ACS Nano

ACS Nano is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by ACS Publications, a division of the American Chemical Society, that serves as a leading forum for original research and reviews in nanoscience and nanotechnology.^[1][2] Launched in August 2007 under founding Editor-in-Chief Paul S. Weiss, the journal emphasizes breakthrough studies across interdisciplinary fields, including the synthesis, assembly, and characterization of nanostructures, as well as theory, tools, methods, nanobiotechnology, nanoelectronics, energy applications, and environmental impacts of nanomaterials.^[1][2][3] The journal publishes a variety of article types, such as Articles, invited Reviews, Perspectives on emerging trends, and specialized Nano Focus pieces, all subjected to rigorous peer review to ensure high-quality, impactful contributions at the interfaces of chemistry, materials science, biology, medicine, physics, and engineering.^[1] As a hybrid open access publication, ACS Nano offers authors options for traditional subscription-based access or open access under Creative Commons licenses (CC BY or CC BY-NC-ND), supporting broad dissemination of research while maintaining ACS's commitment to the global scientific community.^[1][4] Since its inception, ACS Nano has grown into one of the most influential journals in its field, achieving an Impact Factor of 16.1 in 2024, a CiteScore of 24.2, and over 255,000 total citations, reflecting its role in advancing fundamental and applied nanotechnology research.^[5] Leadership transitioned in 2022 to current Editor-in-Chief Xiaodong Chen of Nanyang Technological University, an active researcher who oversees an expert editorial team to facilitate fast publication and innovative content delivery, including over 305 million full-text downloads in 2023 alone.^[6][5][7]

History

Founding and Launch

ACS Nano was established in 2007 by the American Chemical Society (ACS) as a monthly peer-reviewed journal to address the burgeoning field of nanoscience and nanotechnology, which had seen explosive growth following the launch of the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative in 2000 and substantial global investments in research and development.^[8][9] The journal aimed to fill a critical gap in the literature by providing a dedicated platform for multidisciplinary work at the interfaces of chemistry, physics, materials science, biology, and engineering, where traditional discipline-specific journals often fell short in capturing the integrated nature of nanoscale research.^[10] This launch built upon the success of ACS's existing publication Nano Letters, launched in 2001, by offering a complementary venue for more comprehensive articles beyond short communications. Paul S. Weiss, then a Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Physics at Pennsylvania State University, was appointed as the founding Editor-in-Chief to guide the journal's vision of fostering high-quality, reproducible publications that advance nanoscience through interdisciplinary collaboration.^[11] Under Weiss's leadership, ACS Nano sought to merge disciplines at the nanoscale, enabling precise measurement and manipulation of atomic-level properties while promoting innovation across fields.^[12] The journal's inaugural issue, published on August 14, 2007, featured contributions from a diverse array of international researchers, highlighting the rapid mobilization of the nanoscience community in response to the field's momentum.^[12][13] From its outset, ACS Nano emphasized breakthrough studies in nanostructure synthesis, assembly, characterization, theory, tools, methods, and applications, with a particular focus on nanobiotechnology, nanomedicine, and emerging technologies such as sensors, self-assembly, and nanodevices.^[12] This scope was designed to serve scientists at all career stages, facilitating the communication of seminal results that could drive real-world advancements in response to the post-2000 surge in nanotechnology publications and funding, which had outpaced existing outlets.^[8][11] The journal's launch underscored ACS's commitment to leading in this transformative area, with the first issue including perspectives, reviews, and in-depth articles that set a tone for rigorous, impactful nanoscience discourse.^[12]

