Building on success: ChemComm – the next generation

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Abstract

Happy New Year and welcome to the first Editorial in my new role as ChemComm Editor. In this Editorial the ChemComm team reflect on an excellent 2009 and look forward to the future and further exciting developments for both ChemComm and RSC Publishing.

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Introduction

2009 was another successful year for ChemComm with both the impact factor and the total number of submissions reaching new record highs. The first web theme issue was also commissioned and published, covering the topic of ‘Selective Catalysis for Organic Synthesis’.

High impact publishing

In June 2009, it was pleasing to see that the ChemComm impact factor had increased to 5.34 (ISI®, 2008), marking a 33% increase over the last five years (Fig. 1). The impact factor provides an indication of the average number of citations per article, and is calculated by dividing the number of citations in a year by the number of citeable articles published in the preceding two years.

Fig. 1 ChemComm impact factor over the last five years.

Following the announcement of the 2008 impact factor, 100 of the most cited ChemComm authors from 2006 and 2007 were invited to a celebration dinner at the 238th ACS National Meeting in Washington DC, USA. The event provided the opportunity for us to thank these prestigious authors for choosing to publish in ChemComm, while highlighting the success of their publication. The dinner was a great success and all of the top 100 were presented with a ‘most cited’ certificate.

ChemComm’s immediacy index, at 1.088, remained in the top 5% for primary research within ISI Web of Knowledge’s® multidisciplinary category. This is further evidence that the journal continues to publish the most exciting and topical research.

Across RSC Publishing, the publication of the 2008 impact factors once again brought good news for authors and readers of RSC journals. Nearly all the RSC journals increased in impact factor, immediacy index and article influence, with an impressive average impact factor increase of 8.2%. Overall, the average impact factor for the RSC portfolio now stands at 4.7, equal to that of the ACS collection (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2 Average impact factors.

RSC journals feature in the top 10 rankings (by impact factor and immediacy index) in six of the seven core chemistry categories as listed on ISI, and of the top 100 chemistry journals, ranked by impact factor, 15 are from RSC Publishing. 2009 also saw a 75% increase in the number of articles published in RSC journals compared to 2007 so not only are our impact factors leading the way in the chemical sciences, but there is a wider variety of articles available for you to choose from.

Selective Catalysis for Organic Synthesis

In 2009, we successfully commissioned our first ChemComm web theme issue. Guest edited by Editorial Board members, Professors Peter Kündig (Geneva), Mike Doyle (Maryland) and Andrew Evans (Liverpool), the issue provided a platform for world leading researchers from the field of organic chemistry and catalysis to discuss their most recent and exciting results. Articles were published in regular issues throughout the second half of the year but were then gathered on the website and made free to read. To date, two Feature articles have been complemented by over 60 Communications; this number continues to increase. The collection of articles provides an up-to-date picture of the state-of-the-art in a key domain of chemistry. We would like to thank all authors who contributed to this web-based themed issue and extend a big thank you to the guest editors for all their efforts in making this so successful.

For further details on forthcoming web theme issues, check the ChemComm website at www.rsc.org/chemcomm.

A celebration of supramolecular chemistry

Six of the world’s leading experts in the area of supramolecular chemistry turned 65 in 2009 and were celebrated for their contributions to the field. Former ChemComm Chairman, Professor Roland Nolte, was joined by Professors De Mendoza, Sauvage, Rebek, Shinkai and Tasker at an ‘LXV’ afternoon at the International Symposium on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry in Maastricht, the Netherlands, in June (Fig. 3). As part of the celebrations, each of the six was presented with a commemorative collection of RSC papers in specially bound issues. Many of these articles were published in ChemComm and we would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the authors who contributed articles and helped to honour these distinguished scientists.

Fig. 3 The LXV recipients, (from left to right) Professors Shinkai, Sauvage, Rebek, Tasker, Nolte and De Mendoza.

A great start for 2010

Looking forward to 2010 and issue 1 in particular, we are delighted with the calibre of both Feature articles and Communications. Issue 1 contains Communications from top scientists, such as François Diederich, K. C. Nicolaou, Thomas Meade and Jianghong Rao, and Feature articles from Jason Davis, Shengqian Ma, and Chi-Huey Wong and Richard Payne. We hope that you will enjoy reading these and the other high quality contributions in the issue which will be free, as always, to access online.

ChemComm International Symposia

Continuing the success of the first two symposia, the third International ChemComm Symposium was held in February 2009. This free one day event took place at the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Peking University and Sichuan University in Chengdu over the course of one week. The theme for the meeting was organic chemistry with keynote lectures given by three visiting Professors: Susan Gibson (Imperial), Peter Kündig (Geneva) and Keiji Maruoka (Tokyo). Three local researchers from each venue also gave keynote lectures. Once again the events proved to be hugely successful and our thanks are extended to all the speakers as well as the local organisers: Professors Kuiling Ding, Jianbo Wang and Xiaoming Feng.

