Chemical Society Reviews (ChemSocRev) is the Royal Society of Chemistry's leading review journal. It publishes high-impact, authoritative and reader-friendly review articles covering topics at the forefront of the chemical sciences.

The journal has a long history — starting as the Quarterly Review of the Chemical Society in 1947 and growing into one of the most influential and highest recognized journals in every area of chemistry.

The journal's scope covers all topics in chemistry, and those at the interface of chemistry and other disciplines such as materials science, nanoscience, physics, engineering and biology — giving it reach and influence spanning all the research community.

Bringing together scientists and investigators

All of our reviews are written by experts in their field, who provide their own analysis and insight on developments, trends and future directions. ChemSocRev has published many articles by senior researchers, including Nobel laureates such as David MacMillan (2021 Nobel Prize in chemistry), Frances Arnold (2018 Nobel Prize in chemistry) and Sir J. Fraser Stoddart (2016 Nobel Prize in chemistry).

We have also published many high-profile reviews by Chinese scientists, including several reviews which have been cited over 3,000 times.

Moreover, the journal is also very supportive of early career researchers. Every two years we publish an Emerging Investigator issue, highlighting review articles by scientists typically in the first six years of their independent career.

ChemSocRev also supports chemists through its annual Lectureship, an award which recognizes mid-career scientists who have firmly established themselves in their independent careers and continuously publish innovative and pioneering work. Besides such valuable scholarly recognition, an awardee will receive a financial honorarium and an invitation to speak at one or more high-profile international conferences.

Scholarly publication for the community

As editor-in-chief, I am working with the journal's editorial board, comprising eminent scientists worldwide, to set the direction, scope and standards of the journal, ensuring that it represents the needs of the global chemistry community.

The board also plays a very strong role in attracting high quality articles, inviting leading researchers globally to submit review articles. Our board members also assess the articles we publish so that they meet the high standards of quality and importance that our readers expect.

The editorial board has had strong representation from China for many years, from Professor Tian Zhongqun from Xiamen University and Bu Xianhe from Nankai University, both academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Their contributions as associate editors have improved the journal's representativeness of research excellence in China and its real international impact.

A long-term member of the editorial board, Professor Tian is a very strong advocate both for the journal and for Chinese authors. We have worked with him for more than 10 years and I'm so glad to co-author a review with him and others very recently in this journal, to provide a half-century historical perspective on surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

'Valuable guides' for researchers

ChemSocRev publishes two main article types: Review Articles and Tutorial Reviews. While Review Articles give a very high-quality state-of-the-art account of the subject matter, Tutorial Reviews are particularly important because they are written to be accessible to researchers from other disciplines, or those at senior undergraduate level. All Tutorial Reviews include several key learning points, which give readers the main points to take away from the article.

Last but not least, without the strong support from our readers, authors and reviewers, ChemSocRev could not be at the forefront of the chemical sciences. We are deeply honored and grateful for such trust. We will continue to work with chemical scientists across the globe to advance the chemical sciences and to make our world a better place for all.

The author is the editor-in-chief of ChemSocRev and a professor at the University of Strathclyde, the UK.

Journal Review

ChemSocRev is the Royal Society of Chemistry's most influential review journal, distinguished by its commitment to "high-impact, authoritative" reviews. Through its unique positioning and rigorous quality standards, ChemSocRev leads knowledge dissemination and scholarly discourse in the chemical sciences.

Its reviews have to be of the highest quality and international impact, and the authors are asked to incorporate independent analysis and forward-looking perspectives into their reviews rather than merely summarize or list existing literatures.

A defining feature of ChemSocRev is its interdisciplinary nature, which ensures that each review has both depth in discussing cutting-edge developments of a field and breadth in connecting concepts across various disciplines. Therefore, researchers globally can rely on ChemSocRev as a hub to build knowledge and an incubator to foster transformative ideas.

I particularly recommend the journal's innovative "Tutorial Review" articles that go beyond the traditional review paradigms. Primarily intended for students and investigators from other areas, these reviews demand authors perform a dual academic role: they are both experts who systematically construct knowledge around a core scientific question, and tutors explaining complicated theories and key experimental setups in simple language.

——Tian Zhongqun, an academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a professor of Chemistry