Journal Guide
Angewandte Chemie International Edition Impact Factor 16.9: Publishing Guide
Broad-interest chemistry with a real novelty bar, strong mechanistic support, and fast editorial triage
16.9
Impact Factor (2024)
~15-25%
Acceptance Rate
~2-6 weeks
Time to First Decision
What Angewandte Chemie Publishes
Angewandte Chemie International Edition is Wiley-VCH's flagship general chemistry journal. In 2026, the latest official Clarivate number is a 2024 JIF of 16.9, with Q1 standing in multidisciplinary chemistry. The journal is built for chemistry that matters beyond one narrow corner of the field: synthesis, catalysis, chemical biology, materials, supramolecular chemistry, and mechanism-heavy physical organic work all fit. Editors screen quickly for novelty, breadth, and whether the manuscript explains why the chemistry works, not just that it works. Papers that feel incremental, weakly benchmarked, or too niche often stall before review.
- Organic synthesis with mechanistic understanding
- Catalysis with detailed catalytic cycle
- Natural product chemistry
- Organometallic chemistry
- Computational chemistry validated experimentally
- Biological chemistry: enzyme mechanisms
- Materials chemistry with functional properties
- Analytical chemistry with real applications
Editor Insight
“Angewandte publishes chemistry advancing the field through both methodology and mechanism. Best papers explain exactly why something works and prove it works reliably. Submit when you've answered both the 'what' and 'why' questions completely.”
What Angewandte Chemie Editors Look For
Mechanistic understanding with experimental evidence
Angewandte demands mechanism. If you develop a new reaction, reviewers expect the catalytic cycle with evidence: NMR of intermediates, kinetics, validated computation, or isotope labeling. Simply showing A converts to B with good yield is insufficient.
Comprehensive substrate scope with clear boundaries
Test across diverse substrates and explain why certain ones work. Either expand scope dramatically with mechanistic explanation or clearly articulate limitations. Narrow scope without explanation suggests incomplete work.
Detailed procedures for reproducibility
Supporting Information: full procedures, characterization data, and NMR spectra for all compounds. Angewandte reviewers attempt reproduction. Incomplete procedures trigger major revisions.
Direct comparison with state-of-the-art
If proposing new synthesis or catalysis, compare against best existing methods with yield, selectivity, cost, safety, scalability. Without this, reviewers question whether your advance is real.
Functional relevance for chemistry community
Angewandte publishes chemistry others will use. If highly specialized or niche, choose a more specialized journal. The journal values methodologies that open new possibilities for the broader community.
Why Papers Get Rejected
These patterns appear repeatedly in manuscripts that don't make it past Angewandte Chemie's editorial review:
Claiming novelty for established reactions on new substrates
This is incremental. True novelty is fundamentally new transformation, significant advance in scope with explanation, or novel mechanistic insight.
Proposing mechanism without experimental evidence
Mechanism from substrate scope is insufficient. You need NMR of intermediates, kinetics, or validated computations. Unsupported mechanisms trigger revisions.
Limited scope without mechanistic explanation
Either expand scope or clearly define limitations with mechanistic rationale. Narrow scope without explanation suggests incomplete work.
Ignoring practical considerations
Angewandte values practical chemistry. Expensive catalysts, rare reagents, or extreme conditions face criticism. Address cost, scalability, and safety explicitly.
Poor presentation and spectroscopic data
Blurry spectra, poor formatting, or sloppy tables suggest careless work. Professional presentation impacts peer review significantly.
Does your manuscript avoid these patterns?
The quick diagnostic reads your full manuscript against Angewandte Chemie's criteria and flags the specific issues most likely to cause rejection.
Insider Tips from Angewandte Chemie Authors
Short Communications are faster and highly impactful
For breakthrough reactions or elegant syntheses, Short Communication format (4 pages) receives faster decisions and publication. Many major chemistry breakthroughs appear as Short Communications.
Reviewers are world experts in your subfield
You're writing for leading chemists who know the literature intimately. Don't over-explain basics. Be precise and assume sophistication.
The journal prizes elegant and practical synthesis equally
Best papers combine new methodology with application - synthesis of natural product, drug, or material using your reaction. This demonstrates real utility.
Computational chemistry needs experimental validation
Purely computational work without experimental proof faces skepticism. Validate key predictions experimentally.
Consider Angewandte Chemie (German version)
German edition faces lower submission volume. If fluent in German, submission to German edition increases acceptance probability while reaching the same readership.
The Angewandte Chemie Submission Process
Manuscript preparation
PrepFull articles 20-30 pages, Short Communications 4 pages. Use Wiley template. All spectra required. Supporting Information: procedures, all spectra, characterization data.
Submission via ScholarOne
Day 0https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/angchemint. Include manuscript, Supporting Information, cover letter, conflict statement. Suggest 4-5 reviewers.
Editorial screening
1-2 weeksEditor assesses fit, novelty, mechanistic completeness. Papers lacking mechanistic contribution desk-rejected. Desk rejection ~40-50%.
Peer review
30-40 days2-3 expert reviewers. Reviews thorough and critical. First decision 30-40 days.
Revision and acceptance
4-8 weeks revisionMajor revisions typical, requiring additional experiments or expanded scope. Publication 2-4 weeks after acceptance.
Angewandte Chemie by the Numbers
| 2024 Impact Factor | 16.9 |
| 5-Year Impact Factor | 16.4 |
| Acceptance rate | ~15-25% |
| Desk rejection rate | High |
| Typical first decision | ~2-6 weeks |
| Open access option | Open access available |
| Publisher | Wiley-VCH |
| Founded | 1962 (Int. Ed.) |
Before you submit
Angewandte Chemie 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 Angewandte Chemie. ~30 minutes.
Article Types
Full Article
20-30 pagesComplete research with mechanism and characterization
Short Communication
4 pagesFocused high-impact findings
Review
15-40 pagesComprehensive review (usually invited)
Landmark Angewandte Chemie Papers
Papers that defined fields and changed science:
- Palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling (Heck, Negishi, Suzuki, 1970s-1990s) - revolutionized synthesis, Nobel Prize 2010
- Olefin metathesis catalysts (Grubbs, Schrock, 1990s) - enabled ring-closing metathesis, Nobel Prize 2005
- Asymmetric catalysis (Noyori, Knowles, Sharpless, 2001) - stereocontrolled synthesis, Nobel Prize 2001
- N-heterocyclic carbenes as ligands (Herrmann, Arduengo, 1990s) - tunable catalysts for cross-couplings
- C-H bond activation catalysis (2000s-2010s) - direct functionalization without prefunctionalization
Preparing a Angewandte Chemie Submission?
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