Dalton Transactions: providing the best services

Dalton Transactions has seen many significant developments and improvements during the past few years, and this will continue in 2008.

The editorial team and editorial board members strive to ensure that the journal is the best that it can be, providing the best service for authors, the best articles for readers, and therefore the best support for the inorganic, organometallic and bioinorganic chemistry communities across the world. We aim to publish the best work from all areas of inorganic chemistry, and the list of most web-accessed articles published in the journal in 2007 illustrate the breadth of the coverage of the journal.

Theme issues introduced

At the end of 2007, we published the first Dalton Transactions theme issue: Emerging Strategies in Catalysis. Dalton Transactions theme issues publish work at the forefront of inorganic, organometallic and bioinorganic chemistry, and feature work by both the foremost scientists in the field, and up-and-coming researchers. These theme issues compliment the popular Dalton Discussion issues which contain the papers presented at Dalton Discussion meetings, and we are sure that they will prove to be as highly regarded as the Discussion issues.

Maintain the fastest publication times

Dalton Transactions continues to provide the fastest publication times for its authors. A study of publication times in 2007 illustrated that the journal is the quickest to publish its articles, both communications and full papers (see Fig. 1). The journal will continue to provide this service in 2008. These fast publication times are achieved without compromising quality, as shown by the journal's high impact factor (3.012) and immediacy index (0.890, the highest for any general inorganic chemistry journal).

Fig. 1 a) Median web publication times for communications in inorganic chemistry journals. b) Median web publication times for full papers in inorganic chemistry journals.

New Chair of the Editorial Board

2008 sees a new face at the helm of the Editorial Board. From January 2008, Professor Chris Orvig is the new Chair of the Editorial Board, as Professor Paul Walton retired from this position at the end of 2007. We thank Paul for all his advice and guidance while Chair of the Editorial Board (2004–2007).

Chris Orvig writes, ‘I am a lucky lad to become Chair at this stage in the development of Dalton Transactions. The editorial staff (headed by Dr Jamie Humphrey supported by a young and vigorous cast), the board and my predecessor as Chair, Prof. Paul Walton, have done a tremendous job to improve the journal in impact, content and quality, building upon its long and storied history. Dalton Transactions has become one of THE journals to read if one wishes to stay abreast of contemporary inorganic chemistry in its many guises. The improvements in timeliness and service to authors have been remarkable, plus the addition of Perspectives and Frontiers articles have allowed the readership to explore ideas and areas much different from their own in an educational and entertaining forum. Of course, the journal's current high standing is a direct result of the dedication and skill of the RSC staff, plus our referees and authors—as Chair for the next four years, I hope to build upon these successes with the continued support and efforts of all these talented groups. Jamie and I will always be willing to hear from you with suggestions and we both wish to proceed with the strongest and most open definition of inorganic chemistry–a vision which is as inclusive as the vision with which chemists approach the world around them. I very much look forward to working with all of you in realising this aim.’

Improved website services

Following feedback from journal readers a number of changes have been introduced across all RSC Journals, including this journal. The Dalton Transactions homepage now contains the contents list for the current issue, delivering the content you want to see as soon as you arrive at the site. Graphical abstracts are included as standard, allowing you to browse content much more conveniently. A more prominent and easy-to-use search box also makes finding published research much more intuitive. Advance Articles will soon be available in pdf format.

Improved author templates and more colour

For authors, the RSC Journal templates have been revised and updated to assist submission in a format similar to the journal layout. The guidelines for the use of colour in RSC Journals will be relaxed during 2008, and the decision on the free use of colour will be based on whether the use of colour enhances the scientific understanding of the figure (the old policy required the colour to be essential). In addition, for the online version of the journals, colour will be introduced at no cost in both the pdf and HTML versions.

Award-winning technology and enhanced HTML articles

Launched in February 2007, RSC Project Prospect has had an exceptional first year. Bringing science alive via enhanced HTML articles in RSC journals, the project delivers: hyperlinked compound information (including downloadable structures) in text; links to IUPAC Gold Book terms; ontology terms linked to definitions and related articles; plus RSS feeds that include structured subject and compound information, enabling at-a-glance identification of relevant articles. As the only publisher able to offer these enhancements, we were delighted to be awarded the 2007 ALPSP/Charlesworth Award for Publishing Innovation, where judges described RSC Prospect articles as “delightfully simple to use … benefits to authors and readers are immediately obvious.” Around 1400 articles have now been published with enhanced HTML—to see for yourself, look out for the RSC Prospect icon on our website. Further developments to the project will be announced in 2008. Many of you have already told us how impressed you are with the project—http://www.projectprospect.org has examples of enhanced articles, feedback from the scientific community, plus the latest news.

Dalton Transactions book of choice scheme

Launched in Spring 2007, the RSC eBook Collection offers scientists across the globe online access to a prestigious and wide ranging portfolio of chemical science books which span 40 years of research and opinion.

The RSC eBook Collection is testament to the RSC's publishing innovation as well as the high quality of the content contained in our books. With further technical developments and new 2008 content being uploaded throughout the year the RSC eBook Collection is set to become a key resource. To search the Collection or for further information visit www.rsc.org/ebooks.

