Journal profile · MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY
Materials Research Express
ISSN 2053-1591 · IOP Publishing Ltd. · ENGLAND
Materials Research Express: CAS Zone 4 · Materials Science (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.49; fully open access; APC about USD 2,100; median 98 days to acceptance (120 articles, last 24 months); 551 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Materials Research Express is published by IOP Publishing Ltd. 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 Aluminum Alloys Composites Properties, ZnO doping and properties and Advanced materials and composites, together about 21.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are Materials Chemistry. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Materials Research Express™ (MRX) is a multidisciplinary journal devoted to publishing new experimental and theoretical research on the properties, characterization, design and fabrication of all classes of materials, and on their technological applications. Characterized by article length flexibility and a fast-track peer review process, areas of particular interest include: Materials characterization Material properties Computational materials science and modelling Material applications Synthesis and fabrication Engineering applications of materials listed below† Material classes within the journal scope:* Biomaterials Carbon allotropes and 2D materials Electronic materials (including semiconductors) Glasses and ceramics Magnetic materials Metals and alloys Nanomaterials and nanostructures Photonic materials and metamaterials Polymers and organic compounds Smart materials Soft matter Superconducting materials Surfaces, interfaces and thin films †Please note, MRX does not usually consider work relating to materials used solely for structural or civil engineering. However, within our ‘Metals and Alloys’ scope, we will consider work on new and complex alloys, aspects of tribology including lubrication and corrosion resistance; microstructure and structure analysis, surface wear analysis etc. *Please note that the definitions provided for these material classes are not exhaustive.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY
Editorial board by country: 10 in mainland China (about 20%); most named Mainland China 10, United States 4, India 4, Italy 3, South Africa 3 (49 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Aluminum Alloys Composites PropertiesEngineering9.5%
- ZnO doping and propertiesMaterials Science6.7%
- Advanced materials and compositesEngineering5.4%
- Metal and Thin Film MechanicsEngineering5.3%
- Gas Sensing Nanomaterials and SensorsEngineering5%
- Graphene research and applicationsMaterials Science5%
- Aluminum Alloy Microstructure PropertiesEngineering4.7%
- Advanced Photocatalysis TechniquesEnergy4.7%
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 | Materials Science, Multidisciplinary | 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 | Materials Science, Multidisciplinary | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Materials Science Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Materials Science | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Materials Science, Multidisciplinary | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EI CompendexWeb of ScienceINSPECCASCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: ProQuest, CNKI, Baidu, J-Gate, Scilit, Astrophysics Data System, Naver, Semantic Scholar
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
- 2.49LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.3LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.44LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.68LetPub ·
- h-index
- 21LetPub ·
- h-index
- 93OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 6,261OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.94OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.95%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 552LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 15,884 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 434 | 434 | 121 |
| 2025 | 551 | 551 | 1,132 |
| 2024 | 839 | 839 | 4,105 |
| 2023 | 699 | 699 | 5,586 |
| 2022 | 711 | 711 | 6,446 |
| 2021 | 1,028 | 1,028 | 10,643 |
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
98 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 73 days – 133 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 10 days (120 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 108 days
- Sample
- 120 articles with submission and acceptance dates (1,201 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 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 13 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous 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 | GBP 1,545 / EUR 1,755 / USD 2,100 | Yes | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | USD 2,000 / EUR 1,670 / GBP 1,470 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 1,880 / EUR 1,570 / GBP 1,385 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | GBP 1,545 / EUR 1,755 / USD 2,100 | — | — |
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
- ≤ 300 words
- Templates
- LaTeX and Word
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Highlights
- Optional
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteLicense & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- License & copyright Copyright and Permissions
The following information is available to help you with our copyright and permissions policies. Copyright Reusing IOP Published content Reusing third party material in new IOP content Creative Commons Licences CCC Republication service STM Permissions guidelines Permissions FAQs
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
Materials Research Express is a fully open access journal. Articles are published under a CC BY (Creative Commons Attribution) licence. Articles are freely available to everyone to read and reuse immediately upon publication, provided attribution to the author is given. Publication is funded by article publication charges (APCs). For more information on IOP Publishing’s open access policies please…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
The following summary describes the peer review process for Materials Research Express, using the ANSI/NISO Standard Terminology for Peer Review: Identity transparency: single-anonymous, double-anonymous (author choice) Reviewer interacts with: Editor Review information published: review reports (author and reviewer opt in), author/editor communication, reviewer identities (reviewer opt in) Our Pu…
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
- IOP Publishing Ltd.
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2053-1591
- Official links
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Materials Research Express
What CAS zone is Materials Research Express in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Materials Research Express is in Zone 4 of Materials Science, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Materials Science, Multidisciplinary. 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 Materials Research Express?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.49; CiteScore 4.3, h-index 93.
How long does peer review take at Materials Research Express?
Based on the dates recorded on 120 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 98 days (interquartile range 73–133 days); authors report an average review time of about 12 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 are the manuscript requirements of Materials Research Express?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 300 words; Templates: LaTeX and Word; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional; 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 Research Express based?
Of the 49 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 10 (about 20%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (10), United States (4) and India (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Materials Research Express?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Materials Research Express is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists EI Compendex, Web of Science, INSPEC, CAS and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Materials Research Express open access, and what is the APC?
Materials Research Express is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,100.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Publisher website; 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: .