Is Your Paper Ready for Journal of Alloys and Compounds? The Inorganic Materials Standard
Pre-submission guide for Journal of Alloys and Compounds covering structure-property requirements, inorganic materials scope, and editorial expectations.
Readiness scan
Before you submit to Journal of Alloys and Compounds, pressure-test the manuscript.
Run the Free Readiness Scan to catch the issues most likely to stop the paper before peer review.
What Journal of Alloys and Compounds editors check in the first read
Most papers that fail desk review were fixable. The issues that trigger early return are predictable and checkable before you submit.
What editors check first
- Scope fit: does the paper address a question the journal actually publishes on?
- Framing: does the abstract and introduction communicate why this paper belongs here?
- Completeness: required elements present (data availability, reporting checklists, word count)?
The most fixable issues
- Cover letter framing: editors use it to judge fit before reading the manuscript.
- Journal of Alloys and Compounds accepts ~40-50%. Most rejections are scope or framing problems, not scientific ones.
- Missing required sections or checklists are the fastest route to desk rejection.
Quick answer: Journal of Alloys and Compounds (JAC) publishes inorganic materials research where composition and crystal structure determine functional properties, metallic alloys, intermetallic phases, rare earth compounds, hydrogen storage materials, magnetic materials, superconductors, ceramics, and semiconductor compounds.
With an impact factor of 6.7 and Q1 ranking in Metallurgy and Metallurgical Engineering, JAC is one of the highest-volume materials science journals in the world at roughly 4,700 articles per year. The editorial filter is specific: synthesis combined with structural characterization combined with property measurements. Miss any one of those three and you'll be desk-rejected.
Readiness verdict: Your paper is a good fit for JAC if it is an inorganic material whose composition and crystal structure explain a measured functional property, backed by multi-technique characterization (XRD with Rietveld, SEM/TEM with indexed diffraction, EDS/WDS). Think twice if the paper is a synthesis-only or property-only report, an incremental "recipe" variation, a catalysis/battery/biomaterials study where the device outweighs the materials science, or a purely computational result without experimental validation.
Use this page to decide whether to submit now, add the structure-property link, or retarget to Materials Letters, Intermetallics, or JMMM.
Run a free Journal of Alloys and Compounds readiness scan to see where your manuscript sits against the structure-property bar before you commit.
JAC by the numbers (JCR 2025)
Metric | Value |
|---|---|
JIF (JCR 2025) | 6.7 |
Journal Citation Indicator | 1.15 |
JCR Quartile | Q1 (Metallurgy & Metallurgical Engineering) |
Category Rank | 11 of 96 |
Annual published articles | ~4,759 |
Acceptance rate | ~30-35% |
First review round | ~6-7 weeks |
Peer review type | Single-blind |
APC (Gold Open Access) | $3,600 USD |
Subscription option | Yes (no author fee) |
Publisher | Elsevier |
Indexed in | Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed (partial) |
That 30-35% acceptance rate is more accessible than Nature Materials (~8%) or Acta Materialia (~20%), but the rank of 11/96 in its JCR category means JAC is still a top-tier venue. The papers that get through share specific qualities that rejected manuscripts lack.
Readiness matrix: is your JAC paper ready?
JAC's desk screen is about whether composition, structure, and property are explicitly connected. Run your draft against these five dimensions; falling short on two or more is a desk-rejection risk.
Readiness dimension | What a strong JAC submission shows | Where papers fall short |
|---|---|---|
Scope fit | An inorganic material with composition-structure-property as the story | Catalysis, battery, or biomaterials emphasis; organic or polymer systems |
Methods and evidence | Multi-technique characterization (XRD + Rietveld, SEM/TEM, EDS/WDS) | Peak-matching XRD, unindexed TEM, a single property measurement |
Evidence and novelty | New composition or processing with a mechanistic link | A "recipe" increment; a known material applied to a new use |
Package: figures and benchmarking | Graphical abstract, labeled figures, properties benchmarked to known systems | Blurry SEM, no error bars, no benchmark comparison |
Risk and decision | Computational predictions experimentally validated | Purely computational or CALPHAD results without validation |
Official submission requirements
Requirement | Journal of Alloys and Compounds specification | Source |
|---|---|---|
Article types | Full articles (6,000-8,000 words), short communications (<2,500 words) | Elsevier guide for authors |
Abstract and figures | Graphical abstract required; figures 300+ DPI with labeled axes | Elsevier guide for authors |
Data and authorship | CRediT author statement and data availability statement required | Elsevier guide for authors |
APC (open access) | Hybrid; Gold OA approximately $3,600; subscription route has no author fee | Elsevier official |
Scope | Inorganic materials with an explicit composition-structure-property link | JAC editorial board |
What JAC editors screen for
JAC isn't a general materials science journal. It's a journal about composition-structure-property relationships in inorganic materials. That distinction drives triage decisions.