Scientists from all four corners of the globe are taking advantage of the free first chapter downloads and from January 2008, Dalton Transactions will regularly highlight a book specifically for our readers through our ‘Dalton Transactions book of choice’ scheme. More information is available on the Dalton Transactions website.

25% Book Discount for RSC Authors, Editors and Referees

If you would like to buy a print copy of the ‘Dalton Transactions book of choice’ or other titles from the RSC, and you are an RSC author, editor or referee you can enjoy a special 25% discount on your book purchase. You can redeem this offer online through the RSC Online Shop. To find out how to claim your exclusive discount, visit www.rsc.org/shop.

Energy & Environmental Science

Finally, RSC Publishing will be launching a new journal in summer 2008. Energy & Environmental Science will cover all aspects of the chemical sciences relating to energy conversion and storage and environmental science. Visit the website for the latest news: www.rsc.org/ees.

 

With all these recent, and forthcoming, developments, Dalton Transactions will continue to deliver to the inorganic, organometallic and bioinorganic communities. Let us know your thoughts of the journal, and shape its future! Comments can be sent to dalton@rsc.org.

We thank all of our authors, referees and readers for their continued support. On behalf of the Editorial Board and the Dalton Transactions team at the RSC, we would like to wish you a happy and successful 2008.

Top Ten Most Web-Accessed Articles published in 2007

Inspired by nature: light driven organometallic catalysis by heterooligonuclear Ru(II) complexes

Sven Rau, Dirk Walther and Johannes G. Vos, Dalton Trans., 2007, 915–919, DOI: 10.1039/b615987g

Inorganic materials from ionic liquids

Andreas Taubert and Zhonghao Li, Dalton Trans., 2007, 723–727, DOI: 10.1039/b616593a

Polynuclear lanthanide complexes of a series of bridging ligands containing two tridentate N,N′,O-donor units: structures and luminescence properties

Tanya K. Ronson, Harry Adams, Lindsay P. Harding, Simon J. A. Pope, Daniel Sykes, Stephen Faulkner and Michael D. Ward, Dalton Trans., 2007, 1006–1022, DOI: 10.1039/b618258e

Joint spectroscopic and theoretical investigations of transition metal complexes involving non-innocent ligands

Kallol Ray, Taras Petrenko, Karl Wieghardt and Frank Neese, Dalton Trans., 2007, 1552–1566, DOI: 10.1039/b700096k

Syntheses, characterization, and photo-hydrogen-evolving properties of tris(2,2′-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) derivatives tethered to a cis-Pt(II)Cl₂ unit: insights into the structure–activity relationship

Hironobu Ozawa, Yuki Yokoyama, Masa-aki Haga and Ken Sakai, Dalton Trans., 2007, 1197–1206, DOI: 10.1039/b617617h

Synthesis of inorganic nanomaterials

C. N. R. Rao, S. R. C. Vivekchand, Kanishka Biswas and A. Govindaraj, Dalton Trans., 2007, 3728–3749, DOI: 10.1039/b708342d

Utilisation of CO₂ as a chemical feedstock: opportunities and challenges

Michele Aresta and Angela Dibenedetto, Dalton Trans., 2007, 2975–2992, DOI: 10.1039/b700658f

Ammonia-borane: the hydrogen source par excellence?

Frances H. Stephens, Vincent Pons and R. Tom Baker, Dalton Trans., 2007, 2613–2626, DOI: 10.1039/b703053c

Ruthenium complexes can target determinants of tumour malignancy

A. Bergamo and G. Sava, Dalton Trans., 2007, 1267–1272, DOI: 10.1039/b617769g

Structure–reactivity relationships in SHOP-type complexes: tunable catalysts for the oligomerisation and polymerisation of ethylene

Pierre Kuhn, David Sémeril, Dominique Matt, Michael J. Chetcuti and Pierre Lutz, Dalton Trans., 2007, 515–528, DOI: 10.1039/b615259g

Dalton Transactions profiles Professor Chris Orvig, the new Chair of Dalton Transactions Editorial Board

After graduating from McGill University in 1976, Professor Orvig was then an NSERC of Canada Postgraduate Scholar at MIT where he completed his PhD with Prof. Alan Davison, FRS. After spending three years as a post-doc at the University of California, Berkeley and at McMaster University, he moved to the University of British Columbia, where he has been a professor ever since. Chris′ research activities include the study of the roles of metal ions in the etiology, diagnosis, and therapy of disease. These projects encompass a variety of metal ions as well as numerous ligand systems and a panoply of techniques and collaborations. Chris′ research also includes the synthesis of organic ligands and inorganic complexes as well as physical (potentiometric and spectrophotometric titrations, magnetochemistry, electrochemistry etc.) and biological studies. Specific areas of interest include: vanadium compounds as insulin-enhancing pharmaceuticals, glycosylated pro-drugs for metal passivation in neurodegenerative diseases, carbohydrate conjugates in nuclear medicine, ferrocenyl-carbohydrate conjugates in malaria, and lanthanide compounds for bone resorption disorders.

Plate1

---