Journal of Physical Chemistry C Formatting Requirements: Complete Author Guide

J. Phys. Chem. C is more flexible on length than many journals, but the editors expect every paragraph to earn its place.

The lack of a formal word cap doesn't mean anything goes. The journal publishes in the physical chemistry space, where tight analytical writing is expected. Reviewers frequently ask authors to condense results or move secondary data to Supporting Information. If your manuscript is pushing past 10,000 words, consider whether some content belongs in SI.

Letters are capped at 4 published pages, which translates to roughly 3,500 words including figures and references. They're intended for rapid communication of particularly novel findings and undergo the same peer review as full Articles.

J. Phys. Chem. C requires an unstructured abstract of no more than 200 words. There are no section headings within the abstract, which is consistent across all ACS journals.

The abstract should contain:

• The specific problem or question addressed
• The methods or computational approach used (1-2 sentences)
• The main results with quantitative data where possible
• The broader implications for the field

ACS editors are strict about abstracts that lack specific results. "We studied the photocatalytic properties of TiO2 nanostructures" won't pass editorial screening. You need specifics: "Anatase TiO2 nanorods achieved 95% methylene blue degradation in 45 minutes under simulated solar irradiation, outperforming commercial P25 by a factor of 2.3."

Don't include references in the abstract. Avoid undefined abbreviations except for those universally recognized in chemistry (NMR, DFT, XRD, etc.).

The Table of Contents (TOC) graphic is one of ACS's most recognizable requirements, and J. Phys. Chem. C enforces it for every submission. This small image appears alongside your title in the journal's online table of contents and in ACS search results.

TOC graphic specifications:

• Dimensions: 3.25 inches wide by 1.75 inches tall (fixed aspect ratio)
• Resolution: 300 DPI minimum
• File format: TIFF, EPS, or high-resolution PNG
• Must visually represent the paper's main finding or concept
• Minimal text allowed (labels only, no sentences)
• Should be legible at the displayed size (roughly 1.5 inches on screen)
• No copyright-protected images from other works

The best TOC graphics in J. Phys. Chem. C combine a structural or experimental image (SEM micrograph, crystal structure, energy diagram) with an arrow or annotation showing the result. Don't try to summarize the entire paper. Pick one visual that captures the core finding.

A common rejection reason is submitting a TOC graphic with the wrong dimensions. ACS Paragon Plus will flag this, but it still delays your submission. Create the graphic at the exact specifications before you start the upload process.

J. Phys. Chem. C follows standard ACS figure guidelines, but the physical chemistry audience has expectations around data presentation that go beyond the basic rules.

Figure requirements:

• Minimum resolution: 300 DPI for photographs, 600 DPI for line art and graphs
• Accepted formats: TIFF, EPS, PDF, or high-resolution PNG
• Column widths: 3.25 inches (single column) or 7 inches (double column)
• Font in figures: Arial or Helvetica, minimum 6-point after sizing
• Panel labels: lowercase letters (a, b, c) or numbers, consistent throughout
• Axis labels must include units in parentheses
• Color figures are free for online publication; print color costs extra but most authors opt for online-only color

Specific to J. Phys. Chem. C:

• Spectroscopic data (XPS, FTIR, UV-vis) must include axis labels with proper units (eV, cm-1, nm)
• TEM/SEM images require scale bars, not magnification factors
• Crystal structure figures should clearly label crystallographic axes
• Computational figures (energy diagrams, orbital plots) should include the level of theory in the caption

Table formatting:

• Tables must include headers for every column
• Units go in column headers, not repeated in each cell
• Footnotes use lowercase letters (a, b, c)
• Statistical uncertainties should be included where applicable

J. Phys. Chem. C uses the standard ACS reference format with superscript numbered citations. This is consistent across all ACS journals.

Key formatting rules:

• References numbered in order of first appearance
• Superscript numbers in text, placed after punctuation
• All authors listed up to 10; for 11 or more, list the first 10 followed by "et al."
• Journal titles abbreviated using Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) abbreviations
• Volume in bold, followed by issue number in parentheses, page range
• Year in bold

Example journal article:

(1) Zhang, Y.; Liu, T.; Chen, W.; Patel, S. R. Surface Plasmon Resonance Enhancement in Au-TiO2 Core-Shell Nanoparticles for Photocatalytic Water Splitting. J. Phys. Chem. C 2026, 130 (5), 2341-2350.

Example book chapter:

(2) Kamat, P. V. Semiconductor Nanocrystals for Solar Energy Conversion. In Nanostructured Materials for Solar Energy; Wang, D., Ed.; Springer: New York, 2025; pp 112-145.

Note the ACS style details: semicolons separate authors (not commas), the year appears in bold after the journal title, and issue numbers are in parentheses. If you're using a reference manager, the achemso BibTeX style or Zotero's ACS format handles these automatically.