Development and Milestones

Since its launch in 2007 with a modest number of articles in its inaugural monthly issues, ACS Nano has experienced substantial growth in submissions and publication volume, reflecting the expanding interest in nanoscience and nanotechnology. By the early 2020s, the journal had increased its frequency to accommodate this surge, transitioning to 24 issues per year starting in 2023 to handle the considerable quantity of high-quality submissions and ensure timely dissemination of research.^[14] By 2025, this expansion enabled the publication of over 2,800 articles annually, as recorded in 2024, underscoring the journal's role as a leading venue in the field.^[5][15] To support this growth, ACS Nano expanded its editorial team in its early years, adding key associate editors such as Dawn A. Bonnell, Paula T. Hammond, and C. Grant Willson, who contributed to shaping the journal's direction and maintaining rigorous standards from 2007 onward.^[16] These appointments, highlighted in initial editorials, facilitated broader expertise in areas like materials science and nanotechnology applications, aiding the journal's rapid establishment. Further expansions continued, with nine new associate editors appointed in 2023 to enhance manuscript handling and peer review efficiency.^[14] In 2022, leadership transitioned with Xiaodong Chen of Nanyang Technological University succeeding Paul S. Weiss as Editor-in-Chief, bringing fresh perspectives to the journal's interdisciplinary focus.^[6][3] Key milestones include the journal's 10-year anniversary in 2017, marked by special virtual issues and events such as the "Celebrating 10 Years of Nanomedicine Research" collection, which highlighted seminal contributions and anticipated future directions.^[17] During the 2010s, ACS Nano introduced new article types, including Perspectives, to provide forward-looking insights on emerging trends, with early examples appearing in volume 4 (2010) to complement its core research articles and reviews.^[18] In response to evolving publishing landscapes around 2015, ACS Nano adapted to open access trends by offering hybrid open access options under Creative Commons licenses, allowing authors to make articles freely available while integrating with ACS's broader digital infrastructure for ASAP (As Soon As Publishable) online releases.^[1] These shifts, including enhanced online accessibility and e-alerts, addressed demands for rapid, global dissemination amid rising open access mandates.^[19] The journal maintains strong ties to the American Chemical Society's (ACS) nanoscience portfolio through collaborative initiatives, such as virtual issues curated for significant events; for instance, in 2019, ACS Nano produced a dedicated virtual issue for UCLA's centennial celebration, featuring research from UCLA faculty and collaborators to highlight institutional contributions to nanoscience.^[20]

Scope and Content

Core Research Areas

ACS Nano emphasizes nanoscience and nanotechnology at the interfaces of chemistry, such as nanomaterial synthesis; materials science, including nanostructure assembly; biology and medicine, encompassing nanobiotechnology and nanomedicine; physics, with a focus on theory and simulation; and engineering, covering tools and methods for nanofabrication.^[21] This interdisciplinary approach facilitates the integration of diverse fields to address complex challenges in nanoscale research.^[5] The journal's publications center on specific foci including the fabrication and characterization of nanostructures, advanced theoretical modeling of nanosystems, and practical applications in areas like energy conversion and storage, nanoelectronics and nano-optoelectronics, and environmental sustainability through nanotechnology.^[5] These areas highlight breakthrough studies that advance fundamental understanding and practical implementation of nanoscale phenomena.^[21] While ACS Nano excludes topics involving purely macroscopic materials or phenomena outside the nanoscale regime, its scope has evolved to include greater emphasis on sustainable nanotechnology practices and AI-driven simulations for nanoscience by 2025.^[5] For instance, coverage as of 2025 addresses nanotechnology's role in achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the integration of artificial intelligence in predicting nanomaterial properties.^[22][23]

Article Types

ACS Nano publishes a variety of manuscript types to accommodate different forms of scholarly communication in nanoscience and nanotechnology. The primary formats for original research are Articles and Communications. Articles are full-length reports presenting novel findings with broad and lasting impact. These manuscripts are structured with a ~250-word abstract (without references or citations), an introduction limited to ≤1000 words, a combined Results and Discussion section, a separate Methods section, and 5–7 keywords. Communications are concise reports of urgent, high-impact preliminary findings, following a similar structure but emphasizing brevity for rapid publication. Authors are expected to avoid explicit claims of novelty, as all submissions must inherently contain innovative elements.^[21] In addition to research articles, ACS Nano features invited Reviews and Perspectives to provide overviews and opinions on emerging topics. Reviews offer comprehensive, forward-looking evaluations of field-wide developments, challenges, and opportunities, typically spanning 6–20 pages or more, with a ~250-word abstract, 8–10 keywords, and a dedicated "Vocabulary" section defining 5–7 key terms. Perspectives are shorter, opinion-oriented pieces that contextualize specific advances or pose critical questions, accompanied by a ~120-word abstract and a graphical table of contents. Both types require a graphical table of contents entry and are invitation-only to ensure expert contributions.^[21][24] Other formats include Nano Focus articles, which highlight impactful developments in areas such as meetings, policy, or education, with a ~120-word abstract and graphical table of contents; these are also by invitation. Letters to the Editor allow brief comments or alternative viewpoints on previously published content, without abstracts and subject to editorial review. The journal further supports thematic content through special issues and virtual collections, which curate related articles on specific topics like nanomedicine or nanotoxicology to emphasize cutting-edge trends.^[21][25] All submissions adhere to strict guidelines emphasizing quality and transparency. Manuscripts must include high-resolution figures (≥300 dpi for color, ≥1200 dpi for line art) embedded in the text with captions, using formats like TIFF or EPS for optimal reproduction. Supplementary information is submitted separately and published as-provided, encompassing detailed methods, spectra, crystallographic data (e.g., CIF files deposited in databases like CCDC), and other supporting materials referenced in the main text. Ethical standards follow ACS guidelines, requiring disclosure of conflicts of interest, institutional approvals for human/animal studies, and permissions for reproduced material; data availability is promoted through public repositories and statements encouraging open sharing. These practices ensure rigorous, reproducible nanoscience reporting across all article types, which span core areas like nanostructure synthesis and nanobiotechnology.^[21][24]

