acs-central-science
ACS Central Science (acs-central-science)
Journal positioning
ACS Central Science (ACS Cent. Sci.) is the American Chemical Society's flagship open-access journal, publishing work of broad and central importance to the chemical sciences. Its defining character is centrality and reach: the journal seeks discoveries where chemistry sits at the heart of a significant advance, including work at the interfaces of chemistry with biology, medicine, materials, energy, and the physical sciences. A paper belongs here when the result is not only rigorous but consequential to a wide audience — the kind of advance chemists across subfields would want to know about. It is fully open access at no charge to authors, lowering barriers to dissemination of high-impact chemistry. Readership is the entire chemical community and adjacent fields. This skill is a fit / venue-selection / re-framing tool. It does not replace the journal's current official submission guidelines. Before submitting, re-check the live author instructions on the ACS Central Science site.
When to trigger
- The author names ACS Central Science as the target venue for a broadly important, central chemical advance with reach across subfields or into adjacent disciplines.
- A manuscript reports a discovery at the chemistry–biology, chemistry–materials, or chemistry–energy interface and the author is choosing between ACS Central Science, JACS, and Nature Chemistry.
- A rigorous result has unusual general significance and the author wants a high-impact, open-access chemistry venue with wide reach.
- The author needs ACS Central Science's centrality bar, interface framing, and desk-reject criteria before submission.