What is the impact factor of Advanced Functional Materials?

Advanced Functional Materials has an impact factor of 19.0 (2024). This places it among the top-tier journals in its field with Advanced Functional Materials (AFM) is a highly cited materials science journal published by Wiley-VCH.

How long does Adv. Funct. Materials take to review?

Advanced Functional Materials typically takes ~21 days median to first decision. The full review process involves 5 main stages: manuscript preparation, submission via scholarone, and peer review.

How much does it cost to publish in Advanced Functional Materials?

Advanced Functional Materials charges ~$5,200 USD as an article processing charge. Wiley institutional agreements may cover

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Advanced Functional Materials Impact Factor 19.0: Publishing Guide

Q: What is the acceptance rate of Advanced Functional Materials?

Advanced Functional Materials has an acceptance rate of ~12-18%. A common reason for rejection is submitting incremental work dressed in superlatives. Terms like 'record-breaking,' 'unprecedented,' and 'exceptional' trigger reviewer scrutiny, not enthusiasm. If your material is truly the best, the numbers will show it - support the claim with a proper comparison table. If the improvement over the previous best is modest, rethink whether AFM is the right venue for this paper.

Q: Is Advanced Functional Materials peer reviewed?

Yes, Advanced Functional Materials is fully peer reviewed. All submissions undergo rigorous peer review by 2-3 expert reviewers. Given the journal's prestige, reviewers are typically active senior researchers or group leaders in the specific functional materials area. Reviews are detailed and frequently demand additional experiments or mechanistic studies..

Q: What does Adv. Funct. Materials look for in submissions?

Functional advance, not just materials novelty: AFM publishes materials that do something impressive - convert energy efficiently, deliver drugs selectively, switch states reversibly, detect analytes at ultra-low concentrations. A new material with outstanding structural or compositional novelty but only modest functional performance will not meet the AFM bar. Your key functional metric must be competitive with or surpass the best in the field, with a clear mechanistic explanation.

AFM publishes functional breakthroughs, not material novelty - your material must do something impressive, and you must explain why.

19.0

Impact Factor (2024)

~12-18%

Acceptance Rate

~21 days median to first decision

Time to First Decision

What Adv. Funct. Materials Publishes

Advanced Functional Materials (AFM) is a highly cited materials science journal published by Wiley-VCH. With a JIF of 19.0 (JCR 2024 - the latest official value available in 2026) and a Q1 rank of 9th out of 187 journals in Materials Science (Multidisciplinary), it sits in the top tier alongside Nature Materials, Advanced Materials, and Nano Letters. AFM focuses on materials with active functions - materials that respond to stimuli, convert energy, enable information processing, or interface with biological systems. It is not a journal for passive structural materials or routine synthesis and characterization. The standard for acceptance is genuinely high: the work must represent a significant conceptual or functional advance, not merely the 'best ever reported' performance on a familiar material or device architecture.

Smart and responsive materials: shape memory polymers, hydrogels, piezoelectrics, thermoelectrics, materials that respond to light, heat, electric or magnetic fields
Energy materials: high-performance battery electrode and electrolyte materials, photovoltaics (especially perovskites), thermoelectrics, and hydrogen production/storage materials
Biomedical functional materials: drug delivery systems with demonstrated targeting and release functionality, tissue engineering scaffolds with biological activity, biosensors, and bioimaging materials
Functional electronics: organic and inorganic semiconductors, flexible and stretchable electronics, neuromorphic computing materials, memory devices, and displays
Photonic and plasmonic materials: materials for light manipulation, metamaterials, nonlinear optics, and surface-enhanced sensing
2D materials and quantum materials: graphene, MXenes, TMDs, and other low-dimensional materials with demonstrated functional properties beyond structural novelty
Sustainable functional materials: functional materials for carbon capture, water purification, photocatalysis, and environmental remediation - with performance benchmarking

Editor Insight

“AFM's editorial bar is genuine significance in functional behavior. We're not looking for materials that are slightly better than the previous record - we want to understand why a material does something remarkable and see that demonstrated clearly in a device or system context. Papers that combine outstanding performance with mechanistic insight and device integration tend to generate the lasting citations that define this journal.”

