Chemical Reviews Formatting Requirements: Complete Author Guide

Chemical Reviews uses a concise abstract that's dwarfed by the paper it summarizes.

• Word limit: 150 words maximum
• Structure: Unstructured (single paragraph)
• Citations: Not allowed in the abstract
• Content focus: Scope of the review, key themes covered, and main conclusions or trends identified

Writing a 150-word abstract for a 100-page review is an exercise in extreme compression. Don't try to summarize every section. Instead, state the field being reviewed, note the time period or scope, and highlight the most important conclusions or emerging trends.

TOC/Abstract graphic: This is a mandatory visual element that appears alongside the abstract on the ACS Publications website and in the journal's table of contents.

Specifications:

• Dimensions: approximately 3.25 inches wide by 1.75 inches tall
• Resolution: 300 dpi minimum
• Format: TIFF, EPS, or high-resolution JPEG
• Should visually represent the scope or theme of the review
• No text-heavy images; keep labels minimal

The TOC graphic for a Chemical Reviews article serves a different purpose than for a research article. It needs to represent the breadth of the review topic, not a single experimental result. The best Chemical Reviews TOC graphics are conceptual diagrams or visual maps of the field.

Chemical Reviews articles are figure-rich. It's common for a review to contain 30-80 figures plus numerous tables and schemes (chemical reaction diagrams).

Figure specifications:

Schemes: Chemical Reviews makes heavy use of chemical schemes (reaction diagrams, synthetic routes, mechanism illustrations). These are numbered separately from figures (Scheme 1, Scheme 2, etc.) and have their own captions. Schemes should be drawn using standard chemistry drawing software (ChemDraw, MarvinSketch, or similar) and exported at publication quality.

Tables: Chemical Reviews tables can be substantial. Many reviews include comparison tables spanning multiple pages. Tables must have:

• Headers for every column
• A title above the table
• Footnotes below using superscript lowercase letters
• Consistent formatting throughout

Biographies and photographs: Chemical Reviews includes brief author biographies (100-150 words per author) and headshot photographs at the end of the article. Each biography is a short paragraph covering the author's background, research interests, and current position. Photographs should be high-resolution portraits (300 dpi minimum, 3-4 cm wide).

This biography requirement is distinctive to Chemical Reviews and catches first-time authors off guard. Prepare these early, especially if you have multiple co-authors who need to provide photos and text.

Chemical Reviews uses the standard ACS reference style. Given the length of these reviews, reference lists are massive.

In-text citations: Superscript numbers, e.g., "as reported by Smith et al.^{1}" The numbers are sequential by order of first appearance.

Reference list format:

(1) Author, A. B.; Author, C. D. Title of Article. J. Abbrev. Name Year, Volume, Pages.

Key formatting details:

• Author names: Last name, then initials (Smith, A. B.)
• Semicolons between authors
• Journal titles abbreviated per CAS (Chemical Abstracts Service) conventions
• Year in bold, followed by volume in italics
• Page range with an en dash
• DOIs included at the end
• For books: Author, A. B. Title of Book; Publisher: City, Year; pp Pages.

Reference count: Chemical Reviews articles routinely cite 300-800 references. Some exceed 1,000. There's no cap, but every reference should be relevant and discussed in context. A reference list that's just a dump of every paper in the field won't serve readers well.

Managing hundreds of references manually is impractical. Use a citation manager (EndNote, Zotero, or Mendeley) with the ACS style file. The achemso BibTeX style handles ACS formatting automatically for LaTeX users.

Citation of your own work: Chemical Reviews expects balance. Self-citation is acceptable where relevant, but reviewers and editors will flag reviews that disproportionately cite the author's own publications while omitting other groups' work.

Chemical Reviews articles can include Supporting Information (SI) hosted on the ACS Publications website.

