Journal profile · Polymer Science
Journal of Applied Polymer Science
ISSN 0021-8995 · eISSN 1097-4628 · John Wiley and Sons Inc. · UNITED STATES · Weekly · Founded 1959
Journal of Applied Polymer Science: CAS Zone 3 · Chemistry (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.86; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,140; median 113 days to acceptance (175 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: 88%; 1,928 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Applied Polymer Science is published by John Wiley and Sons Inc. and is in Zone 3 of Chemistry in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Polymer Nanocomposites and Properties, Polymer crystallization and properties and biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties, together about 33.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Polymers and Plastics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal of Applied Polymer Science is the largest scientific publication in polymer science, and number 5 by total citations in the ISI Polymer Science category, with more than 59 000 annual citations and more than 1.9 million downloads per year, and a 2022 Journal Impact Factor of 3.0 (Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate Analytics, 2023)). Featuring research articles, reviews, comments and perspectives, the journal covers all applications of polymers, including membranes, energy conversion and storage, and biomedical implants; as well as all types of polymeric materials, from polysaccharides, to composites, to biodegradable polymers. The journal bridges the crucial gap between basic research and patenting of an invention, targeting a broad audience of academic and industrial researchers, as well as the increasingly important world of scientists and engineers at start-up companies. The Journal of Applied Polymer Science offers an average time to first decision of 29 days, and acceptance-to-publication times of only 15 working days.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Polymer Science
Editor-in-chief Stefan SpiegelPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 20%); most named Singapore 2, Mainland China 1, Hong Kong, China 1, Hungary 1 (5 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Polymer Nanocomposites and PropertiesMaterials Science11.9%
- Polymer crystallization and propertiesMaterials Science11.9%
- biodegradable polymer synthesis and propertiesMaterials Science9.3%
- Synthesis and properties of polymersMaterials Science7.3%
- Advanced Polymer Synthesis and CharacterizationChemistry5.4%
- Polymer composites and self-healingMaterials Science5%
- Epoxy Resin Curing ProcessesEngineering4.6%
- Conducting polymers and applicationsMaterials Science4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Chemistry Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Chemistry | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Polymer Science | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Chemistry Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Chemistry | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Polymer Science | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Chemistry Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Chemistry | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Polymer Science | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EI CompendexWeb of SciencePubMedINSPECCASCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: ProQuest, AGRICOLA
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
- 2.86LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.1Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.1Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2022
- 3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 5.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 5.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.52LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.64LetPub ·
- h-index
- 149LetPub ·
- h-index
- 246OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 38,746OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.87OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 9.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 11.56%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 1,819LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 1,811Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 2,864,586Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 69,253 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1,321 | 351 | 439 |
| 2025 | 1,928 | 772 | 4,614 |
| 2024 | 1,601 | 794 | 8,847 |
| 2023 | 1,580 | 755 | 12,819 |
| 2022 | 1,520 | 188 | 15,887 |
| 2021 | 1,630 | 209 | 22,087 |
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
113 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 91 days – 149 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 12 days (175 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 128 days
- Sample
- 175 articles with submission and acceptance dates (3,507 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 3.3 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 88%LetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 42%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 42%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 26 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 26 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 88 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 14 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
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
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,140 / EUR 3,420 / GBP 2,750 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
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 prepare7 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 200 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 3
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Graphical abstract
- Required
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted3, with length limits
- perspectivePerspectives are peer-reviewed and provide a forum to present personal opinions and backgrounds on topics of interest to national and international research com…main text ≤ 200 words · abstract ≤ 200 words
- research articleX manuscript template. Whilst a typical Research Article is around 3000–8000 words (in its entirety) including 3–8 display items (figures, schmain text ≤ 8,000 words
- reviewReviews are peer-reviewed and give an overview of recent progress in important fields of research, providing the readers with a guide to the relevant literature…abstract ≤ 200 words · figures and tables ≤ 15
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, Open access, Peer review
- AI use AI-Generated Images
For information about using AI-generated images in your work, please see Wiley’s AI Guidelines for Researchers.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship
The list of authors should accurately indicate who contributed to the work. All those listed as authors should qualify for authorship according to the following criteria: Have made substantial contributions to conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; Been involved in drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content; …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Conflict of Interest
All authors must declare financial/commercial conflicts of interest. If the authors have no conflicts of interest, this should be stated. top ↑
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data Sharing/Repositories
Wiley is committed to a more open research landscape, facilitating faster and more effective research discovery by enabling reproducibility and verification of data, methodology and reporting standards. We encourage authors of published articles to share their research data including, but not limited to: raw data, processed data, software, algorithms, protocols, methods, and materials. We expect t…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Professional Conduct and Publication Ethics
The journal is committed to high standards for professional conduct and ethical behavior in all published material. The Publishing Ethics Guidelines detail the journal's position as a scientific publisher. Furthermore, the journal supports the International Guidelines for Ethical Conduct in Scientific Publishing (IUPAP) as they were adopted by the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics, t…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access
A general exception to this rule is open access journals and articles, which have different agreements governing re-use of material. If you wish to reproduce materials from an open access title, you should check the journal homepage for more information on their re-use policies. CC-BY content can be used without asking permission, but the source must be attributed. Reproduced under terms of the CC…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review Policy
All manuscripts are subject to assessment by the editors and/or peer review. The first evaluation of a manuscript rarely results in acceptance, but it is possible in exceptional cases. Manuscripts are rejected by the editors at this stage if they are insufficiently original, have serious scientific flaws, need extensive improvement in the language, or do not fall within the aims and scope of the j…
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
- John Wiley and Sons Inc.
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Weekly
- Founded
- 1959
- ISSN
- 0021-8995
- Electronic ISSN
- 1097-4628
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 143, Issue 41 (November 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Applied Polymer Science
What CAS zone is Journal of Applied Polymer Science in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Applied Polymer Science is in Zone 3 of Chemistry, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Polymer Science. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Chemistry. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Applied Polymer Science?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.86; CiteScore 5.6, h-index 246.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Applied Polymer Science?
Based on the dates recorded on 175 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 113 days (interquartile range 91–149 days); authors report an average review time of about 3.3 months; the community-reported acceptance is “88%”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 42% (2025). 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 Journal of Applied Polymer Science?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 200 words; Keywords: ≥ 3; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Graphical abstract: Required; 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 Journal of Applied Polymer Science based?
Of the 5 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 20%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Singapore (2), Mainland China (1) and Hong Kong, China (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Applied Polymer Science?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Applied Polymer Science is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists EI Compendex, Web of Science, PubMed, INSPEC, CAS and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of Applied Polymer Science open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Applied Polymer Science is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,140.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .