Journal profile · MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY
Materials
ISSN 1996-1944 · MDPI (Basel, Switzerland) · SWITZERLAND · Founded 2008
Materials: CAS Zone 3 · Materials Science (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.64; JCR Q2 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 3,137; median 34 days to acceptance (198 articles, last 24 months); 5,726 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus; flagged on an early-warning list or for an indexing change: check before submitting.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Materials is published by MDPI (Basel, Switzerland) and is in Zone 3 of Materials Science in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Concrete and Cement Materials Research, Innovative concrete reinforcement materials and Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing Technologies, together about 23.8% of its articles. Its main subfields are Mechanical Engineering. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
To publish research related to all classes of materials including ceramics, glasses, polymers (plastics), composites, semiconductors, magnetic materials, biological and biomimetics materials, silica, dots and carbon materials, metals, and alloys from nanoscale to bulk. All kinds of functional materials used for the development of medical implants in medicine and in dentistry, as well as coatings and films, pigments, ionic crystals, covalent crystals, metals, and intermetallics, are also considered. To cover all aspects of materials science or materials engineering, including nanoscience and nanotechnology. To contribute to the advancement of material characterization techniques such as electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, calorimetry, nuclear microscopy and spectroscopy, laser technology, optical fibers, Rutherford backscattering, and neutron diffraction, among others. To incite fundamental research in condensed matter physics and materials physics, continuum mechanics and statistics, mechanics of materials, tribology (friction, lubrication, and wear), solid-state physics, etc. The journal will not consider submissions that only present clinical cases, or that only cover geological and engineering applications of natural materials (e.g., soil, rocks, loess, basalt).
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY
Editorial board by country: 6 in mainland China (about 18%); most named United States 7, Mainland China 6, United Kingdom 3, Italy 3, Germany 2 (33 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Concrete and Cement Materials ResearchEngineering9.8%
- Innovative concrete reinforcement materialsEngineering8.1%
- Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing TechnologiesEngineering5.9%
- Aluminum Alloys Composites PropertiesEngineering5.9%
- Additive Manufacturing Materials and ProcessesEngineering5.4%
- Bone Tissue Engineering MaterialsEngineering5.3%
- Advanced materials and compositesEngineering4%
- Dental materials and restorationsDentistry4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Materials Science Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Materials Science | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Metallurgy & Metallurgical Engineering | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Physics, Applied | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Physics, Condensed Matter | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Materials Science, Multidisciplinary | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Materials Science Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Materials Science | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Chemistry, Physical | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Materials Science, Multidisciplinary | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Metallurgy & Metallurgical Engineering | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Physics, Applied | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Physics, Condensed Matter | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Materials Science Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Materials Science | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Chemistry, Physical | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Metallurgy & Metallurgical Engineering | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Physics, Applied | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Physics, Condensed Matter | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Materials Science, Multidisciplinary | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q2 · Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
- CiteScore Q1 · Condensed Matter Physics
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
Early warning / risk: CAS Early Warning Journal List: listed in the 2020 edition (low risk); not listed in the other 5 editions.LetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EI CompendexWeb of SciencePMCPubMedINSPECCASPublisher website
Other: Astrophysics Data System
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
- 3.64LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.7Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.8Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 7Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.62LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.02LetPub ·
- h-index
- 83LetPub ·
- h-index
- 249OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 29,142OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 4.72OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 8.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.95%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 5,758LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 58,682 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 4,035 | 4,035 | 1,839 |
| 2025 | 5,726 | 5,726 | 22,455 |
| 2024 | 6,255 | 6,255 | 51,304 |
| 2023 | 7,569 | 7,569 | 93,399 |
| 2022 | 9,205 | 9,205 | 145,847 |
| 2021 | 8,085 | 8,085 | 164,669 |
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 PubMed · to
34 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 28 days – 46 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 4 days (198 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 39 days
- Sample
- 198 articles with submission and acceptance dates (11,144 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)
- 3–8 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 14.4 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 3.6 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Anonymous peer reviewLetPub
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 accessOpenAlex
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | CHF 2,600 | — | — | |
| LetPub | CHF 2,600 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
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 prepare8 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 200 words
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Templates
- LaTeX and Word
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Required, 3
- Highlights
- Optional
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted18
- book reviewAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
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- case reportAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- commentaryAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- conference reportAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- editorialAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
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- opinionAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- perspectiveAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- protocolAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- registered reportAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- reviewAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- systematic reviewAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- technical noteAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- tutorialAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
- viewpointAll Article Types Article Review Communication Editorial Abstract Book Review Brief Communication Brief Report Case Report Clinicopathological Challenge Comment…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- Authorship Authorship
MDPI follows the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines which state that, in order to qualify for authorship of a manuscript, the following criteria should be observed: Make substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; Draft the work or review it critically for important intel…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Conflicts of Interest
According to The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, “Authors should avoid entering into agreements with study sponsors, both for-profit and non-profit, that interfere with authors’ access to all of the study’s data or that interfere with their ability to analyze and interpret the data and to prepare and publish manuscripts independently when and where they choose.” All authors mus…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability statements
Data availability statements are required for all articles published with MDPI. During the peer review and editorial decision process, authors can be asked to share existing datasets or raw data that have been analyzed in the manuscript, and whether they will be made available to other researchers following publication. Authors will also be asked for the details of any existing datasets that have …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Publication Ethics Statement
Materials is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). We fully adhere to its Code of Conduct and to its Best Practice Guidelines. The editors of this journal enforce a rigorous peer review process together with strict ethical policies and standards to ensure to add high quality scientific works to the field of scholarly publication. Unfortunately, cases of plagiarism, data falsifica…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright / Open Access
Articles published in Materials will be Open-Access articles distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The copyright is retained by the author(s). MDPI will insert the following note at the end of the published text: © 2026 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publication fees
If you transfer your manuscript to another open access (OA) journal, you will be charged an Article Processing Charge (APC) if your article is accepted for publication. The APC for each journal can be found on the individual journal’s website. For more information about APCs, please see here.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Editorial Process and Peer Review
All submissions are thoroughly peer-reviewed by experts within the field and undergo a structured editorial workflow designed to ensure quality, transparency, and scientific integrity. The full editorial procedure is available on the Editorial Process page and is also provided below. Pre-check Pre-check consists of a technical pre-check performed by the Editorial Office and an editorial pre-check …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints and Conference Papers
Materials accepts submissions that have previously been made available as preprints provided that they have not undergone peer review. A preprint is a draft version of a paper made available online before submission to a journal. MDPI operates Preprints, a preprint server to which submitted papers can be uploaded directly after completing journal submission. Note that Preprints operates independen…
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
- MDPI (Basel, Switzerland)
- Country or region
- SWITZERLAND
- Language
- English
- Founded
- 2008
- ISSN
- 1996-1944
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 19 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Materials
What CAS zone is Materials in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Materials is in Zone 3 of Materials Science, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Metallurgy & Metallurgical Engineering / Physics, Applied / Physics, Condensed Matter / Materials Science, Multidisciplinary. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Materials Science. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Materials?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.64; CiteScore 7, h-index 249.
How long does peer review take at Materials?
Based on the dates recorded on 198 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 34 days (interquartile range 28–46 days); authors report an average review time of 3–8 weeks. 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 JCR quartile is Materials in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q2; by category, Materials Science, Multidisciplinary Q2. JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 3 of Materials Science.
What are the manuscript requirements of Materials?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 200 words; Reference style: Author–date; Templates: LaTeX and Word; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Required, 3; Highlights: Optional; Graphical abstract: Optional; 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 Materials based?
Of the 33 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 6 (about 18%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (7), Mainland China (6) and United Kingdom (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Materials?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Materials is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists EI Compendex, Web of Science, PMC, PubMed, INSPEC and CAS; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Materials open access, and what is the APC?
Materials is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 3,137.
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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .