Journal profile · Crystallography
Acta Crystallographica Section E-Crystallographic Communications
ISSN 1600-5368 · eISSN 2056-9890 · International Union of Crystallography · DENMARK · Monthly · Founded 2001
Acta Crystallographica Section E-Crystallographic Communications: CAS Zone 4 · Materials Science (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 0.5 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 500; median 23 days to acceptance (108 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: about 95%; 215 articles a year; indexed in ESCI.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Acta Crystallographica Section E-Crystallographic Communications is published by International Union of Crystallography and is in Zone 4 of Materials Science in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Crystal structures of chemical compounds, Synthesis and biological activity and Metal complexes synthesis and properties, together about 51.4% of its articles. Its main subfields are Organic Chemistry. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Acta Crystallographica Section E, Crystallographic Communicationsis a fully open-access structural communications journal. It provides a fast, simple and easily accessible publication mechanism for crystal structure determinations of inorganic, metal-organic and organic compounds. The specialised submission, validation, refereeing and publication facilities of the journal ensure rapid and high-quality publication of fully validated structures. The primary article category is Research Communications which contains peer-reviewed articles describing one or more structure determinations with appropriate discussion of the science. The journal also contains an Education and Outreach section which covers any topic of an educational nature related to the general field of structural chemistry. It welcomes contributions on teaching methods, digital resources and tools, outreach and public engagement, cultural and historical aspects of crystallography, as well as tutorials and advice on fundamental concepts of structure solution and refinement. Articles in this section should aim to have a maximum of 3000 words.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Crystallography
Editor-in-chief A. J. AllenNationalPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 3 in mainland China (about 7%); most named United States 9, United Kingdom 6, Mainland China 3, Germany 3, Brazil 3 (45 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Crystal structures of chemical compoundsChemistry29.2%
- Synthesis and biological activityChemistry11.5%
- Metal complexes synthesis and propertiesMedicine10.7%
- Crystallography and molecular interactionsChemistry6.9%
- Metal-Organic Frameworks: Synthesis and ApplicationsChemistry5.3%
- Synthesis and Characterization of Heterocyclic CompoundsChemistry4.4%
- Magnetism in coordination complexesMaterials Science3.8%
- Synthesis of Organic CompoundsMedicine3.2%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Materials Science Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Materials Science | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Crystallography | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Materials Science Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Materials Science | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Crystallography | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
SCIEWeb of ScienceScopusMEDLINEPMCINSPECCASPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, Crossref
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 0.5Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher)
- 0.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 1.3Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 35OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,313OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 20%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 215LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 229Publisher website ·
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
23 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 11 days – 45 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 8 days (108 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 36 days
- Sample
- 108 articles with submission and acceptance dates (540 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 1 monthLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 95%LetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 85%Publisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 3 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | USD 500 | Yes | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | USD 500 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 590 | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Templates
- Word
- Cover letter
- Required
- Not considered
- AI tools as authors
Article types accepted2
- education and outreachThe journal also contains an Education and Outreach section, which covers any topic of an educational nature related to the general field of structural chemistr…Length not stated
- research communicationsThe primary article category is Research Communications, which contains peer-reviewed articles describing one or more structure determinations with appropriate …Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism
- AI use 3.6. AI tools
Authors may make use of AI tools in preparing their articles. However, such tools may not be listed as an author, as they cannot be held accountable for the work. All co-authors of the text should carefully check for any errors introduced through the use of an AI tool. Authors who have employed an AI tool should document this use in the methods or acknowledgements sections.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics 3.5. Author's warranty and ethical considerations
Member of COPE and endorses its recommendations. Model summary
The submission of an article is taken as an implicit guarantee that the work is original, that it is the author(s) own work, that all authors are aware of and concur with the submission, that all workers involved in the study are listed as authors or given proper credit in the acknowledgements, that the article has not already been published (in any language or medium), and that it is not being co…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright 3.8. Copyright
Open-access licence identical to CC-BY; copyright retained by authors. Model summary
Authors will not be asked to transfer copyright to the IUCr, but will instead be asked to agree during article submission to an open-access licence. This licence is identical to the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) Licence. Details of author rights can be found at https://journals.iucr.org/services/authorrights.html.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
Journal policy: the journal is open accessOpen-access licence: Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0 International)
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Peer review process Peer review: yes Review process: single-blind
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism
Plagiarism screening via Crossref Similarity Check. Model summary
Articles may be checked for plagiarism using the Crossref Similarity Check service.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- International Union of Crystallography
- Country or region
- DENMARK
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 2001
- ISSN
- 1600-5368
- Electronic ISSN
- 2056-9890
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Acta Crystallographica Section E-Crystallographic Communications
What CAS zone is Acta Crystallographica Section E-Crystallographic Communications in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Acta Crystallographica Section E-Crystallographic Communications is in Zone 4 of Materials Science, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Crystallography. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Materials Science. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Acta Crystallographica Section E-Crystallographic Communications?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 0.5; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; h-index 35.
How long does peer review take at Acta Crystallographica Section E-Crystallographic Communications?
Based on the dates recorded on 108 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 23 days (interquartile range 11–45 days); authors report an average review time of about 1 month; the community-reported acceptance is “about 95%”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 85%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Acta Crystallographica Section E-Crystallographic Communications?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Templates: Word; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Acta Crystallographica Section E-Crystallographic Communications based?
Of the 45 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 3 (about 7%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (9), United Kingdom (6) and Mainland China (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Acta Crystallographica Section E-Crystallographic Communications?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Acta Crystallographica Section E-Crystallographic Communications is indexed in ESCI and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists SCIE, Web of Science, Scopus, MEDLINE, PMC, INSPEC and CAS; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Acta Crystallographica Section E-Crystallographic Communications open access, and what is the APC?
Acta Crystallographica Section E-Crystallographic Communications is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 500.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex, DOAJ; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-24). Last updated: .