Applied Surface Science Formatting Requirements: Complete Author Guide

The standard abbreviation is Appl. Surf. Sci. CASSI and the journal's own reference examples use that form. This matters in the reference list; it is not a reason to abbreviate the journal name in the manuscript title or target-journal field.

Applied Surface Science uses numbered references:

• cite sources with numbers in square brackets, such as [3,6];
• number entries in first-appearance order;
• abbreviate journal titles using the LTWA list;
• include accurate authors, title, year, volume, pages or article number, and DOI where available;
• mark preprints clearly and use the peer-reviewed publication when it later becomes available.

Worked journal-reference shape:

[1] J. van der Geer, T. Handgraaf, R.A. Lupton, The art of writing a
scientific article, *J. Sci. Commun.* 163 (2020) 51-59.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sc.2020.00372.

The current publisher example does not instruct authors to bold the volume, and it does not publish a six-author-then-et-al rule. A reference-manager style should therefore be checked against the live example instead of relying on a generic Elsevier preset. The elsarticle class remains a practical LaTeX starter, but the journal guide controls the submitted content and file package.

Provide editable sources for the entire submission. Word files should use .doc or .docx and a single-column layout. LaTeX files should use .tex; double-column formatting is permitted only for LaTeX. A PDF is not an acceptable source file, even though Editorial Manager converts the uploaded package into a single review PDF.

For the manuscript itself:

• keep the Full Length or Short Communication abstract at 200 words or fewer;
• use 1 to 7 English keywords;
• avoid references in the abstract unless essential, and define uncommon abbreviations;
• divide the article into clearly defined, numbered sections and subsections;
• keep the abstract outside the section numbering;
• place Acknowledgements in a separate section immediately before References;
• include a Conclusions section for Full Length Articles and Short Communications.

The official title-page checklist covers the article title, complete author names, affiliations, corresponding-author contact details, and any present address. The author order in the manuscript must match the submission system.

Both items are required for Applied Surface Science, but they have different file rules.

The guide does not set a 300 dpi requirement for the graphical abstract. It specifies pixel dimensions and readability at the display size. Do not import the 300 dpi photograph rule into this separate requirement.

Elsevier also prohibits generative AI or AI-assisted tools from creating or altering submitted manuscript images, including graphical abstracts. The research-method exception applies when AI image processing is part of the study and is reported reproducibly; it is not permission to generate the submission artwork.

Submit each figure as a separate, logically named file, cite it in the text, number it by first appearance, and provide a caption with a brief title and explanation. Text graphics may be embedded at the relevant position; LaTeX users may also embed them in the source.

The current guide does not state 90 mm and 190 mm column widths or an 8-12 point Arial/Helvetica mandate. Use the published pixel thresholds and make labels readable at final display size. Color figures appear in color online when the files are usable, and color choices should remain accessible to readers with impaired color vision.

Tables must remain editable text rather than images. Cite and number them in sequence, provide captions, place notes below the table body, and avoid vertical rules and cell shading. Tables can sit near the relevant text or on separate pages at the end of the article.

Submit supplementary material at the same time as the manuscript, cite every file in the text, and give each a concise caption. Elsevier publishes supplementary files as received without production formatting. A supplement can be added or replaced after submission only during revision. The current guide does not require a single PDF or state a general 50 MB supplementary-file cap.

Applied Surface Science uses Elsevier's Option C data policy. Authors must deposit data in a relevant repository and cite and link it from the article, or explain why sharing is not possible. A data-availability statement is required at submission and appears with the published article.

For surface-science work, that package may include raw or processed spectra, microscopy series, calculation inputs, code, or instrument data. The publisher controls the deposit-or-explain requirement; which dataset is necessary depends on the claims made in the manuscript.

The corresponding author must describe co-author contributions using CRediT roles. Not every role applies to every manuscript, and one author may hold several roles.

Complete Elsevier's declarations tool for competing interests and upload the resulting Word file. Authors with nothing to declare choose the corresponding no-conflict option. Funding sources and the sponsor's role must also be disclosed.

If generative AI was used for manuscript preparation beyond basic grammar, spelling, or reference tools, add the required declaration section before References. The statement should name the tool or service, explain its use, and state that the authors reviewed and take responsibility for the content. This text-use disclosure is separate from the stricter prohibition on AI-generated or AI-altered artwork.

Elsevier shares many publisher-wide file and artwork rules, but the journal-specific article routes are not interchangeable.

This comparison changes the transfer workload. Moving to Applied Surface Science Advances can change the graphical-abstract status and article-type menu. Moving to Surface Science introduces a defined Letter word range and a more fundamental surface/interface scope. Recheck the destination guide rather than carrying the Applied Surface Science package across unchanged.

In our audit of the live guide against this page's prior version, we found four specific failure patterns that can be tested before Editorial Manager creates the review PDF. The comparison is source-bounded: it identifies conflicts between the manuscript package and current official instructions, not undisclosed editor preferences or acceptance predictions.

An unsupported 8,000-word cap controls the entire Applied Surface Science draft. The live guide does not publish that Full Length Article limit. Authors can spend time cutting methods, tables, and figure explanations to satisfy a number the publisher does not state, while missing the actual six-page Short Communication rule or 10-12-page Perspective route. We check the selected article type first, then apply only the length control tied to that route.

The graphical abstract is marked optional or built to the photograph rule. Applied Surface Science currently requires the graphical abstract. Its requirement is at least 531 x 1328 pixels (height x width) and readability at 5 x 13 cm, not a generic 300 dpi threshold. We verify the separate file, orientation, dimensions, permissions, and absence of AI-generated or AI-altered artwork before upload.

The review PDF is mistaken for the source package. Editorial Manager makes a PDF for peer review, but Elsevier still requires editable Word or LaTeX sources. An Applied Surface Science package containing only a PDF cannot satisfy the production-source instruction. We check the .docx or .tex source, editable tables, separate artwork files, captions, graphical abstract, highlights, declarations file, and supplement together.

A generic Elsevier reference preset changes the journal example. Applied Surface Science requires square-bracket numbers in first-appearance order and LTWA journal abbreviations. The abbreviation Appl. Surf. Sci. should appear where this journal is cited. We compare a rendered sample against the live publisher example and check DOI, year, volume, page or article number, and preprint labeling instead of assuming the selected style file is current.

We find the highest-risk discrepancy by checking the chosen article type first, then the main source file, required companion files, artwork thresholds, and declarations in portal order. In practice: that sequence separates a genuine submission blocker, such as a missing editable source or graphical abstract, from a style preference that the publisher does not state.

These are package-consistency checks, not predictions about acceptance. A perfectly formatted manuscript can still fail the journal's explicit scope gate if it does not study material properties at the atomic or molecular level using specific surface approaches.

A current Applied Surface Science package check can review the manuscript structure and evidence package before the portal step.