Journal of Materials Chemistry A Formatting Requirements: Complete Author Guide

JMCA uses a simple, unstructured abstract.

• Word limit: No strict limit, but 150 to 250 words is the norm
• Structure: Single unstructured paragraph
• Citations: Not permitted
• Abbreviations: Define at first use
• Keywords: Not required (RSC journals don't use author-submitted keywords)

The abstract for a JMCA paper should state what you made or studied, what you measured, and what the main performance metric was. For energy materials papers, reviewers expect specific numbers: don't say "high efficiency" when you can say "18.7% power conversion efficiency."

RSC journals don't use author-submitted keywords. Instead, the RSC editorial system categorizes papers using its own taxonomy. This means your title and abstract are the primary text used for editor and reviewer matching. Write them to be findable by the right specialists.

JMCA follows RSC's figure guidelines.

Figure specifications:

Table formatting:

• Tables should be editable, not images
• Number sequentially (Table 1, Table 2)
• Title above, footnotes below
• Use superscript lowercase letters for footnotes (a, b, c)
• Minimal lines: horizontal rules only

For materials science figures, JMCA has specific expectations. Crystal structure illustrations should include unit cell parameters. Electron microscopy images need scale bars and measurement conditions in the caption. Electrochemical data should use consistent axis formatting across all panels.

Color is free at JMCA for both online and print, which is a meaningful advantage over some ACS journals that still charge for print color. Use this to make clear, information-rich figures.

The TOC graphic is mandatory for all JMCA submissions and is one of the most distinctive RSC formatting requirements.

Specifications:

• Size: approximately 8 cm wide by 4 cm tall
• Resolution: 600 dpi or greater
• Format: TIFF, EPS, or PDF
• Content: Single image summarizing the key finding
• Text: A one- or two-sentence description accompanies the graphic (entered in the submission system, not part of the image)

The TOC graphic appears in the journal's online table of contents, in email alerts to subscribers, and in RSC search results. It's the visual that determines whether a browsing reader clicks on your paper or scrolls past it.

Effective TOC graphics for JMCA typically show the material structure or architecture on one side and the performance metric on the other, connected by an arrow. Keep it simple. A TOC graphic crammed with text and data points defeats its purpose.

Don't reuse your graphical abstract from another publisher's format as the TOC graphic. The dimensions are different (RSC uses a wider, shorter format than Elsevier), and resizing distorts the image.

JMCA uses the RSC reference style, which is a numbered system.

In-text citations: Superscript numbers (e.g., "as reported previously^1,2"). Numbers assigned in order of first appearance.

Reference list format:

1. A. B. Author, C. D. Author and E. F. Author, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2024, 12, 1234-1240.

Key formatting details:

• Author names: Initials first, then surname
• Use "and" before the last author
• Journal names abbreviated and italicized
• Year, volume, and pages separated by commas
• Volume in bold
• No article titles in journal references (this is an RSC-specific quirk)
• Book references include titles; journal references don't

The most distinctive feature of RSC reference style is that article titles are omitted from journal references. This differs from ACS, Elsevier, and most other publishers. Only the author names, journal, year, volume, and pages appear. This saves space but makes the reference list less informative for readers.

If you use a reference manager, select the "RSC" or "Royal Society of Chemistry" output style. Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote all have RSC styles available.

There's no formal reference cap, but Papers typically cite 40 to 60 references. Communications tend to have 20 to 30.

RSC calls supplementary content "Electronic Supplementary Information" (ESI).

What goes in ESI:

• Detailed experimental procedures
• Additional characterization data
• Supporting calculations
• NMR spectra, mass spectra, XRD patterns
• Video content
• Computational details

Formatting:

• Submit as a single PDF file
• Use the RSC ESI template (available on the RSC website)
• Number items as Fig. S1, Table S1, etc.
• Include a table of contents at the beginning of the ESI file
• Each item must be cited in the main text with "ESI" designation (e.g., "see Fig. S1, ESI")
• Maximum file size: 20 MB

A distinctive RSC convention: in-text references to supplementary material use the "ESI" tag. You write "see Fig. S1, ESI†" with a dagger symbol. The dagger links to the electronic supplementary information. This is handled automatically in the RSC LaTeX template but needs to be added manually in Word.

The ESI should have its own brief introduction explaining what it contains. Don't just dump figures and tables without context. Start with a paragraph listing what's included and why.