J. Phys. Chem. C allows extensive Supporting Information (SI), and in this journal, it's expected. Most published papers include SI with additional characterization data, computational details, or control experiments.

What belongs in SI:

• Additional spectra, diffraction patterns, or microscopy images
• Detailed computational methods and input parameters
• Cartesian coordinates for optimized structures (required by ACS for computational papers)
• Control experiments and reproducibility data
• Complete datasets that summarize in the main text

SI is submitted as a single PDF file through ACS Paragon Plus. ACS recently started requiring that SI files be self-contained with their own figure and table numbering (Figure S1, Table S1, etc.) and brief captions.

For computational papers, ACS mandates that optimized geometries (Cartesian coordinates) be provided either in SI or through a data repository. This requirement is strictly enforced at J. Phys. Chem. C.

J. Phys. Chem. C accepts both LaTeX and Word submissions, and LaTeX usage is substantially higher here than in biomedical journals. The physical chemistry audience is comfortable with it.

LaTeX submissions:

• Use the achemso package (maintained by ACS) for proper document formatting
• The achemso class handles reference formatting, section numbering, and journal-specific layout
• Submit the compiled PDF plus all source files (.tex, .bib, .bst, figures)
• Use standard commands; avoid custom macros that could break during ACS production
• BibTeX is supported and recommended

Word submissions:

• Use the ACS Word template available from the ACS author guidelines
• Times New Roman or Arial, 12-point, double-spaced
• Number all pages
• Include line numbers

For papers with extensive equations, DFT energy expressions, or mathematical derivations, LaTeX is the practical choice. The achemso package handles most formatting automatically, and ACS production staff are experienced with LaTeX source files. For more experimental papers with fewer equations, Word is equally fine.

1. The three-journal split matters. J. Phys. Chem. C covers surfaces, interfaces, nanomaterials, and hard matter. If your paper deals with biophysics, it belongs in J. Phys. Chem. B. If it's theoretical/computational with no experimental component, consider J. Phys. Chem. A. Editors will transfer misrouted papers, but that adds 2-4 weeks to your timeline.

2. Supporting Information descriptions are part of the manuscript. You must include a brief description of SI contents at the end of your manuscript, before the references. Something like: "The Supporting Information includes XRD patterns, additional TEM images, and DFT-optimized coordinates (PDF)." This isn't optional.

3. Data availability for computational work. All DFT, MD, or Monte Carlo studies must include enough computational detail for reproduction. This includes the functional, basis set, pseudopotential, convergence criteria, and software version. ACS checks for this.

4. Conflicts of interest and ORCID. ACS requires all corresponding authors to have an ORCID linked to their ACS Paragon Plus account. A conflicts of interest statement is required for all submissions. If there are none, you still need to state that explicitly.

5. Reviewers are tough on redundancy. J. Phys. Chem. C reviewers have a reputation for requesting that authors consolidate related figures or move data to SI. If you have six XPS spectra that all show the same trend, put the best example in the main text and move the rest to SI.

A standard J. Phys. Chem. C Article follows this structure:

1. Title (concise, informative, no abbreviations in the title)
2. Author names and affiliations
3. Abstract (200 words max, unstructured)
4. Introduction (background, gap, objective)
5. Experimental Section (or Computational Methods for theoretical work)
6. Results and Discussion (combined or separate, author's choice)
7. Conclusions (brief, 1-2 paragraphs)
8. Associated Content (SI description)
9. Author Information (corresponding author, ORCID, notes on conflicts)
10. Acknowledgments
11. References
12. TOC Graphic

The Results and Discussion sections can be combined or kept separate. Most experimental papers in J. Phys. Chem. C combine them, while computational papers tend to separate them. Either approach is acceptable. The Conclusions section should be a concise paragraph that states the main findings and their implications. Don't introduce new results or speculation here.

These errors cause the most delays at J. Phys. Chem. C:

• TOC graphic with wrong dimensions or too low resolution
• Missing SI description in the main manuscript
• Equations not numbered or referenced incorrectly
• Abbreviations defined in the abstract but not redefined at first use in the body text
• Figures missing scale bars on microscopy images
• Computational papers lacking optimized coordinates in SI
• References formatted in a non-ACS style (especially common when resubmitting from a non-ACS journal)

For authors who are comparing submission targets across the physical chemistry space, see our Nature Methods formatting requirements guide for an entirely different formatting system. If you're working in nanomaterials and considering ACS Nano, the formatting requirements are similar but with different length norms. For broader tips on getting past editorial screening, check our guide on Science Advances formatting requirements.

For the official author instructions, visit the J. Phys. Chem. C author guidelines page.