Editorial Structure

Editor-in-Chief

The Editor-in-Chief of ACS Nano oversees all editorial decisions, sets the journal's strategic policies, and represents the publication within the global scientific community.^[26] This leadership role ensures the maintenance of high standards in nanoscience and nanotechnology research, guiding the selection of manuscripts that advance multidisciplinary innovation.^[5] Paul S. Weiss, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), served as the founding Editor-in-Chief from 2007 to 2021.^[27] During his tenure, Weiss emphasized the integration of diverse scientific disciplines to foster breakthroughs in nanoscience, aligning with the journal's mission to bridge chemistry, physics, materials science, and engineering.^[28] Under his leadership, ACS Nano received the 2008 PROSE Award for Best New Journal in Science, Technology, and Medicine from the Association of American Publishers, recognizing its rapid establishment as a premier venue for nanoscale research.^[29] Xiaodong Chen, President's Chair and Distinguished University Professor at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, has been Editor-in-Chief since January 2022.^[3] Chen's vision prioritizes global engagement and inclusion to amplify the journal's impact on societal challenges, with a focus on emerging technologies such as bio-nano interfaces, artificial intelligence in nanomaterials, and sustainable nanotechnology applications.^[30] The Editor-in-Chief is appointed by ACS Publications through a confidential search committee process that evaluates candidates based on their demonstrated expertise and leadership in nanoscience.^[26]

Supporting Editorial Roles

The associate editors of ACS Nano form a team of 37 experts drawn from leading institutions worldwide, specializing in key areas such as nanomaterials, nanobiotechnology, and related interdisciplinary fields.^[31] For instance, Paula T. Hammond from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology focuses on nanomaterials for drug delivery, while Mauro Ferrari from the University of Texas at Austin contributes expertise in nanobiotechnology applications.^[31] These editors are responsible for the initial screening of submitted manuscripts to ensure alignment with the journal's scope and for selecting appropriate peer reviewers to maintain rigorous evaluation standards.^[31] Managing editors oversee the operational aspects of the journal's workflow, including manuscript processing, production coordination, and developmental initiatives to enhance efficiency. As of 2024, Sergey Shmakov serves in this role at the American Chemical Society, supporting content growth and international outreach efforts.^[32] Earlier appointments, such as Chris DeSantis since 2018, have focused on streamlining editorial workflows amid rising submission volumes.^[33] The editorial advisory board comprises over 77 international members who provide strategic guidance on journal policies, emerging trends in nanoscience, and content direction to ensure the publication remains at the forefront of the field.^[31] Board members are rotated to promote diversity in geographic representation, expertise, and perspectives.^[34] The supporting editorial team's structure has evolved significantly since the journal's launch, with notable expansions in the 2010s to accommodate a surge in global submissions and to broaden coverage across nanoscience subdisciplines. By 2011, the editor team had grown, and further additions in 2018 included specialists to handle increased interdisciplinary content.^[35][36] This development under the oversight of the Editor-in-Chief has enabled ACS Nano to scale operations while upholding high standards.^[31]

