CrystEngComm

Communications

Target audience and purpose:
Preliminary accounts of original and significant work of such importance or novelty that rapid publication is justified may be published in Communication form. Authors should provide in a covering letter a justification as to why they feel that publication of their work as a Communication is warranted.
Full papers based upon Communications are welcome, provided that they represent a substantial amplification and extension of the original material.

Length:
Communications should be between 1,500 and 2,500 words (excluding references) and may include one table and/or up to four figures. Additional tables and figures may be included in the article’s Supplementary Information (SI).

Full papers

Target audience and purpose:
Full papers contain original scientific work that has not been published previously. However, work that builds upon research that has been previously published in a short form such as a CrystEngComm Communication or in ChemComm is normally acceptable, provided that it represents a substantial amplification and extension of the original material.

Length:
There are no restrictions on the length of a Full paper.

Highlights

Target audience and purpose:
A Highlight is a short article that highlights recent advances and hot topics in a particular, rapidly-developing field. Crystal Engineering is at the core of many topical areas in chemistry and Highlights should be an appraisal of the field looking at recent developments (either of the general literature, or more personal), identifying where challenges are still faced, and where further work is to be done.

They should include reviews of pertinent literature that show how crystal engineering plays a pivotal role in progressing the understanding of the wider research field.

Authors are encouraged to share personal insights into how the field has developed and how understanding crystal engineering concepts have impacted and influenced their own research careers.

Highlights should be written using jargon-free language and avoiding highly-specialised terms. They should appeal to the broad readership of CrystEngComm and be accessible to all researchers, irrespective of their prior knowledge of the field.

Highlights undergo the same rigorous initial assessment and peer review process as primary research articles.

Authorship:
Highlights are normally invited by the Editorial Board and Editorial Office, however suggestions from authors are welcome and enquiries should be directed to the Editors-in-Chief at CrystEngComm-rsc@rsc.org. Readers may nominate themselves, or others, to write a Highlight.

Suitable authors will have an established publication record of primary research articles in the topic in question.

Unpublished data:
Highlights should not include new or unpublished data as this will mean that the data cannot be re-published in any subsequent original research paper.

Length:
Highlights should be no more than 7,000 words in length (excluding references).

Tutorial Reviews

Target audience and purpose:
Tutorial Reviews are a series of articles introduced in 2024 aimed at researchers who are new to the field or embarking on a new direction of research, giving insight into how crystal engineering techniques underpin certain research areas. They are focused on the application of crystal engineering techniques and should be comprehensive enough to be used for teaching purposes.

They comment on best practice techniques for a given research methodology and how understanding crystal engineering can best serve researchers’ progress on a given topic.

Tutorial Reviews should be written using jargon-free language and avoiding highly-specialised terms, enabling readers to understand specialised techniques for future application.

Tutorial Reviews undergo the same rigorous initial assessment and peer review process as primary research articles.

Tutorial reviews should include a 'key learning points' box, containing up to five key learning points that a reader should expect to gain from reading the review. These should be provided on submission, either at the beginning of the review or as a separate document.

Authorship:
Authors who have an in-depth knowledge and extensive track record of publishing in the subject area are invited to contribute to the Tutorial Review series. Tutorial Reviews are usually single-author reviews but co-authors may be included where they can provide added expertise and value to the topic in question. Tutorial Reviews are normally invited by the Editors-in-Chief, however suggestions from authors are welcome and enquiries should be directed to the Editors-in-Chief at CrystEngComm-rsc@rsc.org. Readers may nominate themselves, or others, to write a Tutorial Review.

Authors are asked to provide a short (200 word) biography and a photo to accompany the Tutorial Review. In the case of multiple authorship, the biography should not exceed 250 words in length.

Unpublished data:
Tutorial Reviews should not include new or unpublished data as this will mean that the data cannot be re-published in any subsequent original research paper.

Length:
Tutorial Reviews should be no more than 10,000 words in length (excluding references) but may be longer if the depth or complexity of the technique or method necessitates.

Original figures:
Figures included in the Tutorial Review should either be original or reproduced from other sources with the necessary approvals granted prior to publication.

Comments

CrystEngComm offers Comments and Replies as a medium for the discussion and exchange of scientific opinions between authors and readers concerning material published in the journal.

A Comment should present an alternative analysis of and/or new insight into the previously published material. Any Reply should further the discussion presented in the original article and the Comment. Comments and Replies that contain any form of personal attack are not suitable for publication.

Comments that are acceptable for publication will be forwarded to the authors of the work being discussed, and these authors will be given the opportunity to submit a Reply. The Comment and Reply will both be subject to rigorous peer review in consultation with the journal’s Editorial Board where appropriate. The Comment and Reply will be published together.

Length:
There are no restrictions on the length of a Commet, but they should be kept as concise as possible.