Further ChemComm symposia are currently being planned and will be announced soon.

Editorial Board changes

The end of 2009 saw the retirement of four Editorial Board members, without whom the journal could not have grown and developed so impressively. Thank you to Professors Jillian Buriak, David Haddleton, Mir Wais Hosseini and Ferdi Schüth for their substantial contributions to the development and success of ChemComm. We are delighted to announce that Professors Penny Brothers, Ben Feringa, Keiji Maruoka and Nick Turner have agreed to remain on the Editorial Board for a second term.

We extend our warmest welcome to Professor Heather Maynard (UCLA, USA) who has recently joined the ChemComm Editorial Board. She will bring a wealth of valuable experience in the areas of materials chemistry and, in particular, polymer chemistry. We eagerly anticipate working closely with her to improve and promote the success of the journal.

Further Associate Editor and Editorial Board appointments are planned for 2010. Announcements will appear on the ChemComm homepage in due course.

RSC Publishing news

Chemical Science

This new flagship journal will launch in mid-2010, and will publish findings of exceptional significance from across all the chemical sciences. Editor-in-Chief Professor David MacMillan (Princeton, USA) leads a dynamic international team of Associate Editors responsible for the scientific development of the journal. Free institutional online access to the entire 2010 and 2011 content of Chemical Science will be automatically provided to all existing customers with registered IP addresses.

The Associate Editors will welcome submissions in their specialised subject areas when the journal opens for submission in January 2010. To find out who they are, and for all the latest Chemical Science news, visit www.rsc.org/chemicalscience.

…on a related note

The RSC is pleased to announce a significant new global symposia series supporting the launch of Chemical Science. The International Symposia on Advancing the Chemical Sciences (ISACS) meetings will be held on three continents, over three sequential weeks, focusing on distinct subject areas. More information can be found at www.rsc.org/isacs.

ChemSpider

Last year the RSC acquired ChemSpider, the richest single source of structure based chemistry information freely available online, with fast searching of over 21.5 million chemical structures. Alongside the powerful database, the ChemSpider development team brings well over 40 years of additional cheminformatics experience to the RSC, including a chemistry centric document markup system capable of finding chemical names and converting them to chemical structures and linking to online resources. Integration of this technology with the RSC’s existing award winning enhanced html mark-up technology, RSC Prospect, will lead to substantial enhancements in semantic enrichment for the chemical sciences. Find out more at www.chemspider.com.

Continued e-alert success in 2010

2009 saw the launch of the new RSC journal e-alerts; in 2010 we are hoping to see a continued rise in their popularity. The e-alerts are packed with information and links enabling readers to easily view content as soon as it’s published, helping them to stay abreast of journal content. The new e-alert registration system has been designed so readers can manage their own subscriptions, tailoring the information they receive and giving them the freedom to unsubscribe at any point. You can find out more information online: www.rsc.org/alerts.

New for 2010: RSC eBook Subject Collections

In response to readers’ needs and as a testament to the innovation of RSC Publishing, we are pleased to announce the launch of new RSC eBook Subject Collections.

The nine new RSC eBook Subject Collections, including a Tutorial Chemistry Texts and Paperbacks package, deliver the high quality content contained in our books into subject specialist packages. With new content being uploaded throughout the year, the new RSC eBook Subject Collections are set to become another key, premier resource. To find out more, please visit www.rsc.org/ebooks.

Polymer Chemistry: issue 1 available soon

The first articles for new journal Polymer Chemistry are now freely available online at www.rsc.org/polymers in advance of issue 1, due for publication early in 2010. Polymer Chemistry will encompass all aspects of synthetic and biological macromolecules and related emerging areas, providing a showcase for the ongoing efforts driving polymer chemistry, highlighting the creativity of the field and previously inaccessible applications.

Free access available for all new RSC journals

Free institutional online access is available for all our newest journals. Access, which is managed by institution and IP address, is provided following a simple registration process. Make sure you and your colleagues don’t miss out on the free access by filling in the registration form: www.rsc.org/free_access_registration.

In summary…

Taking on the editorship of ChemComm is indeed an exciting challenge and a great honour. The journal, steeped in history, continues to be one of the leading international forums for the rapid publication of urgent, high quality communications from chemical science researchers across the world. On behalf of the Chairman and the Editorial Board, I would like to thank all our authors and referees for their continued support in 2009. I would also like to extend a personal tribute to the former Editor, Dr Sarah Thomas, whose hard work and outstanding dedication decisively helped make the journal the success it is today. I hope that we can continue and build on this success, taking ChemComm to the next level while maintaining its ethos for high quality and speedy publication.

On behalf of the ChemComm team and Editorial Board we wish you a happy and prosperous 2010.

Robert Eagling, Editor

Peter Kündig, Chairman

Joanne Thomson, Deputy Editor

Kathryn Sear, Senior Publishing Editor

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