If you have any questions about ChemRxiv that are not addressed by the FAQs or Submission Guide, contact us at support@chemrxiv.org. Our team will typically respond within 1-2 business days.
Please note that our automated submission notifications will be sent from chemrxiv@cambridge.org, please add this email address to your whitelist/spam exception.
ChemRxiv (pronounced 'chem-archive') is a free submission, distribution, and archive service for unpublished preprints in chemistry and related areas.
ChemRxiv gives researchers across a broad range of fields related to the chemical sciences the opportunity to share early results with colleagues and receive recommendations for improvement, ahead of formal peer review and publication.
Researchers can use ChemRxiv to:
All of these features can ultimately improve the reliability of the final research.
Cambridge Open Engage, where ChemRxiv is hosted, is a collaborative platform that enables the uploading, sharing, and accessibility of advance early and open research.
The platform was developed to specifically host early research outputs, such as preprints, posters and presentations, as well as other types of open content, including grey literature. This content is hosted within a rich ecosystem that incorporates content uploaded to Cambridge Open Engage and partner sites like ChemRxiv, across multiple disciplines. ChemRxiv currently only accepts preprints.
Cambridge Open Engage supports collaboration, interdisciplinary research, and the evolution of open research and scholarly communications. New features will be added to the platform over time, using an agile approach to respond to the priorities of users, and through a method called co-creation, wherein Cambridge Open Engage works with researchers and other stakeholders to actively input and help us shape the platform’s roadmap. ChemRxiv and its authors and users will benefit from these developments.
ChemRxiv is a community-centric endeavour, and the scope, governance, and operating principles were defined after broad consultation. ChemRxiv is co-owned and collaboratively managed by the American Chemical Society (ACS) [opens in a new tab], Chinese Chemical Society (CCS) [opens in a new tab], Chemical Society of Japan (CSJ) [opens in a new tab], German Chemical Society (GDCh) [opens in a new tab], and the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) [opens in a new tab].
We are grateful to the many organizations that provided additional input, including other preprint services, not-for-profit organizations, chemistry community members writ large, publishers, and funding agencies.
The feedback from this initial consultation was used to identify the specific requirements for launching ChemRxiv, and it, alongside ongoing community consultation from our Scientific Advisory Board, continues to help shape ChemRxiv.
A group of PhD chemists employed by or contracted by ChemRxiv are engaged in the curation process, and a Publishing Manager for ChemRxiv oversees the day-to-day operations.
Preprints are manuscripts made publicly available before they have been submitted for formal peer review and publication. They might contain new research findings or data. Preprints can be a draft or final version of an authors' research but must not have been accepted for publication at the time of submission. All authors must agree to the work being posted on ChemRxiv.
A chemistry preprint server enables researchers working across diverse areas of inquiry to share early results and data with their scientist colleagues ahead of formal peer review and publication, to elicit informal feedback from other scientists to help in shaping their work, to allow authors the option of establishing priority, and to advance the pace of scientific discovery and dissemination.
Content on ChemRxiv is indexed in search engines, is assigned a DOI, and accrues view and download metrics.
Chemistry is the central science. We believe each major discipline will ultimately have a discipline-specific preprint server. We are engaged in efforts to find commonalities with arXiv, bioRxiv, and other preprint platforms, and we are exploring leveraging common resources and tools. However, we recognize that chemistry authors and readers will benefit from a space dedicated to their field and their needs, as our colleagues at arXiv have for physics and math, and bioRxiv for the life sciences.
ChemRxiv's focus is technical research findings covering the chemical sciences and related fields. News, advertisements, editorials, commentaries, and policy statements are not appropriate for this forum and will be declined if received.
Complementary preprint services, such as those offered by arXiv, bioRxiv, and medRxiv are available for findings that clearly fall into the physics, mathematics, life science, or medical fields.
Submissions can be made at any stage of the research process up until the point that the content is accepted for formal publication following peer review. The content must meet the following requirements:
ChemRxiv will not approve the upload of content that has received a final accept decision for publication as a journal article or book chapter, or the retrospective upload of pre-acceptance versions of content that has already been published in peer-reviewed journals or books in a final "Version of Record" form.
Please note: ChemRxiv does not currently accept book chapters, purely hypothetical essays, letters to the editor, editorial/viewpoint/opinion articles, or data sets or figures separate from a full manuscript. We can accept work that has previously appeared in a PhD thesis, if it has been written as a manuscript independent of the original thesis. Confirmatory studies or negative results are welcome if they meet the criteria above.