What Adv. Funct. Materials Editors Look For

Functional advance, not just materials novelty

AFM publishes materials that do something impressive - convert energy efficiently, deliver drugs selectively, switch states reversibly, detect analytes at ultra-low concentrations. A new material with outstanding structural or compositional novelty but only modest functional performance will not meet the AFM bar. Your key functional metric must be competitive with or surpass the best in the field, with a clear mechanistic explanation.

Mechanistic understanding of functional behavior

Reporting that your material achieves record performance is not enough - you must explain why. DFT calculations, in-situ characterization, spectroscopic studies, and structure-property analysis are expected. Papers where the mechanism is left to speculation or explained only qualitatively will receive major revision requests regardless of how impressive the performance numbers are.

Comparative performance with updated literature benchmarks

A comparison table showing your material's key metrics against the best recent literature in the same category is mandatory, not optional. With the field moving quickly, reviewers will notice if your comparison ignores recent papers published in the last 1-2 years. Use the current state of the art, not convenient older references.

High-quality, interpretable figures

AFM is a high-prestige journal and visual quality is part of the standard. Figures must be publication-ready: high-resolution microscopy, clean XRD/XPS/Raman spectra with proper baseline handling, well-designed schematic illustrations, and performance curves that are labeled clearly. Poorly prepared figures are a red flag that reviewers take seriously.

Broad appeal beyond a single narrow subfield

AFM publishes across all functional materials disciplines. The best papers in AFM are read by scientists working on different materials and different applications. Your introduction and conclusion should frame your contribution broadly enough that a researcher in a different functional materials area understands why your advance matters to their field too.

Why Papers Get Rejected

These patterns appear repeatedly in manuscripts that don't make it past Adv. Funct. Materials's editorial review:

Submitting incremental work dressed in superlatives

Terms like 'record-breaking,' 'unprecedented,' and 'exceptional' trigger reviewer scrutiny, not enthusiasm. If your material is truly the best, the numbers will show it - support the claim with a proper comparison table. If the improvement over the previous best is modest, rethink whether AFM is the right venue for this paper.

Insufficient mechanistic studies

AFM reviewers and editors expect to understand why the material performs as it does. Submitting without DFT calculations, in-situ studies, or structure-property analysis for a performance-oriented paper is a predictable source of major revision requests. Build the mechanism into the original study design.

Figures that are not at publication quality

Blurry TEM images, unlabeled axes, poorly designed schematics, and low-resolution graphs signal that the paper was rushed. AFM editors see these as indicators of paper quality and they affect editorial enthusiasm.

Scope mismatch: structural materials without functional properties

Mechanical properties alone (strength, hardness, toughness) without functional properties (electrical, optical, thermal, biological) are outside AFM's scope. If your material doesn't have an active function, consider journals focused on structural materials.

Not addressing device-level integration

For energy materials, the expectation is increasingly a full device demonstration: a complete battery cell, a solar cell with certified efficiency, a functional sensor tested on real samples. Powder or thin-film characterization alone is insufficient for top-tier AFM papers in these areas.

Does your manuscript avoid these patterns?

The quick diagnostic reads your full manuscript against Adv. Funct. Materials's criteria and flags the specific issues most likely to cause rejection.

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Insider Tips from Adv. Funct. Materials Authors

Consider presubmission inquiries for unusual or interdisciplinary work

Wiley accepts presubmission inquiries for AFM. If your work is highly interdisciplinary or you are unsure about scope, a brief inquiry email to the editorial office can save significant reformatting effort if the scope is not right.

The APC for open access is substantial - check institutional agreements

AFM's gold open access APC is approximately $5,200 USD (as of 2024-2025). Wiley has read-and-publish agreements with many institutions that cover this. If your institution has a Wiley agreement, confirm coverage before submission. The paper is subscription-accessible without OA payment.

Communications are the fastest route to publication

AFM publishes Full Papers and Communications. Communications (short-format, focused results) often receive faster editorial decisions and are assigned to reviewers who expect a tighter story. If your key result can be told in 4-6 figures, the Communication format may be strategically preferable.

AFM's 21-day median first decision is among the fastest in high-IF materials journals

Wiley's editorial team is efficient at scope and initial quality screening. If your paper passes initial assessment quickly, it means it was genuinely competitive. A fast desk rejection equally means it clearly didn't meet the bar - use this signal to calibrate for a better-fit journal.

