Journal rankings · indicator year 2021
Choose a field to open its ranking, or a journal to find its row in its subfield’s list.
Field ranking · 2021
Chemistry journal rankings 2021
237 ranked journals · Field in Physical Sciences
Chemistry has 237 ranked journals in 2021. The median journal has an OJR of 0.48, below the world average of 1.00, up 0.05 on 2020; Q1 starts at OJR 0.77. The top three are Accounts of Chemical Research, Nature Chemistry, and Chem.
Ranks and citation indicators: 2021. Journal access status and listed APC: source snapshot September 23, 2026.
Journals whose main subfield sits in this category and that published at least 30 citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) in 2018–2020, the window the 2021 score is computed on.
The OpenJournalRank Indicator (OJR) is a free, publicly available metric of a journal’s field-normalized citation impact, computed from open OpenAlex citation data. It compares citations to a journal’s papers from the previous three years with the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and values can be compared across fields. It is computed with the NCI3 method.
The middle OJR among ranked journals in this category: half score higher, half lower. 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type.
The dot is this category, the solid tick is the median of all ranked journals and the dashed line is the world average.
Share of ranked journals in this category that are fully open access, so every paper is free to read. Hybrid journals, which sell subscriptions and open single papers for a fee, are not counted.
Median list price of the article processing charge, in US dollars, among ranked journals in this category that list a price above zero. Journals with a listed APC of $0 and journals with no known price are left out of this median. The At a glance table below gives a second median that includes the $0 prices.
Subfields in Chemistry (6)
Up to Physical Sciences237 ranked journals
Filters
Rank is the position by OJR within the list on screen; 1 is the highest. | OJR is field-normalized 3-year citation impact: 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so values compare across fields. The badge is the journal’s quartile in this list. | Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is not field-normalized, so compare it only between journals of the same field. ▲ or ▼ is the change from 2020. This is OpenJournalRank’s own count, not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. | Citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) published in 2018–2020, the window the 2021 OJR is computed on. A journal needs at least 30 to be ranked. | Share of the journal’s 2018–2020 papers that are free to read in any open-access form. The green OA tag next to a title marks a fully open-access journal. | List price of the article processing charge in US dollars. “$0 listed” means the listed price is zero; a dash means no price is listed. | The line is the journal’s OJR from 2012 to 2021. | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1Accounts of Chemical ResearchAmerican Chemical Society · United States | 5.91Q1 | 23.88 0.63 down from 2020 | 933 | 33% | $4,500 | ||
2Nature ChemistryNature Portfolio · United Kingdom | 4.72Q1 | 17.58 0.21 down from 2020 | 598 | 43% | $12,690 | ||
3ChemElsevier BV · United States | 3.91Q1 | 15.92 0.92 up from 2020 | 866 | 100% | $9,350 | ||
4Journal of the American Chemical SocietyAmerican Chemical Society · United States | 3.81Q1 | 16.90 0.45 up from 2020 | 7,367 | 40% | $4,500 | ||
5Angewandte Chemie International EditionWiley · Germany | 3.38Q1 | 15.22 1.02 up from 2020 | 10,540 | 42% | $5,510 | ||
6Progress in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance SpectroscopyElsevier BV · Netherlands | 3.20Q1 | 9.00 1.00 down from 2020 | 63 | 61% | $4,170 | ||
7ACS CatalysisAmerican Chemical Society · United States | 2.84Q1 | 13.86 0.30 up from 2020 | 3,703 | 31% | $4,500 | ||
8Topics in Current ChemistrySpringer Science+Business Media · Switzerland | 2.38Q1 | 9.08 0.39 down from 2020 | 132 | 27% | $4,590 | ||
9Green ChemistryRoyal Society of Chemistry · United Kingdom | 2.31Q1 | 10.51 0.34 up from 2020 | 2,062 | 27% | — | ||
10Chemical ScienceOARoyal Society of Chemistry · United Kingdom | 2.25Q1 | 9.24 0.54 down from 2020 | 3,934 | 100% | — | ||
11Mass Spectrometry ReviewsWiley · United States | 2.07Q1 | 7.49 0.37 down from 2020 | 101 | 48% | $5,230 | ||
12Chemistry Central JournalOABioMed Central · United Kingdom | 1.67Q1 | —no 2020 value | 148 | — | $2,040 | ||
13ACS Macro LettersAmerican Chemical Society · United States | 1.64Q1 | 6.78 0.24 down from 2020 | 766 | 23% | $4,500 | ||