ChemRxiv is global—all interested authors can submit a preprint, and preprints are available globally for readers to download and view.
The preprints on ChemRxiv are not peer-reviewed, edited, or typeset. All preprints are subject to a basic screening following submission, during which they are checked for plagiarized, offensive, dangerous, non-scientific, and/or inappropriate content. ChemRxiv will exclude materials that may pose a health or security risk when identified. The ChemRxiv organizers cannot endorse any information contained in or linked from the preprints.
All content should be grammatically correct and free of errors and typos. Any figures and tables should be embedded in the text in an appropriate, logical location. We recommend ensuring figures are high resolution (at least 300 dpi) to provide the best reading experience. The upload and checking process does not involve copyediting or typesetting; therefore, if approved, the version that is uploaded is the exact version that will appear publicly online. Author are therefore encouraged to review their content to ensure that all references are accurate.
All content uploads will be screened by a ChemRxiv curator. This process is carried out by PhD chemists, but it is not considered peer review. Subject to submission volume, we expect to screen each upload within 1–2 business days.
Content may be declined on one or more of the following grounds:
Note that the approval of an upload to ChemRxiv does not indicate or imply an endorsement by Cambridge University Press, American Chemical Society (ACS) [opens in a new tab], Chinese Chemical Society (CCS) [opens in a new tab], Chemical Society of Japan (CSJ) [opens in a new tab], German Chemical Society (GDCh) [opens in a new tab], or the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) [opens in a new tab].
No. Preprints on ChemRxiv are free for both authors and readers.
Currently, we only accept content that is written in English.
Authors are free to make use of artificial intelligence (AI) or large language model tools when preparing their preprints, provided that the name of the tool(s) and method of use are divulged in the text of the preprint. This note could be in the Materials and Methods section, a statement at the end of the manuscript, or another location that works best for the format of the preprint. Please note that AI tools such as ChatGPT do not meet our criteria for authorship (see Policies and Procedures) and should not be listed as an author in the document or the submission information.
You will need an ORCID iD to register for and log in to ChemRxiv, and therefore to upload content. You can read more on ORCID here [opens in a new tab], or you can register for an ORCID iD here [opens in a new tab]. If you need additional help signing up for an ORCID, view our video guide below. ORCID iDs are not required for co-authors, but co-authors will be invited to authorize the display of their ORCID on the preprint by an automated notification email at submission.
Please contact our team at support@chemrxiv.org and specify the preprint in question. We will send you a personalized link to the ORCID website where you can approve the use of your ORCID for display.
Yes, the Cambridge Open Engage platform, where ChemRxiv is hosted, has been designed to be read on a variety of different devices, from laptops and monitors to tablets and smartphones.
ChemRxiv is a preprint service, not a journal, and like other preprint servers such as arXiv and bioRxiv, it does not have an Impact Factor.
Preprint-based usage and Altmetric scores (tracking attention to the preprint based on blogs, tweets, news articles, and other media) are updated daily and can be found on the right side of the preprint record.
ChemRxiv preprints are indexed by Chemical Abstracts Services, Google, Google Scholar, Crossref, ProQuest, Scopus, the Web of Science Preprint Citation Index, and other search tools.
Yes, ChemRxiv is Open API compatible. You can find more information on our API documentation page [opens in a new tab].
No. You are free to post your preprint work anywhere, though our recommendation is that you upload your early research content only on ChemRxiv, so that you have a comprehensive view of usage metrics for content views and PDF downloads, as well as Altmetric scores relating to social media coverage. These metrics will be inaccurate and will underestimate actual usage in article-to-article comparisons if your content is also posted on multiple sites. Some readers may also be confused if they encounter the same prepublication content in different locations.
Although most journals accept content posted as a preprint prior to submission, some journals or publishers may place restrictions on the posting of certain prepublication content. We recommend that you check the policies of any publishers to which you intend to submit your work for formal publication, in advance of uploading content to ChemRxiv.
You can submit your main content as a PDF using the drag-and-drop function during submission. ChemRxiv will preserve the original file's information and formatting throughout the checking and posting process. Once posted, readers can download the content as a PDF.