Publication Practices

Frequency and Formats

ACS Nano publishes weekly, issuing approximately 52 issues per year to accommodate the growing volume of high-impact research in nanoscience and nanotechnology. Since its inception in 2007, the journal has transitioned from a monthly schedule to this more frequent cadence, enabling timely dissemination of accepted manuscripts. Additionally, the As Soon As Publishable (ASAP) program allows articles to appear online ahead of formal issue assignment, providing immediate access to peer-reviewed content upon final editorial approval.^[37][38] The journal operates in a hybrid print and digital format, maintaining both physical and online editions to serve diverse reader preferences. Its print ISSN is 1936-0851, while the web edition uses 1936-086X, ensuring compatibility with digital archiving and distribution standards. Articles are available in PDF for downloadable, printable versions and HTML for interactive web viewing, often accompanied by supplementary information files such as detailed methods, datasets, or multimedia elements to support reproducibility.^[1] By November 2025, ACS Nano has reached its 19th volume, reflecting nearly two decades of continuous publication since its launch. Each volume comprises multiple issues, typically exceeding 300 pages per issue and culminating in thousands of pages annually, which underscores the journal's expansive scope and the rapid pace of advancements in the field. Occasionally, special themed issues or collections are curated to highlight emerging topics, such as the Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering collection, fostering deeper exploration of specific subareas.^[37][39] Manuscript submissions are handled exclusively through the ACS Paragon Plus electronic platform, which streamlines the process from initial upload to peer review tracking. Authors are required to provide a validated ORCID iD, particularly for revisions, to enhance author identification and link publications to individual researcher profiles across databases. Open access options are available for published articles, allowing authors to select hybrid or full open access models upon acceptance.^[40][21]

Peer Review and Open Access

ACS Nano employs a single-anonymized peer review process, in which reviewers are aware of the authors' identities while authors remain unaware of the reviewers', ensuring constructive feedback from experts in nanoscience and nanotechnology.^[40] This approach is supplemented by an optional transparent peer review option, where reviewer comments and author responses are published alongside the article as supporting information to enhance transparency.^[40] The journal emphasizes ethical publishing standards aligned with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) principles, including mandatory plagiarism screening via Crossref Similarity Check and requirements for authors to disclose conflicts of interest and ensure originality.^[41] Additionally, ACS Nano promotes reproducibility by strongly encouraging authors to make underlying research data publicly available at publication, in line with ACS's broader data-sharing policies.^[41] The median time to the first peer review decision is 31.9 days, facilitating a relatively efficient evaluation process.^[1] As a hybrid journal, ACS Nano operates under a subscription model with optional open access for individual articles, allowing authors to choose immediate open access upon acceptance through the ACS AuthorChoice program.^[40] The article processing charge (APC) for open access publication is $4,500 USD for a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license or $4,000 USD for a CC BY-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license, with potential discounts available for ACS members or institutions holding certain packages.^[4] Institutions participating in ACS Read & Publish agreements can cover these APCs for affiliated corresponding authors, enabling seamless open access publishing without direct author fees.^[42] For non-open access articles, authors retain rights to self-archive the accepted manuscript after a 12-month embargo period under a CC BY license, supporting green open access routes while protecting subscription revenue.^[43] By 2025, ACS has expanded support for transformative agreements, with over 50 additional institutions joining Read & Publish deals starting in January, further promoting global access to nanoscience research published in journals like ACS Nano.^[44]

Impact Metrics

Citation and Influence Measures

ACS Nano's influence in nanoscience and nanotechnology is reflected in its robust citation metrics. The journal's 2024 Impact Factor, as reported in the Journal Citation Reports, stands at 16.1, a marked increase from 9.9 in 2010. This metric is computed as the average number of citations received in 2024 by articles published in the journal during the preceding two years.^[5][45] Additional indicators of the journal's impact include an h-index of 504 as of 2025, a CiteScore of 24.2 for 2024, and citations received in 2024 surpassing 255,000. These figures underscore ACS Nano's role as a key venue for high-impact research in the field.^[46][5] The journal's metrics have exhibited a steady upward trajectory, driven by the expanding scope and significance of nanoscience across disciplines. Per the SCImago Journal Rank, ACS Nano achieves an SJR score of 4.497, positioning it in the Q1 quartile and among the top 1% of journals in multidisciplinary sciences.^[46] Among prominent nanotechnology journals, ACS Nano maintains a high ranking, particularly in materials science and chemistry categories, where it frequently places in the top 5% based on percentile metrics.^[47]