14Russian Chemical ReviewsOAInstitute of Physics · Russia | 1.58Q1 | 6.24 0.27 up from 2020 | 145 | 100% | — | ||
15CCS ChemistryOAChinese Chemical Society · China | 1.57Q1 | 6.50 2.12 down from 2020 | 368 | 100% | — | ||
16Applied Spectroscopy ReviewsTaylor & Francis · United States | 1.56Q1 | 4.67 0.80 down from 2020 | 117 | 22% | — | ||
17The Chemical RecordWiley · United States | 1.53Q1 | 6.06 0.71 down from 2020 | 380 | 24% | $4,710 | ||
18Organic LettersAmerican Chemical Society · United States | 1.48Q1 | 6.30 0.37 up from 2020 | 5,805 | 17% | $4,500 | ||
19Journal of Food Composition and AnalysisElsevier BV · United States | 1.46Q1 | 4.43 0.14 down from 2020 | 632 | 25% | $3,450 | ||
20Clinical ProteomicsOABioMed Central · United States | 1.44Q1 | 5.41 0.91 up from 2020 | 125 | 100% | $2,490 | ||
21Advanced Synthesis & CatalysisWiley · Germany | 1.42Q1 | 5.75 0.40 up from 2020 | 1,784 | 24% | $4,650 | ||
22Current Research in Green and Sustainable ChemistryOAElsevier BV · Netherlands | 1.42Q1 | 6.12no 2020 value | 49 | 100% | $2,500 | — | |
23Nature Reviews ChemistryNature Portfolio · United Kingdom | 1.41Q1 | 17.80 0.88 up from 2020 | 283 | 21% | — | ||
24Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory SystemsElsevier BV · Netherlands | 1.34Q1 | 4.27 0.23 up from 2020 | 527 | 37% | $3,970 | ||
25Chemical CommunicationsRoyal Society of Chemistry · United Kingdom | 1.32Q1 | 5.74 0.47 down from 2020 | 9,475 | 19% | — | ||
26Journal of Saudi Chemical SocietyOAElsevier BV · Saudi Arabia | 1.29Q1 | 5.43 0.84 up from 2020 | 241 | 100% | $2,490 | ||
27Organic Chemistry FrontiersRoyal Society of Chemistry · United Kingdom | 1.27Q1 | 5.30 0.40 up from 2020 | 1,435 | 8% | — | ||
28BMC ChemistryOABioMed Central · Switzerland | 1.27Q1 | 4.51 1.36 up from 2020 | 206 | 100% | $2,990 | ||
29Journal of Proteome ResearchAmerican Chemical Society · United States | 1.22Q1 | 5.25 0.79 up from 2020 | 1,258 | 48% | $4,500 | ||
30Polymer ChemistryRoyal Society of Chemistry · United Kingdom | 1.20Q1 | 5.13 0.44 down from 2020 | 1,961 | 22% | — | ||
31Expert Review of ProteomicsTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 1.20Q1 | 4.33 0.07 down from 2020 | 199 | 44% | — | ||
32Microporous and Mesoporous MaterialsElsevier BV · Netherlands | 1.19Q1 | 5.26 0.15 up from 2020 | 1,915 | 20% | $3,970 | ||
33Journal of Chromatography AElsevier BV · Netherlands | 1.13Q1 | 4.49 0.10 up from 2020 | 2,411 | 27% | $4,040 | ||
34Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference DataAmerican Institute of Physics · United States | 1.11Q1 | 5.13 2.23 up from 2020 | 41 | 40% | — | ||
35Food Analytical MethodsSpringer Science+Business Media · United States | 1.06Q1 | 3.53 0.24 up from 2020 | 760 | 17% | $2,490 | ||
36The Journal of Organic ChemistryAmerican Chemical Society · United States | 1.05Q1 | 4.37 0.25 up from 2020 | 4,680 | 18% | $4,500 | ||
37Chemistry - A European JournalWiley · Germany | 1.04Q1 | 4.31 0.40 down from 2020 | 7,396 | 49% | $4,640 | ||
38Chemistry - An Asian JournalWiley · Germany | 1.04Q1 | 4.65 0.12 up from 2020 | 1,614 | 9% | $4,520 | ||
39Chinese Journal of ChemistryWiley · Germany | 1.03Q1 | 4.43 0.32 down from 2020 | 714 | 6% | $3,300 | ||
40Reviews in Analytical ChemistryOADe Gruyter · Germany | 1.02Q1 | 3.16 0.45 up from 2020 | 35 | 100% | $1,187 | ||
41OrganometallicsAmerican Chemical Society · United States | 0.98Q1 | 3.94 0.13 down from 2020 | 1,529 | 24% | $4,500 | ||
42Journal of Chemical EducationAmerican Chemical Society · United States | 0.96Q1 | 3.98 0.86 up from 2020 | 1,526 | 19% | $4,500 | ||
43ACS Combinatorial ScienceAmerican Chemical Society · United States | 0.95Q1 | 4.24 0.45 up from 2020 | 249 | — | $4,500 | ||
44Organic & Biomolecular ChemistryRoyal Society of Chemistry · United Kingdom | 0.95Q1 | 3.95 0.13 up from 2020 | 3,261 | 17% | — | ||
45Future Medicinal ChemistryFuture Science Ltd · United Kingdom | 0.94Q1 | 3.99 0.60 up from 2020 | 583 | 23% | — | ||
46Bulletin of the Chemical Society of JapanOxford University Press · Japan | 0.94Q1 | 3.97 1.61 down from 2020 | 643 | 13% | $2,040 | ||
47Journal of Magnetic ResonanceElsevier BV · United States | 0.93Q1 | 3.23 0.64 up from 2020 | 586 | 49% | $3,500 | ||
48Solid State Nuclear Magnetic ResonanceElsevier BV · United States | 0.92Q1 | 3.35 0.77 up from 2020 | 119 | 32% | $3,750 | ||
49European Journal of Lipid Science and TechnologyWiley · Germany | 0.91Q1 | 3.06 0.43 up from 2020 | 466 | 28% | $4,020 | ||
50ChemTextsSpringer Science+Business Media · Switzerland | 0.88Q1 | 2.81 0.48 up from 2020 | 68 | 44% | $4,190 |
Subfields of Chemistry, compared.