Supplementary materials can be of any file format, including audio/video files, Excel/CSV, Word, or any other type. You can also make use of other subject-appropriate repositories (for example Protein Data Bank or Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre [CCDC]) and include links to your information on these repositories in the supplementary weblinks section of the submission form. These links will then appear in your ChemRxiv record.
ChemRxiv can accept content that has been submitted, but not yet accepted, by a journal. If you do wish to submit to ChemRxiv after you have already submitted to a journal, it is your responsibility to check with the journal editor and make sure that your submission to ChemRxiv:
To upload your content, you will need to log in with an ORCID. If you don’t have an ORCID iD you can register [opens in a new tab] for one for free.
Uploading content to ChemRxiv is quick and easy. To begin the upload process, you simply need to click the "Submit Content" button, log in using your ORCID iD, and then complete the following four steps:
Full details on each stage can be found in our Submission Guide.
Yes, you can upload data, code, appendices, and other supporting materials to supplement your main content. Links to third-party sites containing supplementary materials (for example, datasets posted on third-party sites repositories) can also be provided. These files and links will appear in a "Supplementary Materials" area on the content landing page.
ChemRxiv does not require authors to assign copyright. As a result, when using one of the Creative Commons licenses offered by ChemRxiv, authors are able to sign publishing agreements with most publishers. However, authors are encouraged to confirm the policies of the journal they intend to submit to prior to posting a preprint.
Corresponding authors can choose one of three licenses, which determine whether and how the content can be reused by others, when posting their preprint to ChemRxiv. These include:
CC-BY 4.0: This license will allow Site users to copy and redistribute the Content in any medium or format and remix, transform and build upon the Content for any purpose, even commercially. There is a requirement to attribute the Author upon reuse of the Content.Authors may be interested in the very thorough licensing FAQ provided by ASAPbio [opens in a new tab].
Every preprint submitted to ChemRxiv undergoes a curation process, during which the article is screened for plagiarized, offensive, dangerous, non-scientific and/or inappropriate content. If identified, we will exclude materials that may pose a health or security risk.
This process is carried out by PhD chemists, but it is not considered peer review. We make no assessment of the accuracy, completeness, or importance of the science presented. The goal of a preprint server is to post scientific findings quickly for broader discussion by the community.
ChemRxiv retains the right to deny posting any preprint deemed inappropriate by the ChemRxiv administrators.
Content uploads may be declined on any of the following grounds:
For more information on our policies, see our Policies and Procedures page.
Preprints are typically posted 1-2 business days after submission.
Yes, the status of your content will be displayed in your personal author dashboard, which you can access by logging in and going to "My Content".
Should you have any questions about the status of your preprint, please feel free to reach out to the ChemRxiv team at support@chemrxiv.org. Our team will typically respond within 1-2 business days.
You will receive an email and the status of your content will update on your author dashboard. If you have any questions about the decision you received, please contact curator@chemrxiv.org.
If you have uploaded content and the ChemRxiv team identifies minor changes needed before it can be posted, they will send it back to you for revision. Minor revisions might include adding co-authors, adding keywords, or subject re-categorization. In this situation, you will receive a notification from the ChemRxiv team with instructions on the edits needed.
Between submitting your content and your content being posted, you will not be able to amend it unless it is sent back to you by an administrator for revision. If you have submitted something you’d like to amend before it is posted, please contact us at curator@chemrxiv.org.
Once your work has been posted, you can submit a new version. To do this, log in and go to your author dashboard, then locate the item you want to update.
We encourage authors to upload new versions of their work as often as they see fit; however, we reserve the right to decline versions at the Publishing Manager's discretion. In these cases, we will send a description of why the revision was declined to the submitting author.
Journal prior publication policies may limit your ability to upload new versions your preprint while it is under review. It is your responsibility to ensure that your new version is in accordance with the policy of a journal considering your preprint for publication.
Please note – versions submitted as such will be posted under the same DOI as the original preprint with an appropriate version indicator, unless ChemRxiv's management deems the changes to be substantial enough to warrant a new preprint. All original files will remain accessible as linked earlier versions, with appropriate time/date stamps. The latest version will appear in search results on the site.
