Advanced Functional Materials Review Time: Time to First Decision and Publication

Advanced Functional Materials is one of the leading journals for high-impact functional materials research, covering topics from energy storage and conversion to biomedical materials, flexible electronics, and smart coatings. With a 2024 JIF of 19.0 (JCR 2024), it sits at rank 9 out of 187 in Materials Science (Multidisciplinary).

The journal is selective, publishes a manageable volume, and generally runs a tight editorial process. If your paper makes it past the desk, the external review timeline is among the faster ones in the field.

Timeline at a glance

Most desk rejections come in under two weeks. If you're past 10 weeks with no decision, reach out to the editorial office.

How Advanced Functional Materials handles submissions

Advanced Functional Materials is published by Wiley-VCH and uses the Wiley online submission system. Manuscripts are assigned to associate editors with relevant expertise. The editor reads the abstract, introduction, and key results to assess novelty and fit before deciding whether to send to external review.

The journal is explicit about its standard: papers need to demonstrate a clear functional advance, not just materials characterization. A beautifully characterized new compound that doesn't demonstrate a functional application, device integration, or performance benchmark is likely to get desk rejected.

External review typically involves 2-3 reviewers. Wiley-VCH journals have a solid track record of enforcing reviewer deadlines, and editors proactively seek replacements for reviewers who go silent.

What slows review at Advanced Functional Materials

Reviewer recruitment. Advanced Functional Materials operates at the intersection of many specialties: chemistry, physics, electrical engineering, biomedical engineering, and more. Finding reviewers who are both expert and available for a cross-disciplinary paper takes time. Papers that span two or more distinct specialties can take 8-10 weeks to first decision.

Author response quality. The most common source of extended review is a revision that doesn't fully address reviewer concerns. Advanced Functional Materials reviewers tend to be demanding, and incomplete responses trigger a second full review round.

End-of-year slowdowns. Like most Wiley-VCH journals, late November through January sees slower processing due to holiday schedules across Europe and North America.

What authors can control

Lead with the functional advancement. Your abstract should state the device performance or functional metric achieved, not just the material prepared. Editors should understand the "so what" in the first paragraph.

High-quality figures are non-negotiable. At Advanced Functional Materials, figures often determine desk outcome as much as the text. Cover-quality figures should appear in the main text. Submit at full resolution (300 DPI minimum for raster, vector preferred for schematic).

Benchmarking is expected. Tables comparing your materials or device performance against recently published competitors are a near-requirement. If you're claiming a state-of-the-art result, show the comparison explicitly.

Communications vs. full articles. If your finding is concise and highly focused, consider submitting as a Communication. Communications are typically shorter (4-6 pages), processed faster, and can get from submission to publication in 2-3 months for a clean paper.

When to worry

• 12+ weeks with no status update: contact the editorial office via email with your manuscript ID.
• Status is "Under Review" but 10+ weeks have passed: reviewers may be overdue. An editorial inquiry is reasonable.
• Revision submitted more than 8 weeks ago with no update: also reasonable to inquire.

A single, professional email asking for a status update is always appropriate once timelines exceed typical ranges. Repeated messages within a few days of each other are not.

Faster alternatives if speed matters

• Advanced Materials (Wiley-VCH, JIF 26.6): Higher impact, similar timeline for transformative work.
• ACS Nano (ACS, JIF 15.8): Strong for nanostructured functional materials, often comparable review time.
• Small (Wiley-VCH, JIF 13.0): Slightly lower bar, similar scope, often faster in practice.
• Chemistry of Materials (ACS, JIF 9.0): Strong for materials synthesis and characterization, faster timeline, accessible.
• Materials Today (Elsevier, JIF 17.0): High-impact alternative for exceptional functional materials results.

For the full journal overview, see the Advanced Functional Materials journal page. Our pre-submission review service covers scope fit, figure quality assessment, and reviewer-readiness.

Impact factor source: Clarivate Journal Citation Reports, JCR 2024.