The structure-property link must be explicit. Synthesizing a new alloy and measuring its hardness won't cut it alone. The editor wants to know why the alloy has that hardness, what's the phase composition, how does microstructure relate to mechanical behavior? A paper that reports properties without connecting them to structure reads as a characterization report, not a JAC paper.
Characterization depth is non-negotiable. JAC reviewers expect serious analytical work: XRD with Rietveld refinement (not just peak matching), SEM/TEM with properly indexed diffraction patterns, quantitative compositional analysis via EDS or WDS. If your XRD patterns lack indexed peaks and your TEM images lack zone axis identification, reviewers will send the paper back.
Novelty in composition or processing, not just application. Taking a known commercial alloy as-received and measuring its corrosion in a new electrolyte is a corrosion engineering paper, not a JAC paper. The materials science itself has to be new.
Scope: what JAC explicitly excludes
JAC's editorial board has published a clear list of excluded topics. Getting scope wrong is the fastest route to desk rejection.
Explicitly out of scope (per editorial board):
- Liquid alloys, steels, wear, creep, welding and joining
- Organic materials and polymers
- Coordination chemistry and ionic liquids
- Catalysis (unless combined with microstructural analysis and other materials properties)
- Biochemistry
- Synthesis-only papers without property measurements
- Purely computational results (including CALPHAD) without experimental validation
- Technical reports
In scope: Metallic alloys and intermetallics. Rare earth compounds. Hydrogen storage alloys and metal hydrides. Hard and soft magnetic materials. Superconductors. Thermoelectric compounds. Oxide and non-oxide ceramics. Semiconductor compounds (III-V, II-VI, chalcogenides). Thin films of inorganic materials. High-entropy alloys.
Watch out for battery materials. JAC gets flooded with electrode papers, and editors have become selective. If your paper focuses on electrochemical performance with cursory materials characterization, you'll be redirected to an electrochemistry journal. JAC wants the materials story, not the device story.
Where to Submit Instead: JAC vs Materials Letters vs Intermetallics vs JMMM
Factor | JAC | Materials Letters | J Materials Science | Intermetallics | J Magnetism & Magnetic Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
IF (JCR 2025) | 6.7 | ~2.7 | ~3.9 | ~4.8 | ~3.0 |
Acceptance rate | ~30-35% | ~30% | ~35-40% | ~30% | ~35-40% |
Best for | Structure-property in inorganic materials | Short comms, preliminary results | Broader scope including polymers | Intermetallic phases specifically | Magnetic materials exclusively |
Review time | 6-7 weeks first round | 4-6 weeks | 6-10 weeks | 6-8 weeks | 6-10 weeks |
JAC vs. Materials Letters: If your work fits in 4-5 pages and the main contribution is a novel observation rather than a deep characterization study, Materials Letters is faster. JAC wants the full story with thorough multi-technique characterization.
JAC vs. Intermetallics: Both journals are appropriate for intermetallic compound research. Intermetallics has deeper specialist reviewers for specific alloy systems. JAC gives broader visibility. Lean toward JAC if the paper has implications beyond a single alloy system.
JAC vs. JMMM: If the contribution is in synthesis, processing, or crystal chemistry of a magnetic material rather than in the magnetism itself, JAC is the better home.
Hot subfields at JAC right now. High-entropy alloys remain the single most submitted topic, if you're working in HEAs, expect reviewers who've seen dozens of similar papers this year and will hold yours to a high novelty bar. Thermoelectric materials and rare-earth-free permanent magnets are also high-traffic categories. In all three areas, incremental compositional variations without mechanistic insight face steep competition.
Characterization expectations by material class
Metallic alloys and intermetallics: Phase identification by XRD with Rietveld analysis. Microstructural characterization by SEM-BSE and/or TEM. Compositional verification by EDS/WDS. Mechanical properties tied to specific microstructural features. For new phases: single-crystal XRD or electron diffraction with proper indexing.
Magnetic materials: Hysteresis loops at multiple temperatures. Crystal structure determination and refinement. Magnetic property correlation with structural parameters. Curie/Neel temperature determination. For new magnetic phases, neutron diffraction data strengthens the case considerably.
Hydrogen storage materials: PCT isotherms (not just a single absorption/desorption curve). Cycling stability over multiple cycles. Structural characterization before and after hydrogenation. Activation conditions clearly specified.
Ceramics and semiconductor compounds: Optical bandgap measurements with Tauc plots. Structural refinement. Compositional homogeneity verification. For defect-mediated property claims: evidence via EPR, PL, or XPS.