If you need additional help uploading a revision, please view our video guide here:
Individual pieces of research content posted to ChemRxiv are citable and part of the scholarly record, so they cannot be removed from the site except in extremely rare circumstances. You can, however, request that your content be marked as "retracted" if you no longer stand by your findings or your content contains fundamental errors that cannot be corrected by revising your paper. You can do this by finding the content item in your author dashboard and selecting ‘Request retraction’ in the menu for that item. You will be prompted to fill in the reason for your request, which will then be sent to the ChemRxiv team. They will then contact you to discuss the retraction request. Please note that preprints cannot be retracted simply because the work has subsequently been published in a journal. An overwhelming majority of peer-reviewed journals accept work posted as preprint, but we encourage you to consult your target journal’s policies.
All requests for retraction will be subject to approval by the ChemRxiv team, who will follow guidance from COPE [opens in a new tab] to determine an appropriate course of action. For any queries about retractions of content on ChemRxiv, please email support@chemrxiv.org.
Yes, if the content is felt to breach the criteria above after it has been approved and posted; for example, if previously undetected plagiarism or ethical concerns around data collection come to light. If this happens, you will be notified and will have a chance to appeal the decision.
The content will stay on the platform, but a retraction notice will be displayed on the content page.
No. Preprints receive DOIs during the ChemRxiv posting process and are therefore fully citable and part of the scientific record. They are also indexed by services such as Chemical Abstracts Services, CrossRef, and Google Scholar. Ethical publication guidelines require that files are preserved at this point. We do however retain the right to remove any preprint in cases of copyright infringement or other issues that the ChemRxiv’s management deems critical. You will be notified of any removal of content and given the right to appeal.
Yes, the following metrics are available for each piece of research content:
Aggregated data across all of your individual pieces of research content are available in your personal author dashboard, which you can access by logging in and going to "My Content". On your author dashboard you will see combined metrics for all your posted content including views, downloads, and citations. You can also use the ‘Actions’ menu to view each individual preprint to see its downloads, citations, and Altmetric score.
You can keep abreast of newly uploaded research content by using the ChemRxiv RSS feed or following ChemRxiv on X (Twitter). You can always browse the latest research in any subject category or bookmark a search on our site for future use.
All content on ChemRxiv is freely available and can be shared by the corresponding author or coauthor(s) without any need to request permission. The following sharing tools are available on the platform:
Yes, you can use ChemRxiv’s Direct Journal Transfer feature to easily submit your preprint from ChemRxiv to one of over 150 (and growing) peer-reviewed journals that are integrated with ChemRxiv. For more information, please see our Direct Journal Transfer page.
This depends on the license that you apply to your work during the upload process. See our FAQ on licensing above for more details.
We offer the commenting feature on ChemRxiv as a place for scholarly discussion of the posted content. This might include your views on the aims and outcomes of the scholarly content overall, or suggested amendments or additions for the authors' attention. Comments should be in English, related to the scholarly content posted on the page, and should be scholarly in their focus. Commentary should not be used for technical questions about the site or for raising ethical concerns - queries of these kinds should be directed to curator@chemrxiv.org. We do not check comments before they are posted but reserve the right to remove any comment that infringes our Commenting Policy.
Individual pieces of prepublication content can be cited using their unique digital object identifier (DOI) as follows:
"Author 1, Author 2, Date, Title, DOI"
By selecting "Cite" on the content landing page, you can generate a citation for the content in a number of formats and use the copy/paste tool to copy the citation into your document or reference manager.
Today, the majority of journals in the chemistry space allow authors to first post preprints. You can find this information in a particular journal's policy, most often prior publication or preprint policies, or by contacting the journal's editor. Researchers may also find this Wikipedia list [opens in a new tab] useful in assessing publisher policies. All of the ChemRxiv partners allow posted preprints to be submitted to their journals.
ChemRxiv automatically adds a link to the preprint within a few weeks of journal publication. The timing depends on when the journal posts its files to CrossRef, allowing ChemRxiv to check and make matches between preprints and published articles.
You can also request a link to the published version of your paper if you notice that your preprint hasn’t been properly matched to the published version. To do this, visit the latest version of the content in your author dashboard, and select “Submit version of record”. You will then be prompted to provide the DOI of your published work. Before you can submit the DOI, please select “Check your DOI” and make sure that the metadata is correct. If everything is correct, click “Submit”. Once you have submitted the DOI, it will be checked by an administrator before being posted on your content page. You will receive an email notifying you of the administrator’s decision.
If you have any additional questions about linking your preprint to the published version, email support@chemrxiv.org. Please indicate in that email both the DOI of your ChemRxiv preprint and the DOI of the published version of your paper.
For an overview of how to request a link to your published paper, please view our video guide here: