ChemComm: a decade of progress

---

Abstract

Sarah Thomas reviews some of the many changes that have taken place during her tenure as Editor of ChemComm.

---

After a wonderful ten years as Editor of ChemComm I am now moving on to an exciting new position at the RSC. I’m taking this opportunity, therefore, to look back and review some of the many changes that have taken place during my tenure as Editor. My time has been made so enjoyable by the many authors, readers and reviewers who have contributed to ChemComm as well as the many members of the Editorial Boards of ChemComm who, with their enthusiasm and commitment, have made a significant contribution to developing ChemComm into the extremely successful journal it is today. In particular I thank the four excellent Chairmen of the ChemComm Editorial Board with whom I have worked: Professors Malcolm Green, Andrew Holmes, Roeland Nolte and the current Chairman, Professor Peter Kündig. Finally I thank the many colleagues I have worked with at the RSC over the years; again, without their dedication and commitment ChemComm would not be the success it is.

ChemComm in 2009 looks very different to ChemComm in 1999 when I became Editor. The content has grown significantly in both the number of papers published and the length of communications. Comparing the numbers of papers at the end of 1998 with those in 2008 there has been a 75% increase in submissions and a 42% increase in the number of papers accepted for publication (Fig. 1). Some of the most significant growth has come from the Asian region, in particular China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. The number of feature articles published has also increased, from 24 in 1998 to 81 in 2008.

Fig. 1 Graph showing a comparison of the number of papers accepted and submitted in 1998 versus 2008.

In 1998 all communications were two pages in length but in 2005 we extended the length for all communications to three pages. This proved immediately popular with authors and readers and resulted in the easy to read format that we see today in ChemComm.

2005 was a significant year for ChemComm in many other ways. It was the year the journal moved to weekly publication with 48 issues being published. 2005 was also the year ChemComm celebrated its 40th birthday, with a scientific cocktail of superb chemistry in the form of 40th anniversary lectures that took place around the world and a series of 40th anniversary articles. Celebrations also took place at the ACS meeting in San Diego (Fig. 2) and with members of the Editorial Board at the Pacifichem meeting in Hawaii.

Fig. 2 (Left) The cover from issue 1 in 2005. (Right) Celebrating the 40th anniversary of ChemComm at the ACS meeting in San Diego with Professor Roeland Nolte, Chairman of the Editorial Board.

Of course ChemComm has not only grown significantly in terms of the number of papers, pages and issues published, it has also grown in terms of impact factor. Between 1999 and 2009 it has grown by 57% (Fig. 3), reflecting the very high quality of the work published in the journal.

Fig. 3 Comparison of the impact factor published in 1999 versus the impact factor published in 2009.

Again, I thank all the authors who have chosen to publish their high quality work in the journal and the referees who play a major role in maintaining the high standards. Below are two tables that list the most highly cited communications (Table 1) and reviews (Table 2) from 1999 to 2008. Particular thanks and congratulations go to Roger Sheldon for having the most cited paper and to Taeghwan Hyeon for appearing in both lists!