The pattern across all classes: JAC wants every measured property connected to something structural. A paper with three characterization techniques that tell a coherent story will always beat a paper with five techniques that don't connect to each other.
Readiness check
Run the scan while Journal of Alloys and Compounds's requirements are in front of you.
See how this manuscript scores against Journal of Alloys and Compounds's requirements before you submit.
The review process: what to expect
JAC's editorial workflow follows the standard Elsevier system, but the volume creates specific dynamics.
Desk screening (1-2 weeks). An editor scans the abstract and figures for scope fit and minimum quality. At nearly 5,000 papers per year, editors can't read every submission in detail. Your abstract and figures do the heavy lifting. If the abstract doesn't clearly state a structure-property relationship and the figures don't show serious characterization, you won't make it past this stage.
Reviewer assignment (2-3 weeks). Finding reviewers who aren't already overloaded with JAC papers takes time, especially in popular subfields like high-entropy alloys or thermoelectric materials.
Peer review (4-6 weeks). Typically two reviewers, sometimes three. JAC uses single-blind review. Reports range from a brief paragraph to multi-page critiques depending on the reviewer.
Revision. Most accepted papers go through at least one revision. JAC gives a 4-6 week revision window. Major revisions requiring new experiments may get a longer window on request.
Total timeline. Expect 2-4 months from submission to first decision. Papers going through revision typically take 4-6 months to acceptance. That's comparable to most Elsevier materials journals.
Common Mistakes That Get Papers Desk Rejected at JAC
The "recipe paper." You changed synthesis temperature by 50 degrees, got a slightly different microstructure, and measured properties again. Unless the change crosses a phase boundary or reveals a new mechanism, this is incremental optimization that JAC isn't interested in.
The thin characterization paper. XRD peaks matching a reference pattern, some SEM microstructure, one property measurement. Not enough. Reviewers expect refined structures, quantified phase fractions, explained microstructure formation, and clear property connections.
The application-first paper. Known material, new application, performance reported. No new materials science insight. This belongs in an applications journal regardless of performance results.
The computational paper without grounding. DFT or molecular dynamics studies need to predict something specific that experimentalists can verify. A database of calculated formation energies without experimental follow-up won't pass. The editorial board's updated scope statement now explicitly excludes "purely computational results (including CALPHAD) without sufficient experimental validation", this is enforced at the desk, not left to reviewers.
The scope-adjacent paper. Catalysis papers that report only catalytic activity without microstructural analysis, battery papers focused on cycling performance without structural evolution data, and biomaterials papers where the "bio" outweighs the "materials" all get desk-rejected consistently. If your paper could be published in a catalysis, electrochemistry, or biomedical journal without changing the emphasis, it probably should be.
Submission and formatting
JAC uses the standard Elsevier article template. Key specifics:
- Article types: Full articles (6,000-8,000 words typical) and short communications (under 2,500 words for rapid preliminary results)
- Figures: Color free online, 300+ DPI required. Label all axes, poorly labeled figures are among the most common reasons for immediate revision requests
- Graphical abstract: Required. Show material structure on one side, property on the other, with a correlation between them
- CRediT author statement: Required
- Data availability statement: Required
- Open access: Hybrid journal. Gold OA costs $3,600. Check if your institution has an Elsevier Read and Publish agreement before paying out of pocket
A Journal of Alloys and Compounds manuscript fit check at this stage can identify scope mismatches and common structural issues before you finalize your submission.
Self-assessment before you submit
Answer these honestly. If you can't say yes to most, your paper isn't ready.
- Is your material inorganic? Scope mismatches account for a large share of desk rejections.
- Have you established a clear structure-property relationship? Not just "we made this and it has these properties", you need a mechanistic link between crystal structure and functional behavior.
- Is your characterization multi-technique? XRD plus microscopy plus spectroscopy plus property measurements, at minimum.
- Does your work go beyond incremental optimization? Would another researcher learn something they didn't already know from a textbook?
- Are your figures publication-quality? Blurry SEM images, unindexed XRD patterns, and property plots without error bars shouldn't cost you a review cycle.
- Have you cited and compared against relevant prior work? If someone published a similar composition last year and you haven't discussed the comparison, reviewers will flag it.
A Journal of Alloys and Compounds scope and framing check can help you evaluate whether your characterization depth, structure-property arguments, and scope alignment match what JAC editors expect before you enter the review queue.
Bottom line
JAC publishes solid, well-characterized inorganic materials work where composition, structure, and properties are clearly connected. At IF 6.7, Q1, and rank 11/96 in its JCR category, it's a strong publication target, but the 30-35% acceptance rate means two-thirds of submissions don't meet the bar. If your paper has thorough multi-technique characterization, a clear structure-property argument, and falls squarely within the inorganic materials scope, JAC is an excellent target.
