American Chemical Society announces major expansion of The Journal of Physical Chemistry
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Released 8/14/06
The American Chemical Society is pleased to announce that The Journal of Physical Chemistry will undertake a significant editorial expansion beginning in January 2007. This expansion is a result of rapid growth in evolving areas of physical chemistry, which is already being reflected in significant increases in high-quality articles published by the journal.
First launched 110 years ago in 1896, The Journal of Physical Chemistry is an established leader in its field. Out of 111 journals in the ISI® category of physical chemistry, The Journal of Physical Chemistry A ranked #5 in total citations (32,086) in 2005, with an ISI® Impact Factor of 2.898. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B ranked #1 in total citations (59,826), and achieved a 2005 ISI® Impact Factor of 4.033. In 2006, The Journal of Physical Chemistry (Parts A&B combined) will publish in excess of 5,000 articles, in keeping with its leading position in overall publishing output for journals within its ISI category.
In 1997, the journal was split into Parts A and B. This reorganization was implemented to better reflect the state of the field at the time and to accommodate growth in particularly active areas of the chemical sciences. Part A has focused on dynamics, spectroscopy, gaseous clusters, molecular beams, kinetics, atmospheric and environmental physical chemistry, molecular structure, bonding, quantum chemistry, and general theory. Part B has focused on nanostructures, micelles, macromolecules, statistical mechanics and thermodynamics of condensed matter, biophysical chemistry, and general physical chemistry, as well as studies on the structure and properties of surfaces and interfaces. In the past decade, the journal has continued to reflect the growth in research output across these areas. A single issue of Part B is now larger, on average, than a single issue of the journal in 1996. The growth in Part B has been due largely to articles dealing with surfaces and interfaces, nanotechnology and nanomaterials, and biophysical chemistry.
In 2005, Dr. George C. Schatz, Morrison Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern University, was appointed Editor-in-Chief of the journal. Working with his Editorial Board, Professor Schatz began a reorganization of the journal’s content to ensure that its scope and structure reflect the current state of the field, better highlight the key sub-disciplines within physical chemistry, and position it to meet anticipated growth in research. The new Part C is an outgrowth of that editorial reorganization and expansion. Dr. Schatz is currently working in conjunction with senior editors, editorial advisory board members, and ACS staff to finalize what will go in each part of the restructured journal.
“This concerted expansion of The Journal of Physical Chemistry will enable us to spotlight important new areas of research while attracting prominent scientists as authors, editors, and reviewers,” said Dr. Schatz. “In addition, we will be able to provide expanded coverage of catalysis, surfaces and interfaces, and other topics, thus better serving the physical chemistry community at large. The expansion will also give us new flexibility to add Feature Articles and Special Issues, while making it easier for readers to browse the tables of contents on the web.”
Dr. Schatz intends the reorganization of the journal will “elevate the editorial profile of some topics that are currently distributed throughout Parts A and B of the journal. For example, in the revised journal, we're going to have a section on energy conversion and storage, including photovoltaics, hydrogen storage, catalysis related to things like CO2 reduction, and battery manufacturing.” Also to be emphasized in the revised structure of the journal will be research dedicated to electron transport, which plays a role in such topics as electron-transfer reactions in molecules, electrochemistry, and leading-edge electronic devices.
The new Part C, effectively a new journal in itself, will publish 51 issues from the outset, bringing to 153 the total number of issues delivered annually for an institutional subscription to The Journal of Physical Chemistry. The new combined institutional subscription price (encompassing all three Parts A-C) of the journal will be $5,850 ($7,071 for international subscribers outside North America). This editorial expansion of The Journal of Physical Chemistry beginning in 2007 will be in keeping with its commitment to provide the scientific community with high-value information in a cost-effective manner. The journal has achieved a 71% increase in annual pages published from 1997 to 2005, while keeping the overall price per article at a level well below its closest competitors (see comparative data attached). Given the journal’s 2006 current list price of $4,274 (for Parts A and B together) and its anticipated 2006 publishing output of 5,500 articles and 44,000 pages (an average of $0.78 per article—currently at $0.10 per page), the value delivered by The Journal of Physical Chemistry stands in contrast to higher-priced alternatives.
With the launch of a new Part C, The Journal of Physical Chemistry will now undertake editorial expansion consistent with the ACS mission to advance the chemical sciences, and in keeping with the Society’s role as a provider of high-quality, high-impact scientific information.
The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization, chartered by the U.S. Congress, with a multidisciplinary membership of more than 158,000 chemists and chemical engineers. The Society publishes numerous scientific journals and databases, convenes major research conferences and provides educational, science policy and career programs in chemistry. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio. The ACS Publications Division currently publishes 35 leading peer-reviewed journals in the chemical and related sciences, including the Journal of the American Chemical Society, as well as Chemical & Engineering News, the Society's weekly news magazine.
Comparative Value of The Journal of Physical Chemistry A&B and Related Publications
| Journal Title | Category | Publisher | ISI® Impact Factor | 2005 Citations | 2005 Articles | 2005 List Price | Cost per Citation | Cost per Article |
| The Journal of Physical Chemistry A | Physical Chemistry; Atomic, Molecular and Chemical Physics | ACS | 2.898 | 32,086 | 1,455 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| The Journal of Physical Chemistry B | Physical Chemistry | ACS | 4.033 | 59,826 | 3,121 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| The Journal of Physical Chemistry A&B (combined*) | As stated above | ACS | See above | 91,912 | 4,576 | $3,957* | 0.04 | 0.86 |
| Chemistry of Materials | Physical Chemistry; Materials Science | ACS | 4.818 | 33,648 | 974 | $1,394 | 0.04 | 1.43 |
| Langmuir | Physical Chemistry | ACS | 3.705 | 55,025 | 1,777 | $2,912 | 0.05 | 1.64 |
| Journal of Chemical Physics | Atomic, Molecular and Chemical Physics | American Institute of Physics | 3.138 | 148,396 | 2,902 | $5,995 | 0.04 | 2.07 |
| Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics | Physical Chemistry; Atomic, Molecular and Chemical Physics | Royal Society of Chemistry | 2.519 | 10,876 | 520 | $1,198 | 0.11 | 2.3 |
| Journal of Colloid and Interface Science | Physical Chemistry | Elsevier | 2.023 | 24,877 | 973 | $4,105 | 0.17 | 4.22 |
| Journal of Materials Chemistry | Physical Chemistry; Materials Science | Royal Society of Chemistry | 3.688 | 15,323 | 613 | $3,005 | 0.2 | 4.9 |
| Chemical Physics Letters | Physical Chemistry; Atomic, Molecular and Chemical Physics | Elsevier | 2.438 | 48,249 | 1,393 | $12,397 | 0.26 | 8.9 |
| Surface Science | Physical Chemistry; Condensed Matter Physics | Elsevier | 1.78 | 25,821 | 691 | $13,595 | 0.53 | 19.67 |
*The Journal of Physical Chemistry available as a combined annual
subscription ($4,274 in 2006).
Citation, ISI® Impact Factor, and article data based on 2005 ISI® Journal
Citation Reports®. List Prices for 2005 institutional print subscriptions
from Ebsco Librarians Handbook.
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