Table 1 The most highly cited communications from 1999 to 2008

Year	Communication Title	Authors	Pages	Times cited
Source: ISI Web of Knowledge.
1999	Synthesis of a new mesoporous carbon and its application to electrochemical double-layer capacitors	Lee J, Yoon S, Hyeon T, Oh SM, Kim KB	2177–2178	285
2000	Blue photoluminescent zinc coordination polymers with supertetranuclear cores	Tao J, Tong ML, Shi JX, Chen XM, Ng SW	2043–2044	243
2001	Wet chemical synthesis of silver nanorods and nanowires of controllable aspect ratio	Jana NR, Gearheart L, Murphy CJ	617–618	395
2002	Quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells using room temperature molten salts and a low molecular weight gelator	Kubo W, Kitamura T, Hanabusa K, Wada Y, Yanagida S	374–375	212
2003	Hydrogen adsorption in the nanoporous metal-benzenedicarboxylate M(OH)(O2C-C6H4-CO2) (M = Al^3+, Cr^3+), MIL-53	Ferey G, Latroche M, Serre C, Millange F, Loiseau T, Percheron-Guegan A	2976–2977	235
2004	Translocation of bioactive peptides across cell membranes by carbon nanotubes	Pantarotto D, Briand JP, Prato M, Bianco A	16–17	244
2005	Modular synthesis of block copolymers via cycloaddition of terminal azide and alkyne functionalized polymers	Opsteen JA, van Hest JCM	57–59	192
2006	A metal–organic framework material that functions as an enantioselective catalyst for olefin epoxidation	Cho SH, Ma BQ, Nguyen ST, Hupp JT, Albrecht-Schmitt TE	2563–2565	143
2007	Twelve-connected porous metal–organic frameworks with high H-2 adsorption	Jia JH, Lin X, Wilson C, Blake AJ, Champness NR, Hubberstey P, Walker G, Cussen EJ, Schroder M	840–842	51
2008	Structure and superconductivity of LiFeAs	Pitcher MJ, Parker DR, Adamson P, Herkelrath SJC, Boothroyd AT, Ibberson RM, Brunelli M, Clarke SJ	5918–5920	34

---

Table 2 The most highly cited reviews from 1999 to 2008

Year	Review Title	Authors	Pages	Times cited
Source: ISI Web of Knowledge.
1999	Building molecular wires from the colours of life: conjugated porphyrin oligomers	Anderson HL	2323–2330	269
2000	Fullerenes: three dimensional electron acceptor materials	Guldi DM	321–327	343
2001	Catalytic reactions in ionic liquids	Sheldon R	2399–2407	1357
2002	Confusion, inversion, and creation—a new spring from porphyrin chemistry	Furuta H, Maeda H, Osuka A	1795–1804	166
2003	Chemical synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles	Hyeon T	927–934	356
2004	Perylene bisimide dyes as versatile building blocks for functional supramolecular architectures	Wurthner F	1564–1579	295
2005	Supramolecular electronics; nanowires from self-assembled pi-conjugated systems	Schenning APHJ, Meijer EW	3245–3258	189
2006	The ying and yang of asymmetric aminocatalysis	List B	819–824	301
2007	Molecular diversity through gold catalysis with alkynes	Jimenez-Nunez E, Echavarren AM	333–346	194
2008	Chemical sensing and imaging with metallic nanorods	Murphy CJ, Gole AM, Hunyadi SE, Stone JW, Sisco PN, Alkilany A, Kinard BE, Hankins P	544–557	53

---

The other area where there has been significant change and development is electronic publishing. ChemComm has benefited from being part of the RSC Journals Archive, which means an electronic version of every paper published in the journal since 1965 is available. Perusing the archive really highlights the changes that have occurred in the journal itself and in the science of chemistry. More recently the RSC has developed RSC Prospect—an award winning service that allows users to retrieve much more information from the papers published in all RSC journals, not just ChemComm. Finally, the RSC has just acquired ChemSpider, a free online service providing a structure centric community for chemists.

ChemComm now also offers authors many opportunities to have their work profiled including in the supplement publications, Highlights in Chemical Science, Highlights in Chemical Technology and Highlights in Chemical Biology, in Chemistry World magazine, on the web site in the Hot Papers or Meet our Authors sections or by having their work featured on the covers of the journal. Recent years have seen a wealth of eye-catching cover artwork featured in ChemComm.

Although the look and feel of ChemComm have been transformed dramatically over the years, one essential feature has remained constant—the journal serves as a forum for preliminary accounts of significant work of general appeal or of specialist interest. With the extremely fast times to publication and the free colour there has never been a better time to publish your best work in ChemComm.

As I leave ChemComm I am confident that under the new Editor, Dr Robert Eagling, it will continue to grow and develop and be at the forefront of publishing the best chemical research. I look forward to reading more of your papers in ChemComm in the future. I am moving within the RSC to a new role in international development (with the same email and other contact details) and I’m sure in my new position I will continue to see many of you, the readers, referees and authors, who, together with the Editorial Boards and Editorial team, have shaped ChemComm into the successful journal it is today. Thank you again for all your support.

Very best regards

---