Notable Achievements

In 2008, ACS Nano received the Association of American Publishers' PROSE Award for Best New Journal in the category of Science, Technology, and Medicine, recognizing its rapid establishment as a leading platform for nanoscience research under founding Editor-in-Chief Paul S. Weiss.^[48][49] This accolade highlighted the journal's innovative approach to publishing multidisciplinary nanoscience content from inception.^[29] The journal has produced influential virtual issues celebrating key milestones in nanoscience, such as those curated for National Nanotechnology Day, which compile cutting-edge articles across ACS publications including ACS Nano to showcase advancements in nanomaterials and applications.^[50][51] For instance, the 2017 virtual issue featured groundbreaking developments in nanotechnology from over 40 ACS journals, emphasizing ACS Nano's role in highlighting nano-enabled innovations.^[50] Additionally, ACS Nano has published seminal high-citation articles on two-dimensional materials, such as reviews on graphene and beyond, which have advanced understanding of their synthesis, properties, and applications in electronics and energy storage.^[52][53] ACS Nano has contributed to community impact through publications addressing nano-safety and policy, including editorials calling for nanomaterial standardization to ensure safe handling and environmental assessment.^[54] Articles in the journal have informed discussions on regulatory frameworks for nanotechnology's sustainable development, aligning with global goals like the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals by evaluating risks and benefits of nanomaterials.^[22] The journal has also collaborated with the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), publishing commemorative editorials on its milestones, such as the 15th anniversary piece that reflected on NNI's role in fostering global nanoscience progress, and involving editors in NNI assessment panels.^[55][56] In 2025, the ACS Nano Lectureship Awards honored two early-career researchers for outstanding contributions to nanoscience and nanotechnology: Dr. Qian Chen of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, whose work includes plans to integrate artificial intelligence with nanoscale imaging techniques, and Dr. Jun Chen of the University of California, Los Angeles, for innovations in soft magnetoelastic bioelectronics. The journal maintains ACS guidelines for ethical use of AI in manuscript preparation and submissions, as outlined in its 2023 editorial on best practices.^{[57][5][58][59]}

Indexing and Distribution

Abstracting Services

ACS Nano is indexed in several major abstracting and indexing services, enhancing its discoverability among researchers in nanoscience and related fields. These include the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), which provides comprehensive abstracts and indexing of chemical literature, covering ACS Nano articles since the journal's inception in 2007. Similarly, the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) within Web of Science indexes the journal for full bibliographic details and citations, facilitating global search and analysis. Scopus, Elsevier's abstract and citation database, includes ACS Nano with coverage starting from 2007, offering metrics like CiteScore for evaluating research impact. For articles with biomedical relevance, PubMed/MEDLINE provides selective indexing, ensuring visibility in health and life sciences databases.^[60][46] Additional indexing services further broaden access, such as the Chemistry Citation Index, which focuses on chemical research and is part of the Web of Science platform, and Current Contents/Physical, Chemical and Earth Sciences, offering weekly alerts on recent publications. EBSCOhost databases also index ACS Nano, supporting academic and library searches across multidisciplinary collections. These services provide both abstract and full-text indexing where available, with all articles assigned unique Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) in the format 10.1021/acsnano.xxxxxx for persistent linking and citation.^[60] The inclusion in these databases, particularly Web of Science components, enables precise tracking of citations and supports the calculation of influence metrics like the Journal Impact Factor.

Global Accessibility

ACS Nano ensures global accessibility through its hosting on the ACS Publications website (pubs.acs.org), which delivers content in mobile-optimized HTML format compatible with desktops, laptops, and mobile devices via HTML5 technology.^[61][62] This platform integrates with ORCID to uniquely identify authors and enhance research visibility, while leveraging Crossref for DOI registration and automated updates to ORCID records, streamlining global citation and discovery processes.^[63][64] Institutional subscriptions provide comprehensive access to ACS Nano via ACS's All Publications Package or specialized agreements, often facilitated through sales agents for universities, governments, and corporations worldwide.^[65] Individual users benefit from free access to abstracts, with full-text articles available on a pay-per-view basis at $14 per article for ACS members, enabling targeted access without full subscriptions.^[66] To foster inclusivity, ACS Publications waives article processing charges entirely for corresponding authors affiliated with institutions in low-income countries, as classified by the World Bank.^[67] The publisher also partners with initiatives like Research4Life, granting free or discounted access to over 100 ACS journals, including ACS Nano, for qualifying institutions in more than 120 low- and middle-income countries.^[68][69] Usage data underscores ACS Nano's international reach, with the journal recording over 8 million full-text downloads in 2021, reflecting substantial engagement from researchers globally.^[70] This broad distribution is aided by indexing in major abstracting services, which boosts discoverability across diverse regions.^[71]