What goes in Supporting Information:

• Extended tables that would disrupt the flow of the review
• High-resolution versions of figures
• Complete datasets used to generate comparison tables
• Additional literature references for specific subtopics
• Supplementary schemes or reaction examples

Format requirements:

• Submit as a single PDF file
• Include a table of contents for the SI
• Number items sequentially (Figure S1, Table S1)
• Must be cited in the main text
• No strict size limit, but keep files manageable

Given the already extensive length of Chemical Reviews articles, the need for Supporting Information is less common than in research journals. However, when a review includes comprehensive comparison tables or datasets, the SI is the appropriate place for the complete data while the main text contains summarized or selected entries.

ACS requires a Supporting Information paragraph in the main manuscript that describes what's included in the SI file. This appears before the Author Information section.

Since Chemical Reviews is invitation-only, the submission process differs from standard journals.

How invitations work:

1. The editorial team identifies a topic that needs a review
2. They invite one or more experts to write the review
3. The invited author(s) agree and discuss scope, length, and timeline
4. The submission deadline is set (typically 12-18 months)
5. The manuscript goes through peer review (2-3 reviewers) even though it's invited
6. Revisions are common, sometimes multiple rounds

Can you propose a review? You can contact the editors with a proposal, but unsolicited proposals are rarely accepted unless the topic is clearly underserved and the proposing author has strong credentials in the area.

Required submission components:

• Complete manuscript in ACS format (Word or LaTeX)
• All figure and scheme files at publication quality
• TOC/Abstract graphic
• Author biographies and photographs
• Supporting Information (if applicable)
• Cover letter confirming the invitation

Copyright: ACS requires a copyright transfer or Open Access selection at acceptance. For Chemical Reviews, most articles are published under ACS's subscription model, but Open Access is available for an APC.

These are the details that Chemical Reviews authors learn through experience:

Author biographies are required. Every author must provide a 100-150 word biography and a headshot photograph. This is published at the end of the article. Prepare these early, because collecting bios from all co-authors takes time.

Schemes are separate from figures. Chemical Reviews uses three types of display items: Figures, Schemes, and Tables. Each has its own numbering sequence. Schemes are for chemical structures, reactions, and mechanisms. Figures are for graphs, images, and diagrams. Don't number a reaction scheme as "Figure 5."

Heading levels matter. Chemical Reviews uses a specific heading hierarchy: sections, subsections, sub-subsections, and paragraphs. Numbering is handled by ACS production, but you need to use the correct heading levels in your markup. For a 100-page review, outline your section structure carefully before writing.

Extensive copyediting. ACS provides thorough copyediting for Chemical Reviews. You'll receive detailed proofs with many editorial suggestions. The copyediting process for a long review can take several weeks. Budget time for proof review.

Dual publication check. ACS checks for text overlap with other published reviews. If you've written reviews on similar topics for other journals, make sure your Chemical Reviews article doesn't reuse text verbatim. Paraphrasing your own prior reviews is acceptable; copying is not.

Acknowledgments and funding. ACS requires explicit acknowledgment of all funding sources. Use the ACS format: "This work was supported by [funder] under Grant [number]."

Abbreviations list. For a review article with dozens of specialized abbreviations, consider including an Abbreviations section. This isn't mandatory, but it helps readers in a field where different groups use different abbreviations for the same concepts.

Even experienced review authors miss these:

1. Author biographies and photos. These are required, not optional. First-time Chemical Reviews authors often forget about them entirely until the production stage.

1. Scheme vs Figure numbering. Chemical reaction schemes must be numbered as "Scheme 1," not "Figure X." This is a consistent ACS convention.

1. TOC graphic dimensions. The 3.25 x 1.75 inch specification is enforced. Images that don't match will be returned.

1. Copyright permissions. If you reproduce figures from other published papers, you need written permission from the copyright holder. For a review with 50+ reproduced figures, securing permissions takes weeks. Start early.

1. Reference formatting for large lists. With 500+ references, even small inconsistencies add up. Use a citation manager with the ACS style file. Don't format references manually.