Details specific to JMCA:

No article titles in references. This is the RSC house style and it trips up nearly every first-time RSC author. Journal references include only authors, journal, year, volume, and pages. No title. It feels wrong, but it's correct.

ESI dagger notation. The dagger symbol (†) is used to mark the first reference to electronic supplementary information. This is an RSC convention that doesn't exist at other publishers. The LaTeX template handles it; in Word, insert it manually.

The TOC graphic text is entered separately. The one- to two-sentence description that accompanies the TOC graphic is typed into a field in the submission system, not included in the image file or the manuscript. Authors sometimes miss this and leave the field blank, which means their TOC entry appears without explanatory text.

Author affiliations use superscript letters. RSC journals use lowercase superscript letters (a, b, c) to link authors to affiliations, not numbers. This is the opposite of most Elsevier and ACS journals.

JMCA has a "significance" criterion. Beyond technical quality, JMCA evaluates whether a paper advances the field meaningfully. The formatting implication: your Introduction needs to clearly establish what's new and why it matters. A results-first structure that buries the significance in the Conclusions section doesn't work at JMCA.

Color figures reproduce well in RSC journals. RSC's online-first publication model means most readers see your paper in color on screen. But the journal still produces print issues, and color reproduction in print is free. This means you don't need to worry about grayscale readability.

Energy device data has specific mandatory conditions. JMCA's guidelines require standardized measurement conditions for energy materials. Solar cell J-V curves must be measured under 1 Sun AM 1.5G illumination with standard deviation reported, and at least 3 devices must be tested. Battery papers must specify cell type, electrode composition percentages, mass loadings, geometric area, and C-rate calculations. Photocatalysis papers must report quantum efficiency under defined wavelengths. Papers missing these specifications can be returned before peer review.

Data Availability Statements are required. JMCA requires a Data Availability Statement for all submissions. Statements like "data are available upon request from the authors" are unacceptable. Data must be deposited in a public repository or the statement must explain why deposition is not appropriate.

In our pre-submission review work with manuscripts targeting JMCA, four patterns generate the most consistent desk rejections.

Scope mismatch with the sister journals. JMCA specifically covers materials for energy and sustainability applications. The three sister journals divide by application: A (energy/sustainability), B (biological/medical), C (optical/electronic). Manuscripts on materials for biomedical imaging, drug delivery, or biosensors are redirected to JMCB before review. Manuscripts on display materials, photodetectors, or semiconductors for electronics belong in JMCC. The journal makes this determination quickly: the average time to decision across all submissions is approximately 12 days.

Incomplete device performance data for energy materials. JMCA guidelines require standardized measurement conditions for solar cells, batteries, and photocatalysts. For photovoltaic papers, J-V curves must be measured under 1 Sun AM 1.5G illumination with standard deviation, and at least 3 devices must be tested. For batteries, the paper must specify cell type, electrode composition percentages, mass loadings, geometric area, and C-rate calculations. Papers reporting material synthesis and characterization without device-level performance validated under standardized conditions are returned before or during peer review.

Fragmentation of a larger study into smaller papers. RSC guidelines explicitly state that JMCA discourages fragmentation: publishing closely related results as separate papers when the work could form a coherent whole. Flagged patterns include structural studies published separately from physical property measurements on the same compound series, and Communications followed immediately by Papers on the same material system. Editors recognize fragmentation from the introduction and title, and return manuscripts on this basis.

Missing CCDC deposition for crystal structure data. When a paper reports crystal structure data determined by X-ray diffraction, JMCA requires deposition in the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre (CCDC) and submission of a CheckCIF file with the manuscript. Papers reporting crystal structures without CCDC deposition are returned before peer review.

A Journal of Materials Chemistry A submission readiness check evaluates scope fit, device performance completeness, and RSC formatting compliance before your manuscript reaches editors.

Common issues at JMCA:

1. Including article titles in references. RSC style omits titles from journal references. This is the most common formatting error for first-time RSC authors.

1. Missing TOC graphic. The submission system requires it, but authors sometimes upload an incorrectly formatted image or forget to enter the accompanying text description in the submission system.

1. Wrong ESI cross-reference format. RSC uses "Fig. S1, ESI†" format. Other formats (like "Figure S1" or "Supplementary Fig. 1") will be corrected by the production team, adding time.

1. Affiliations using numbers instead of letters. RSC uses superscript letters, not numbers, for author-affiliation links.

1. Submitting an uninvited Review. Reviews require editorial invitation. Uninvited submissions are returned without review.