Journal profile · Chemical Engineering-Process Chemistry and Technology
Molecular Catalysis
ISSN 2468-8231 · Elsevier BV · Netherlands
Molecular Catalysis: CAS Zone 3 · Chemistry (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 4.26; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,110; review about 61 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); 787 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Molecular Catalysis is published by Elsevier BV 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 Catalytic Processes in Materials Science, Catalysis for Biomass Conversion and Catalysis and Oxidation Reactions, together about 29.4% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Molecular Catalysis publishes full papers that are original, rigorous, and scholarly contributions examining the molecular and atomic aspects of catalytic activation and reaction mechanisms. The fields covered are:Heterogeneous catalysis including immobilized molecular catalystsHomogeneous catalysis including organocatalysis, organometallic catalysis and biocatalysisPhoto- and electrochemistryTheoretical aspects of catalysis analyzed by computational methodsManuscripts submitted to Molecular Catalysis ideally fall into the field of chemical synthesis, i.e. the preparation of chemical compounds used as pharmaceutical building blocks, fine chemicals, commodity chemicals or as bulk chemicals (or as precursors for them).Manuscripts dealing with non-synthetic topics such as degradation reactions (e.g. photocatalysis for the degradation of dyes/pollutants), (bio)sensors or fuel cells will not be considered for publication in Molecular Catalysis.Contributions that do not fall within the above aims and scope will be rejected at the editorial level. Examples are papers that are limited to:Routine preparation and characterization of catalytic materialsRoutine synthetic organic applications of catalysisRoutine computational studies that merely reproduces experimental dataSince the scopes of the Elsevier journals Molecular Catalysis, Applied Catalysis A: General, Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, and Catalysis Communications are complementary, an appropriate submission to each journal could be borderline, in which case the advice of another Editor will be sought, possibly redirecting the submission to either Applied Catalysis A: General, Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, or Catalysis Communications (for letters) with the author(s)'s agreement.Molecular Catalysis publishes regularly full papers; special issues on well-defined topics are published only by invitation. However, proposal from authors are welcome anytime and enquiries regarding the submission of special issues should be directed to the Editors. Any special issue should contain at least 30 articles featuring work from leading experts in the area and/or from leading institutes.Review and Perspective articles are normally published by invitation.Perspectives are short articles covering current areas of interest for molecular catalysis audience in the form of personal accounts. The length of a published perspective ranges from 1500 to 2000 words (excluding figures, structures, photographs, schemes, tables, etc.) with at least 20 or more references.A new article format called "Ongoing Story" will focus on a still open molecular catalysis research showing the developments in the understanding by a specialist area. The length of a published "Ongoing story" ranges from 500 to 1000 words (excluding figures, structures, photographs, schemes, tables, etc.).Guidelines for catalyst characterization and reporting experimental results:Every manuscript published in Molecular Catalysis has to provide sufficient experimental detail to reproduce the experiments and calculations reported. Also, the identity of the products (especially if a new product is synthesized) has to be established together with the yield and its purity.Catalyst characterization: To establish the identity of new catalysts a precise synthesis and purification procedure is inevitable as well as sufficient spectroscopic (e.g. UV-Vis, NMR etc.), crystallographic and chromatographic identification (ideally placed into the supporting information).In case of enzyme catalysts, a detailed description and documentation (e.g. SDS-gels etc) of the enzyme preparation (such as expression system, induction, fermentation conditions, downstream processing and enzyme purification) has to be provided.Catalyst activity assays have to be described in detail (including reagents, assay conditions and activity calculations).Reaction conditions: A detailed description of the reaction conditions comprises: solvent composition (if appropriate buf
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Chemical Engineering-Process Chemistry and Technology
Editor-in-chief Ning YanPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 16 in mainland China (about 20%); most named Mainland China 16, United States 10, Italy 8, South Korea 7, United Kingdom 6 (80 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Catalytic Processes in Materials ScienceMaterials Science14.4%
- Catalysis for Biomass ConversionEngineering7.8%
- Catalysis and Oxidation ReactionsChemical Engineering7.3%
- Catalysis and Hydrodesulfurization StudiesEngineering6.6%
- Advanced Photocatalysis TechniquesEnergy6%
- Nanomaterials for catalytic reactionsChemistry4.9%
- Carbon dioxide utilization in catalysisChemical Engineering4.7%
- Catalysts for Methane ReformingChemical Engineering4.6%
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 | Chemistry, Physical | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Chemistry Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Chemistry | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Chemistry, Physical | Zone 3 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Chemistry Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Chemistry | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Chemistry, Physical | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
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
- 4.26LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 4.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 7.9LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 7.9Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.73LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.79LetPub ·
- h-index
- 144LetPub ·
- h-index
- 77OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,430OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.75OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 16.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 10%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 682LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 6,238 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 594 | 112 | 93 |
| 2025 | 787 | 89 | 1,390 |
| 2024 | 895 | 145 | 4,773 |
| 2023 | 797 | 92 | 7,763 |
| 2022 | 721 | 82 | 8,481 |
| 2021 | 658 | 65 | 10,537 |
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
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
61 dayssubmission to acceptance
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Submission to first decision
- 3 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 21 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 61 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 7 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 3,110 / EUR 3,280 / GBP 2,810 / JPY 435,350 | — | — |
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 prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- 1–7
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- Highlights
- Required
- Not considered
- Routine synthetic organic applications of catalysis
Article types accepted5, with length limits
- original researchThere are two types of contributions:1) Full-length, or regular papers describing original research work not previously published.2) Reviews of specialized topi…Length not stated
- perspectivenal accounts. The length of a published perspective ranges from 1500 to 2000 words (excluding figures, structures, photographs, schemes, tablemain text ≤ 2,000 words
- regular paperThere are two types of contributions:1) Full-length, or regular papers describing original research work not previously published.2) Reviews of specialized topi…Length not stated
- reviewThere are two types of contributions:1) Full-length, or regular papers describing original research work not previously published.2) Reviews of specialized topi…Length not stated
- reviews2) Reviews of specialized topics within the scope of the Journal (prospective authors should obtain preliminary approval from an Editor before preparing such an…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Group authorship
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Single anonymized review process Model summary
This journal follows a single anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism
Plagiarism screening with automatic rejection above 10% similarity index Model summary
Manuscripts with a plagiarism level (similarity index) above 10%, including self-plagiarism will be automatically rejected at Editorial level.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Free preprint posting service on SSRN Model summary
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication. In support of Open Science, this journal offers its authors a free preprint posting service on SSRN, Elsevier’s preprint and early research …
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
- Elsevier BV
- Country or region
- Netherlands
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2468-8231
- Print ISSN
- 2468-8274
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Molecular Catalysis
What CAS zone is Molecular Catalysis in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Molecular Catalysis is in Zone 3 of Chemistry, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Chemistry, Physical. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Chemistry. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Molecular Catalysis?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 4.26; CiteScore 7.9, h-index 77.
How long does peer review take at Molecular Catalysis?
The publisher reports about 61 days (submission to acceptance). 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 Molecular Catalysis?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: 1–7; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; Highlights: 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 Molecular Catalysis based?
Of the 80 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 16 (about 20%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (16), United States (10) and Italy (8). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Molecular Catalysis?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Molecular Catalysis is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Molecular Catalysis open access, and what is the APC?
Molecular Catalysis is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,110.
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: .