Advanced Materials vs ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces: Journal Comparison 2026

Choose Advanced Materials if your materials advance is novel enough to drive new research. Choose ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces if the application and performance matter more than the material's newness.

Side-by-side comparison

The biggest difference

Advanced Materials is a flagship high-impact journal. It publishes materials breakthroughs that redefine fields. Acceptance is an honor; desk rejection is common and not a reflection on work quality, just editorial prioritization.

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces is a high-quality specialty journal. It publishes solid, well-executed applied materials research. Acceptance is achievable for good work that demonstrates clear value.

One is elite. The other is excellent. Know which you're aiming for.

Desk rejection triggers

Advanced Materials desk-rejects when:

• The material itself is not novel (known composition, standard synthesis)
• The characterization doesn't reveal new material science insights
• The application is incremental use of a known material
• The scope feels too narrow or too applied for a materials flagship
• The work doesn't align with the journal's positioning as a field-leading publication

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces desk-rejects when:

• Results don't exceed published benchmarks in the application space
• Characterization is insufficient to understand why the material works
• Claims are unsupported by sufficient experimental evidence
• The paper is out of scope (pure chemistry without materials application angle)
• Data presentation is unclear or incomplete

Who should choose Advanced Materials

Target Advanced Materials if:

• You've discovered a genuinely new material property or synthesis route
• Your characterization reveals something unexpected about material behavior
• Other labs will build on your work because the material itself is valuable
• You're willing to accept a 94% rejection rate because the work is truly novel
• You can articulate why materials scientists across subfields should care

This is the journal for materials breakthroughs. If you're hoping it might work but aren't confident in the novelty, it won't.

Who should choose ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

Target ACS Applied & Interfaces if:

• You have solid applied research with clear functional advantage
• You've characterized the material well enough to understand why it works
• The application is real and the performance metrics are competitive
• You want a faster path to publication with higher success probability
• Your work advances the state-of-the-art in a specific application space, even if the material is known

This journal is the realistic choice for 80% of applied materials work. It's not second-tier; it's appropriate-tier.

Strategic decision framework

Ask yourself: "If this paper gets rejected, is it because the work isn't good, or because the materials novelty isn't sufficient for a flagship journal?"

If you think "the novelty is right for Advanced Materials," submit there.

If you think "the novelty might not be enough, but the functional results are excellent," go to ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.

If you're genuinely unsure, that's actually a signal. Uncertainty often means your work is stronger in applied materials than in fundamental materials science. Submit to ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. You'll get published faster and with higher probability.

The acceptance rate paradox

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces has 25-30% acceptance because it publishes applied work the journal truly wants. Advanced Materials has 6% because it's flagship and rejects novelty even in technically perfect papers.

The 25% journal is not "easier." It's not "lower-tier." It's "appropriate for applied materials research." Don't interpret a 6% acceptance rate as a signal that Advanced Materials is better. It's a signal that it's different.

After desk review

If Advanced Materials desk-rejects you (most likely outcome), ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces is your next submission. Don't take the rejection personally. Reframe: your work is excellent applied materials research appropriate for ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. The timeline still works in your favor (faster publication), and the journal is well-respected in industry and academia.

Bottom line

Advanced Materials if your contribution is a material breakthrough. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces if your contribution is a functional application with strong performance. Both pathways lead to respected publications. Choose based on the strength and type of your novelty.

Resources

• Advanced Materials: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15214095
• ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces: https://pubs.acs.org/journal/aamick
• JCR 2024 Impact Factors (official Clarivate source)
• Both journals publish sample accepted papers on their websites