- Organic Chemistry151
- Analytical Chemistry35
- Spectroscopy28
- Inorganic Chemistry17
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry5
- Electrochemistry1
Journals
Citations made in 2021. Corpus-wide, 87.7% of core-journal articles and reviews published that year have at least one matched reference; the share varies by journal and field.
56 additional Chemistry journals with metrics are unranked under this release’s eligibility rules: a journal needs at least 30 citable documents in 2018–2020, at least 80% of them with a subfield, and a positive world-average expectation. Ranks are within the whole category; filters hide rows without re-ranking. OJR excludes self-citations.
At a glance
Indicator year: 2021. Publication window: 2018–2020. How these summaries are calculated
- Ranked journals
- 237
- Window papers (baseline)
- 232,668 -6.9% from indicator year 2018
- Median OJR
- 0.48 -1.5% from indicator year 2018
- Rising journals (2025)
- 25Comparison-group list (25)
Window papers are the baseline paper population: citable papers (articles, reviews and conference papers) from 2018–2020 in all journals of the world-average baseline, including non-core journals, counted by each paper’s own subfield. They are not the papers of the ranked journals alone.
| Measure | Year series | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranked journals | 137 | 138 | 149 | 153 | 155 | 159 | 159 | 160 | 166 | 173 | 176 | 181 | 195 | 215 | 221 | 228 | 235 | 232 | 231 | 233 | 234 | 237 | 235 | 239 | 232 | 232 | |
| Window papers (baseline) | 172,482 | 176,080 | 179,077 | 183,694 | 189,084 | 197,327 | 206,346 | 215,895 | 224,057 | 230,433 | 236,603 | 243,807 | 254,287 | 261,691 | 269,998 | 272,767 | 273,338 | 265,414 | 249,893 | 237,248 | 230,533 | 232,668 | 233,225 | 229,202 | 225,643 | 230,176 | |
| Median OJR | 0.620 | 0.638 | 0.61 | 0.60 | 0.66 | 0.6173 | 0.57 | 0.6170 | 0.654 | 0.618 | 0.635 | 0.622 | 0.649 | 0.544 | 0.541 | 0.56 | 0.505 | 0.49559 | 0.491 | 0.432 | 0.434 | 0.48 | 0.486 | 0.499 | 0.49563 | 0.509 |
| Measure | Category statistic | Eligible population |
|---|---|---|
| Journal self-citation share | Median: 4.3% | 197 journals |
| Retracted papers per 1,000 | Pooled rate: 0.568 per 1,000 | 177 journals |
| Output growth | Median: -11.4% | 212 journals |
| Open access share | Median: 41.5% | 232 journals |
| Listed APC (USD) | Median including $0 listed prices: $3,610 | 141 ranked journals with a known listed price, including $0 listed prices |
| International collaboration share | Median: 20.0% | 228 journals |
| Review share | Median: 0.0% | 232 journals |
| Articles-only OJR | Median: 0.51 | 232 journals |
| Uncited share | Median: 35.7% | 232 journals |
| Citation concentration | Median: 44.6% | 231 journals |
How to read these rankings
- OJR, the OpenJournalRank Indicator
- A field-normalized 3-year citation impact, computed from OpenAlex with the NCI3 method. It divides the citations a journal’s papers received by the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and 2.00 means twice as many citations as expected. Because it is normalized, it can be compared across fields. Read the methodology
- Quartiles
- Q1 to Q4 split the ranked journals of the list you are viewing into four equal groups by OJR. A journal’s quartile depends on the list: the same journal can be Q1 in its subfield and Q2 among all journals.
- Impact factor (2-year)
- Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is easy to compare with familiar impact factors but is not field-normalized, so compare it only within a field. It is not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. Why it differs from the Journal Impact Factor
- Rank ranges
- Each rank in the latest year carries a likely range from 1,000 resamples of the journal’s papers. Where two journals’ ranges overlap, the data cannot tell them apart, so treat neighbouring ranks as ties.