ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 'Under Review': What Each Status Means

Before the paper reaches external reviewers, an ACS AMI Associate Editor evaluates whether the applied-materials interface utility warrants ACS AMI's editorial slots. About 30 to 40 percent of submissions are rejected at this stage within the 8-day median for immediate rejections. A desk rejection most often means the editor concluded that the work lacks applied interface utility, demonstrated application potential, or methodological rigor, or that the work would fit better at a sister ACS journal (ACS Nano for top-tier nanoscience, JACS for broader chemistry, ACS Applied Nano Materials for nanomaterials specialty, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering for sustainability).

The ACS AMI editorial office confirms files are complete: manuscript with figures embedded, Supporting Information with characterization data (XRD, TEM/SEM, XPS, spectroscopy) plus application-context performance data, cover letter directed to the Associate Editor, conflict-of-interest declarations, ethics-statement documentation, and data-availability statement. Acknowledgment of submission typically occurs within a few days.

The handling Associate Editor reads the paper and evaluates applied-materials interface utility, methodological rigor, characterization data adequacy, and ACS AMI subspecialty routing. After technical checks pass, the manuscript moves to editorial review.

In parallel with the primary Associate Editor's read, ambiguous-fit papers may be discussed with the Editor-in-Chief or peer Associate Editors. This EIC consultation runs alongside the primary read and adds 2 to 4 days to the timeline that is invisible to the author in the portal.

ACS AMI Associate Editors typically invite 2 to 3 external reviewers, with reviewer recruitment typically taking 5 to 10 days. The recruitment window can take longer because reviewers with topic-matched applied-materials interface subspecialty expertise are scarce.

Once reviewers agree to review, the typical ACS AMI peer-review cycle lasts 3 to 4 weeks per reviewer, contributing to the 1.2-month first review round median. Reviewers are asked to evaluate applied-materials interface utility, characterization data adequacy, application-context performance, and reproducibility. Reviewer reports for ACS AMI tend to be focused; 1500 to 3000 word reports are typical.

After reports return, the Associate Editor synthesizes them. The 1.7-month total handling time for accepted manuscripts reflects revision rounds and editorial discussion.

• Rejection within 1 to 3 days: Administrative issue or immediate scope mismatch.
• Rejection within 5 to 8 days: Associate Editor desk rejection per the 8-day median.
• Still Under Review after 2 weeks: Strong signal. Paper passed the ACS AMI Associate Editor filter.
• Still Under Review after 10 weeks: Reviewer-recruitment or reviewer-report delay. A polite inquiry via the ACS Paragon Plus portal is appropriate.
• Status changes to "Decision Pending": Reports are in; expect a decision within 1 week.

This is the most common anxiety we hear from ACS AMI authors during the active editorial window. The honest answer: no, 5 weeks at Under Review puts you right at ACS AMI's 1.2-month first review round median. Reports may already be in editorial synthesis with the Associate Editor preparing the recommendation. Most reviewer-driven delays come from reviewer-recruitment timing for applied-materials interface subspecialty experts rather than slow reviews because ACS is generally good about enforcement of reviewer deadlines, with late reviewers getting reminders and editors usually finding replacements when reviewers go silent. If the portal still says Under Review at the 8-week mark, the most likely explanation is that one of the assigned reviewers asked for an extension and the Associate Editor granted it. This is normal practice at ACS AMI.

What you should NOT do during the 5-to-8-week window is email the editorial office. ACS AMI Associate Editors are working researchers managing 100+ active papers per year around their own laboratories; an inquiry at 5 weeks adds friction without accelerating the timeline.

If your ACS AMI paper is rejected after review, the natural cascade depends on what the reviewers and Associate Editor cited:

ACS Applied Nano Materials is the natural ACS cascade for nanomaterials specialty papers.

ACS Applied Energy Materials is the ACS cascade for energy-applications applied materials.

ACS Applied Bio Materials is the ACS cascade for biomedical applied materials.

JACS is the broader ACS chemistry flagship. JACS uses ACS Paragon Plus at acsparagonplus.acs.org; editorial contact jacs@acs.org.

ACS Nano is the broader ACS nanoscience flagship. ACS Nano uses ACS Paragon Plus; editorial contact nano@acs.org.

Advanced Materials Interfaces is the external Wiley applied materials interfaces cascade. Wiley uses Editorial Manager at editorialmanager.com/admi; editorial contact admi@wiley.com.

ACS asks reviewers at ACS AMI to evaluate four things specifically. The table below maps each to actionable preparation.

In our pre-submission work with ACS AMI-targeted manuscripts, three named patterns generate the most consistent reviewer concerns and the most common reasons papers miss the editorial bar or fail the desk screen.

Bench-scale-only framing flagged at Associate Editor screen. When the work presents bench-scale characterization without application-context performance data, ACS AMI Associate Editor desk rejection within 8 days is common. The strongest manuscripts include application-context performance data (device metrics, real-world testing, performance benchmarks).

Characterization data gaps surface as reviewer concerns. When characterization data is thin (especially missing XRD pattern indexing, absent XPS chemical-state confirmation, or thin spectroscopy validation), reviewers consistently request expanded characterization sections. The strongest revisions add complete characterization data with quantitative analysis.

ACS family cascade offers from Associate Editor. When the Associate Editor concludes the work is rigorous but the applied-interface bar of ACS AMI is not met, transfer offers to ACS Applied Nano Materials (nanomaterials specialty), ACS Applied Energy Materials (energy), or ACS Applied Bio Materials (biomedical) are common. ACS editors take these transfers seriously.

This page was created from ACS's public ACS AMI author guidelines at researcher-resources.acs.org/publish/author_guidelines, ACS Paragon Plus documentation (8-day median for immediate rejections, 1.2-month first review round median, 1.7-month total accepted, 3 to 4 week reviewer target with ACS enforcement, Associate Editor selection of peer-review experts), SciRev community-reported transit data on ACS AMI, and Manusights pre-submission review experience with ACS AMI-targeted manuscripts.

For the ACS applied materials landscape beyond ACS AMI, see ACS Applied Nano Materials (nanomaterials specialty), ACS Applied Energy Materials (energy applications), ACS Applied Bio Materials (biomedical applications), JACS (broader ACS chemistry), ACS Nano (broader ACS nanoscience), and external applied materials alternatives (Advanced Materials Interfaces, Advanced Functional Materials). The choice across these titles depends on whether the central contribution is applied materials interface utility (ACS AMI), nanomaterials specialty (ACS Applied Nano Materials), energy applications (ACS Applied Energy Materials), biomedical applications (ACS Applied Bio Materials), broad ACS chemistry (JACS), broad ACS nanoscience (ACS Nano), or external applied materials (Advanced Materials Interfaces, Advanced Functional Materials).

Reviewers at ACS AMI typically draw from 2 to 3 applied-materials interface subspecialty experts. Editors screen and triage manuscripts before any external reviewer sees them, and preparing a response template that addresses both applied-utility and application-performance perspectives accelerates revision rounds substantially.

For a pre-upload check of your manuscript against the ACS AMI applied-utility-plus-application-performance bar before submission, our ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces pre-submission diagnostic flags the application and characterization weaknesses most likely to surface in reviewer reports.