Stability and cycling data are non-negotiable for energy papers

For batteries and supercapacitors, AFM reviewers expect rate capability tests, long-term cycling (500+ cycles for batteries, 5,000+ for supercapacitors), and Nyquist plots from electrochemical impedance. For perovskite solar cells, stability under ambient conditions (>1,000 hours) is increasingly expected. Plan these experiments before submission.

The Adv. Funct. Materials Submission Process

Manuscript preparation

Preparation phase

AFM accepts Full Papers and Communications. Communications are typically 4-6 figures with concise main text (~3,000-4,000 words). Full Papers have no strict word limit but typically run 6,000-10,000 words. Supporting Information is essential for detailed methods, additional characterization, and supplementary data. Wiley Author Services provides templates.

Submission via ScholarOne

Day 0

Submit at https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/afm. Required cover letter should concisely pitch the key advance (2-3 sentences), explicitly state why it meets AFM's significance bar, and suggest 3-5 expert reviewers with email addresses. Avoid suggesting reviewers from your own institution or close collaborators.

Editorial assessment

7-14 days

A handling editor with expertise in the relevant area makes an initial assessment of significance, novelty, and scope. Papers with strong novelty and functional advance pass to peer review. Desk rejection for insufficient significance or scope mismatch is common given AFM's high bar.

Peer review

21-45 days

2-3 expert reviewers. Given the journal's prestige, reviewers are typically active senior researchers or group leaders in the specific functional materials area. Reviews are detailed and frequently demand additional experiments or mechanistic studies.

Revision and acceptance

Revision: 1-4 months; Early View within weeks of acceptance

Major revisions requiring additional experiments are common. Minor revisions are possible for papers that were well-prepared at submission. After acceptance, proofs are typically sent within 2-3 weeks and online publication (Early View) follows rapidly.

Adv. Funct. Materials by the Numbers

2024 Impact Factor (JIF)(Clarivate JCR 2024 - latest official value available in 2026)	19.0
5-Year Impact Factor	19.4
JCR Category Rank(Q1)	9/187 (Materials Science, Multidisciplinary)
Acceptance rate(Estimated 15-25%)	Not publicly disclosed
Median first decision	~21 days
Open access APC(Wiley institutional agreements may cover)	~$5,200 USD
Publisher	Wiley-VCH
ISSN	1616-301X (print) / 1616-3028 (online)
Founded	2001

Before you submit

Adv. Funct. Materials accepts a small fraction of submissions. Make your attempt count.

The pre-submission diagnostic runs a live literature search, scores your manuscript section by section, and gives you a prioritized fix list calibrated to Adv. Funct. Materials. ~30 minutes.

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Article Types

Full Paper

6,000-10,000 words main text; Supporting Information unrestricted

Complete research story with comprehensive experimental evidence, mechanistic studies, and device-level demonstration where appropriate. The dominant publication format.

Communication

~3,000-4,000 words, 4-6 figures

Short-format paper for timely, focused results where the key advance can be presented compactly. Faster review and often higher readership per paper due to digestibility.

Review

Comprehensive: 10,000-25,000 words

Comprehensive or progress report reviewing an active functional materials topic. Often invited; contact editorial office before submitting unsolicited reviews.

Landmark Adv. Funct. Materials Papers

Papers that defined fields and changed science:

Early demonstrations of organolead halide perovskite solar cells with certified >20% efficiency, establishing the roadmap for the field
MXene-based electromagnetic shielding materials achieving >50 dB shielding with exceptional conductivity
Soft actuators and artificial muscles based on hydrogel and liquid crystal networks enabling millimeter-scale robotic motion
Organic thermoelectric generators with ZT > 0.3, establishing the viability of flexible thermoelectric devices
Injectable hydrogel systems for localized cancer immunotherapy combining drug release and immune activation

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Primary Fields

Energy Storage and Conversion MaterialsSmart and Responsive MaterialsBiomedical Functional MaterialsFlexible and Wearable ElectronicsPhotonic and Optoelectronic Materials2D Materials and Quantum MaterialsSustainable and Environmental Functional Materials

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