Journal profile · Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Soft Materials
ISSN 1539-445X · eISSN 1539-4468 · Taylor and Francis Ltd. · UNITED STATES · Tri-annual · Founded 2003
Soft Materials: CAS Zone 4 · Materials Science (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.06; subscription journal; APC charged, amount not published; median 235 days to acceptance (17 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 10 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Soft Materials is published by Taylor and Francis 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 Hydrogels: synthesis, properties, applications, Surfactants and Colloidal Systems and Liquid Crystal Research Advancements, together about 21.8% of its articles. Its main subfields are Polymers and Plastics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Providing a common forum for all soft matter scientists, Soft Materials covers theory, simulation, and experimental research in this rapidly expanding and interdisciplinary field. As soft materials are often at the heart of modern technologies, soft matter science has implications and applications in many areas ranging from biology to engineering. Unlike many journals which focus primarily on individual classes of materials or particular applications, Soft Materials draw on all physical, chemical, materials science, and biological aspects of soft matter. Featured topics include polymers, biomacromolecules, colloids, membranes, Langmuir-Blodgett films, liquid crystals, granular matter, soft interfaces, complex fluids, surfactants, gels, nanomaterials, self-organization, supramolecular science, molecular recognition, soft glasses, amphiphiles, foams, and active matter. Truly international in scope, Soft Materials contains original research, invited reviews, in-depth technical tutorials, and book reviews. Peer Review Policy: All submitted manuscripts are subject to initial appraisal by the Editor, and if found suitable for further consideration, will be peer-reviewed by independent and anonymous expert referees. All peer review is single anonymized. Publishing Ethics Statement: The Journal adheres to the highest standards of publishing ethics, with rigorous processes in place to ensure this is achieved. Taylor & Francis is a member of Committee of Publication Ethics (COPE) and utilizes Similarity Check via CrossRef for all journals. More information on our ethical standards and policies can be found here: http://authorservices.taylorandfrancis.com/ethics-for-authors/. The Journal has an appeals and complaints policy which can be viewed here: https://authorservices.taylorandfrancis.com/peer-review-appeals-and-complaints-from-authors/.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Editor-in-chief James L. HardenPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Hydrogels: synthesis, properties, applicationsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology8.3%
- Surfactants and Colloidal SystemsChemistry6.8%
- Liquid Crystal Research AdvancementsMaterials Science6.7%
- Polymer Nanocomposites and PropertiesMaterials Science6.5%
- Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting MaterialsEngineering5.8%
- Polymer crystallization and propertiesMaterials Science5.6%
- Supramolecular Self-Assembly in MaterialsMaterials Science5.3%
- Material Dynamics and PropertiesMaterials Science5.1%
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
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EI CompendexWeb of ScienceINSPECCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: ProQuest, OCLC, EBSCOhost (various), Genamics JournalSeek, OCLC ArticleFirst Electronic Collections Online, ProQuest Polymer Library various others, World Ceramics Abstracts
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
- 1.06LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.1Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.3LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 3.3Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.25LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.25Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.29LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.29Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 21LetPub ·
- h-index
- 37OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 278OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.31OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 6LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 22,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 759 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 10 | 1 | 8 |
| 2024 | 24 | 1 | 39 |
| 2023 | 30 | 2 | 111 |
| 2022 | 25 | 4 | 172 |
| 2021 | 43 | 7 | 270 |
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
235 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 157 days – 299 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 11 days (17 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 254 days
- Sample
- 17 articles with submission and acceptance dates (19 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 2.3 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 5%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 87 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 168 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
Subscription journalLetPub
A subscription journal: articles are read by subscription or purchase, and authors usually pay no publication charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePublication ethics, Open access, Peer review
- Publication ethics
Publishing ethics: adheres to high standards; COPE member; uses Similarity Check via CrossRef. Model summary
The Journal adheres to the highest standards of publishing ethics, with rigorous processes in place to ensure this is achieved. Taylor & Francis is a member of Committee of Publication Ethics (COPE) and utilizes Similarity Check via CrossRef for all journals.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
Soft Materials is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverability and readersh…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Peer review policy: initial editor appraisal, then peer review by independent anonymous referees; single anonymized review. Model summary
All submitted manuscripts are subject to initial appraisal by the Editor, and if found suitable for further consideration, will be peer-reviewed by independent and anonymous expert referees. All peer review is single anonymized.
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
- Taylor and Francis Ltd.
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Tri-annual
- Founded
- 2003
- ISSN
- 1539-445X
- Electronic ISSN
- 1539-4468
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 23, Issue 3-4 (2025)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Soft Materials
What CAS zone is Soft Materials in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Soft Materials 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 Soft Materials?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.06; CiteScore 3.3, h-index 37.
How long does peer review take at Soft Materials?
Based on the dates recorded on 17 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 235 days (interquartile range 157–299 days); authors report an average review time of about 2.3 months; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 5%. 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.
Which databases index Soft Materials?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Soft Materials is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists EI Compendex, Web of Science, INSPEC and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Soft Materials open access, and what is the APC?
Soft Materials is a subscription journal. APC charged, amount not published.
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 2026-08-28). Last updated: .