Angewandte Chemie 'Under Review': What Each Status Means and How Fast to Expect a Decision
If your Angewandte Chemie manuscript is under review, here is what each status means, the typical 2-4 week timeline for Communications, and when to follow up.
Senior Researcher, Oncology & Cell Biology
Author context
Specializes in manuscript preparation and peer review strategy for oncology and cell biology, with deep experience evaluating submissions to Nature Medicine, JCO, Cancer Cell, and Cell-family journals.
Next step
Choose the next useful decision step first.
Use the guide or checklist that matches this page's intent before you ask for a manuscript-level diagnostic.
Decision cue: Angewandte Chemie is one of the fastest selective chemistry journals. Communications typically receive first decisions within 2 to 4 weeks. If your paper is under review, it has already passed the in-house editor triage, which is the steepest filter. The editor reads cover letters carefully and makes triage decisions within 3 to 7 days. If you have been under review for more than a week, the hard part is behind you.
Check your next submission's readiness while you wait.
Angewandte Chemie's review pipeline
Status | What is happening | Typical duration |
|---|---|---|
Received | Administrative processing | Same day |
With Editor | In-house editor reading paper and cover letter | 3 to 7 days |
Under Review | Sent to 2 to 3 expert reviewers | 2 to 4 weeks (Communications) |
Decision Pending | Editor reviewing reports | 2 to 5 days |
Decision Made | Check email | Same day |
What the triage means
Angewandte Chemie uses professional in-house editors, not academic editors. This means the triage decision is made by someone who reads chemistry manuscripts full-time. The editor evaluates novelty, scope, and quality based on the abstract and cover letter.
Papers that do not pass triage are returned within 3 to 7 days. The editor may suggest transfer to a Wiley sister journal (Chemistry - A European Journal, ChemSusChem, etc.) at the same time.
If your paper has moved past triage to "Under Review," the editor believes the work has genuine novelty and merits expert evaluation. This is a meaningful signal at a journal of this selectivity.
What happens during peer review
Angewandte Chemie uses single-anonymous peer review. Papers typically go to 2 to 3 expert reviewers selected for their knowledge of the specific chemistry subfield.
Reviewers evaluate:
- novelty and originality of the chemistry
- experimental rigor and reproducibility
- quality of characterization data for new compounds
- clarity of presentation
- whether the conclusions are supported by the data
Communications receive faster review than Research Articles because reviewers expect to evaluate a shorter, more focused manuscript.
Understanding the decision
- Accept: rare without revision at any selective journal
- Minor revision: small changes needed. Respond promptly (typically 2 to 4 weeks)
- Major revision: substantive concerns. Address each point carefully. The revised paper usually returns to the same reviewers
- Reject: the novelty or rigor did not meet the journal's standard
- Transfer: the editor suggests a Wiley sister journal. The manuscript transfers with reviewer context, which often leads to faster publication than starting over
When to follow up
Situation | Action |
|---|---|
With Editor for 3 to 7 days | Normal triage period. Wait. |
Under Review for 2 weeks | Normal for Communications. |
Under Review for 4 weeks | Normal upper range. Wait a few more days. |
Under Review for 5+ weeks | Polite inquiry is reasonable. |
Decision Pending for 5+ days | Editor may be consulting additional input. Wait. |
Angewandte Chemie's editorial office is responsive to author inquiries through the Editorial Manager system.
The transfer option
When an editor suggests transfer to a Wiley sister journal, the recommendation is worth taking seriously. The transfer preserves the manuscript context and sometimes reviewer reports. Common transfer destinations:
- Chemistry - A European Journal: broad chemistry, lower selectivity
- ChemSusChem: sustainability-focused chemistry
- Advanced Synthesis & Catalysis: synthetic and catalytic chemistry
Accepting a transfer is often faster than starting a new submission elsewhere because the work does not need to be re-evaluated from scratch.
What to do while waiting
- do not submit the same manuscript to another journal
- use the waiting period to prepare supplementary data or additional experiments that reviewers might request
- the 2 to 4 week timeline for Communications means you will not wait long
- if you are preparing your next manuscript, check its readiness in 60 seconds
Related Angewandte Chemie guides
Sources
On this page
Reference library
Use the core publishing datasets alongside this guide
This article answers one part of the publishing decision. The reference library covers the recurring questions that usually come next: how selective journals are, how long review takes, and what the submission requirements look like across journals.
Dataset / reference guide
Peer Review Timelines by Journal
Reference-grade journal timeline data that authors, labs, and writing centers can cite when discussing realistic review timing.
Dataset / benchmark
Biomedical Journal Acceptance Rates
A field-organized acceptance-rate guide that works as a neutral benchmark when authors are deciding how selective to target.
Reference table
Journal Submission Specs
A high-utility submission table covering word limits, figure caps, reference limits, and formatting expectations.
Before you upload
Choose the next useful decision step first.
Move from this article into the next decision-support step. The scan works best once the journal and submission plan are clearer.
Use the scan once the manuscript and target journal are concrete enough to evaluate.
Anthropic Privacy Partner. Zero-retention manuscript processing.
Where to go next
Same journal, next question
Conversion step
Choose the next useful decision step first.
Use the scan once the manuscript and target journal are concrete enough to evaluate.