editors invite experts who are active participants in collaborations funded by organizations such as the European Research Council and national research councils including UK Research and Innovation and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. Peer review procedures align with standards practiced by periodicals including Angewandte Chemie, Accounts of Chemical Research, and Chemical Science, emphasizing conflict-of-interest disclosures and reproducibility concerns raised in dialogues involving institutions like the Committee on Publication Ethics and publishers such as Wiley. The journal’s editorial decisions reflect citation practices tracked by services like Clarivate and dissemination channels through aggregators such as PubMed and databases maintained by American Chemical Society platforms.

Abstracting and Indexing

Contents are indexed in major bibliographic services including SciFinder, Web of Science, Scopus, and Chemical Abstracts Service. Metadata are surfaced through library systems at institutions like the Library of Congress and repositories used by academic consortia including JSTOR and CrossRef. Abstracting enables cross-references cited by reviews in specialized journals such as Journal of Catalysis, Macromolecules, ACS Nano, and multidisciplinary venues like Nature Materials and Science Advances. Inclusion in indexing feeds facilitates metrics reported by entities like Google Scholar and analytics featured in reports from Eigenfactor and SCImago.

Impact and Reception

The journal is recognized for high citation impact and authoritative synthesis, often cited alongside classic reviews appearing in publications affiliated with the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Korean Chemical Society. It has influenced research agendas at universities and agencies including Stanford University, MIT, NIH, and corporate research divisions of IBM Research and Siemens. Reviews published in the journal have been referenced in award citations for recipients of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and national honors such as the National Medal of Science. Critical reception highlights rigorous scholarship and editorial selectivity, while discussions in editorial forums and at meetings of organizations like ACS Publications and COPE address accessibility, open-access models championed by advocates at institutions such as University of California and evolving data-sharing expectations driven by consortia including the Wellcome Trust.

Category:Chemistry journals Category:Publications established in 1924