If you're light on any of those three, you'll join the majority that doesn't get through.
In Our Pre-Submission Review Work
For manuscripts targeting Journal of Alloys and Compounds, five patterns generate the most consistent desk rejections worth knowing before submission.
The characterization paper without property-structure relationships (~35%). In our experience, roughly 35% of desk rejections we see from JAC-bound manuscripts involve alloy or intermetallic papers that report phases and crystal structure without connecting to mechanical or functional properties.
The journal's author guidelines make clear the journal's focus on inorganic materials science; characterization as a standalone contribution, without a property-structure argument, is treated as incomplete. Editors consistently expect the composition and structure data to answer: what does this mean for performance?
The high-entropy alloy paper limited to a single composition (~25%). In our experience, roughly 25% of high-entropy alloy submissions are rejected because the study reports properties at one composition without systematic exploration of composition-property relationships across the composition space. Papers in this subfield that do not address phase stability over a range of compositions are treated as insufficient. Editors consistently flag single-point HEA characterization as a gap in the experimental design, not a minor limitation.
The magnetic material paper without benchmarking (~20%). In our experience, roughly 20% of rejected magnetic material papers fail because coercivity or magnetization values are reported without comparison to commercial or benchmark alloy systems. Papers on hard or soft magnetic alloys that do not situate their findings relative to known standards lose the context that makes the result interpretable. Editors consistently require that performance claims be placed against the relevant alloy landscape.
The shape memory alloy paper without cyclic stability data (~15%). In our experience, roughly 15% of rejected shape memory alloy manuscripts report single-cycle transformation characterization without thermal cycling data. Editors consistently treat one-cycle assessments as preliminary; cyclic stability over multiple transformation cycles is considered baseline for a practical alloy contribution, not an optional supplementary result.
The hydrogen storage paper without PCT isotherm characterization (~10%). In our experience, roughly 10% of hydrogen storage alloy papers are blocked at desk review because pressure-composition-temperature isotherm data is absent. PCT characterization is treated as the baseline requirement for any hydrogen storage alloy manuscript; papers tested only under idealized or fixed-pressure conditions without PCT data are rejected as incomplete regardless of the novelty of the alloy composition.
SciRev community data for Journal Of Alloys And Compounds confirms the review timeline and rejection patterns documented above.
Before submitting to Journal of Alloys and Compounds, a Journal of Alloys and Compounds submission readiness check identifies whether your characterization scope, property-structure argument, and benchmarking meet the journal's editorial bar before you commit to the submission.
Submit If
- Your material is inorganic and within JAC's scope, with the materials science itself as the new contribution
- You have established an explicit structure-property relationship, not just "we made it and it has these properties"
- Your characterization is multi-technique (XRD plus microscopy plus spectroscopy plus property measurements) with refined structures and quantified phases
- Figures are publication-quality (indexed XRD, properly labeled axes, error bars) and properties are benchmarked against relevant prior work
- An experienced materials-science colleague has read the manuscript and agrees it's competitive at JAC
Think Twice If
- The work is synthesis-only or property-only, or an incremental "recipe" variation that does not cross a phase boundary or reveal a mechanism
- The paper is really a catalysis, battery, or biomaterials study where the device outweighs the materials science, in which case an applications journal is the better venue
- Your evidence is purely computational or CALPHAD without experimental validation (now excluded at the desk)
- Key figures are drafts (blurry SEM, unindexed XRD) or properties are reported without benchmarking
- You cannot articulate what distinguishes this paper from recent Journal of Alloys and Compounds publications on the same system
For a manuscript-specific signal before you submit, run a free readiness scan.
Frequently asked questions
JAC is commonly estimated to accept about 30-35% of submissions. As a high-volume Elsevier journal, it publishes nearly 5,000 papers annually while still rejecting the majority of submissions.
First decisions typically arrive in 2-4 months. Desk rejections are faster. The high volume means reviewer assignment can sometimes take longer than at smaller journals.
JAC covers metallic alloys, intermetallic compounds, rare earth materials, hydrogen storage alloys, magnetic materials, superconductors, ceramics, and semiconductor compounds. The common thread is inorganic materials with emphasis on composition-structure-property relationships.
Yes. With an IF around 6.7 and strong indexing, JAC is well-regarded in materials science and metallurgy. It is especially strong for inorganic materials characterization and alloy development.
Yes, but computational papers must connect to experimentally verifiable predictions. Pure theory without experimental context or validation faces higher scrutiny.
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- Journal of Alloys and Compounds Submission Guide (2026)
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- Journal of Alloys and Compounds Impact Factor 2026: 6.7, Q1, Rank 11/96
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