Journal Guide
Advanced Materials Impact Factor 26.8: Publishing Guide
High-impact materials research spanning chemistry, physics, and engineering.
26.8
Impact Factor (2024)
~6%
Acceptance Rate
~40 days to first decision
Time to First Decision
What Advanced Materials Publishes
Advanced Materials is a high-impact materials science journal publishing research on functional materials with novel or substantially improved properties. The journal covers synthesis, characterization, and applications of materials ranging from polymers to ceramics to nanostructures. The emphasis is on materials that enable new technologies or significantly improve performance.
- Functional materials with novel electrical, optical, magnetic, or mechanical properties
- Nanoscale materials and nanostructures with size-dependent properties
- Polymers and polymer composites with enhanced performance
- Ceramics and glasses with advanced properties
- Biomaterials and biocompatible materials
- Energy-related materials for batteries, catalysis, or solar applications
- Materials demonstrating practical utility or enabling new technologies
Editor Insight
“We get thousands of papers about materials with good properties. Maybe they're 20% stronger, or have a novel shape, or combine two known approaches in a new way. That's not Advanced Materials. We publish materials that are transformative - they enable something that wasn't possible before, or they completely outperform everything else. Ask yourself: would a researcher choose my material over existing options? Why? If the answer is price alone or a modest performance improvement, submit elsewhere. If it's a breakthrough in function, or properties never before achieved, that's what we want.”
What Advanced Materials Editors Look For
Genuinely novel materials or synthesis routes
Advanced Materials expects discoveries that are new and significant. Incremental improvements to known materials or standard synthesis routes don't meet the bar. Show why this material is different.
Comprehensive characterization of properties
You need to thoroughly characterize your material - structure, morphology, mechanical/thermal/electronic properties as relevant. Partial characterization suggests incomplete work.
Demonstration of practical utility or applications
Show how your material could be used. Device performance, prototype demonstration, or at minimum theoretical modeling of applications. Lab curiosities aren't compelling.
Mechanistic understanding of property origin
Don't just report that your material has good properties. Explain why - how does structure correlate with function? What's the mechanism?
Scalability and synthetic feasibility
Can your synthesis scale up? Are conditions reasonable? Can it be reproduced reliably? Materials that only work under exotic conditions have limited practical value.
Proper comparison to existing materials
How does your material compare to the current state-of-the-art? Show clear advantages in key properties - strength, conductivity, thermal stability, cost.
Why Papers Get Rejected
These patterns appear repeatedly in manuscripts that don't make it past Advanced Materials's editorial review:
Routine synthesis or incremental property improvements
If you're using standard synthesis methods and getting 10% better properties than existing materials, that's not Advanced Materials level. You need a novel approach or transformative property leap.
Incomplete characterization
Materials papers need thorough characterization. Missing key property measurements (especially if you claim novel function) gets papers rejected.
No demonstration of actual utility
Showing a material has interesting properties in isolation isn't enough. Show it in an application - device performance, computational modeling of use, or at least proof of principle.
Synthesis so complex it's impractical
If your synthesis requires multiple weeks, extreme conditions, or exotic precursors, reviewers question practical applicability. Scalability matters.
Weak mechanistic understanding
Papers that just report 'we made this and it has these properties' without explaining why are less compelling. Mechanistic insights strengthen papers significantly.
Poor comparison to literature materials
You must compare your material to the best existing alternatives. If you avoid this comparison, reviewers suspect you're hiding the fact that it's not actually better.
Does your manuscript avoid these patterns?
The quick diagnostic reads your full manuscript against Advanced Materials's criteria and flags the specific issues most likely to cause rejection.
Insider Tips from Advanced Materials Authors
Advanced Materials has extremely high standards
With 26.8 IF and ~6% acceptance rate, this is more selective than Nature or Science for materials. Your work needs to be transformative, not just good.
Device demonstrations significantly strengthen papers
If you can show your material in a working device - solar cell, LED, sensor, battery - acceptance probability increases substantially.
Scalability and practical synthesis matter greatly
Materials that can only be made in milligram quantities with complex procedures are less interesting. Show path to practical scale-up.
Computational studies complement experimental work
DFT calculations, molecular dynamics, or other modeling supporting your property claims strengthens the submission.
Cover art quality helps visibility
If accepted, high-quality figures and graphics can become cover art, increasing journal visibility. Invest in visualization quality.
Supporting information should be comprehensive
All characterization data should be included - spectroscopy, diffraction, thermal analysis, mechanical testing. Nothing hidden in SI.
Sustainability angle increasingly valued
Materials from sustainable sources, with low toxicity, or enabling green technologies get favorable consideration.
Interdisciplinary materials are competitive
Materials bridging fields - organic-inorganic hybrids, bio-inspired materials, materials for emerging technologies - are highly competitive.
The Advanced Materials Submission Process
Comprehensive material synthesis and characterization
Experimental phase - months of work typicallyPrepare detailed synthesis protocols with all parameters. Characterize structure (XRD, microscopy), morphology (SEM, TEM), and all relevant properties (mechanical, thermal, electrical, optical). Include reproducibility data and multiple synthetic batches.
Application demonstration or modeling
Additional experimental/computational phaseShow your material working in an application - as a device component, in a composite, in a coating. Or provide strong theoretical modeling of how it would perform in applications.
Submit via Wiley's online system
Submission stepUse the Advanced Materials submission portal. Clearly articulate novelty - what's new about your material and why it matters. Suggest 4-5 expert reviewers in your materials specialty.
Stringent editorial screening
5-10 daysEditors do thorough evaluation of novelty and impact. Only papers meeting the highest standards pass to peer review. Desk rejection rate is very high (~60-70%) for papers that are good but not exceptional.
Expert peer review
30-40 days2-3 world-leading experts in your materials area. They assess novelty, property superiority, mechanistic understanding, and practical potential. Reviews are detailed and exacting.
Acceptance or rejection
2-5 days after reviewsDecisions are binary - accept or reject. Major revisions rare. If accepted, fast-tracked to publication with high visibility.
Advanced Materials by the Numbers
| 2024 Impact Factor(Clarivate JCR 2024 - 2nd highest in materials) | 26.8 |
| 5-Year Impact Factor | 28.2 |
| CiteScore (Scopus) | 51.9 |
| Submissions per year | ~6,000 |
| Overall acceptance rate | ~6% |
| Desk rejection rate | ~60-70% |
| Post-review acceptance | ~15-20% of reviewed manuscripts |
| Median first decision | ~40 days |
| Median acceptance to publication | ~60-90 days total |
| Founded(Wiley; premier materials journal) | 1991 |
| Publication frequency | Weekly |
| ISSN | 0935-9648 |
Before you submit
Advanced 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 Advanced Materials. ~30 minutes.
Article Types
Full Article
~8,000-12,000 wordsComplete materials research with synthesis, characterization, property evaluation, and applications. No strict word limit but typically 8,000-12,000 words including figures.
Communication
~3,500-4,000 wordsBrief high-impact reports of exceptional materials discoveries. Shorter format with emphasis on novelty and significance. Faster review and publication.
Landmark Advanced Materials Papers
Papers that defined fields and changed science:
- Perovskite solar cells achieving record efficiencies - transforming photovoltaic technology
- Graphene and 2D materials with exceptional properties - enabling novel device applications
- Shape-memory polymers with programmable properties - new class of functional materials
- Superhydrophobic surfaces inspired by lotus leaves - biomimetic materials with practical applications
- MOF-based materials for gas storage and separation - porous materials with transformative potential
Preparing a Advanced Materials Submission?
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Primary Fields
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