Official GuideUpdated: March 2024

Chemical Documentation Standards: ACS Style Guide

The American Chemical Society (ACS) style is the definitive format for chemistry and related sciences. This guide provides comprehensive coverage of ACS citation standards.

Table of Contents

Complexity

Intermediate

Primary Use

Chemistry & Chemical Sciences

In-text Style

Superscript or Author-Date

01.Basic Formatting Rules

Author Names

Surname first, then initials with periods. List all authors.

Example: Smith, A. J.; Doe, J. B.

Title Standards

Article titles use sentence case. Journal titles are italicized and abbreviated.

Example: J. Am. Chem. Soc. (not Journal of the American Chemical Society)

Digital Identifiers

DOI is required for all electronic journal articles.

Example: DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c00001

Punctuation

Semicolons separate authors. Period after journal abbreviation.

Format: Author 1; Author 2. Title. J. Abbrev. Year, Vol, Pages.

02.In-Text Citations

ACS supports three in-text citation systems: superscript, italic numbers, or author-date.

Superscript: numbers raised above the text line.
Italic numbers in parentheses: (1), (2).
Author-date: (Smith, 2023) format.

Sample Text

Catalytic conversion rates improved significantly under elevated pressure conditions.¹ While earlier studies²′³ suggested alternative mechanisms, the current data supports the proposed pathway.¹′⁴

03.Reference List

Alphabetical or Numeric

References may be ordered alphabetically by first author or by citation number.

Author Names

Surname first, then initials with periods. Semicolons separate multiple authors.

Journal Abbreviations

Use standard CASSI abbreviations for journal titles, italicized.

04.Source Type Examples

Journal ArticleTry this citation

Structure:

Author 1; Author 2. Title. J. Abbrev. Year, Vol, Pages.

Smith, A. J.; Jones, C. D. Catalytic mechanisms in organic synthesis. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 11234–11245.

BookTry this citation

Structure:

Author(s). Title, Edition; Publisher: City, Year; Pages.

Morrison, R. T.; Boyd, R. N. Organic Chemistry, 7th ed.; Prentice Hall: Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 2014; pp 234–240.

WebsiteTry this citation

Structure:

Author(s). Title. Website Name. URL (accessed Date).

National Institute of Standards and Technology. NIST Chemistry WebBook. https://webbook.nist.gov/chemistry/ (accessed Mar. 10, 2024).

05.Common Mistakes

Incorrect Example

Smith, A. J. (2023). "Title." J. Am. Chem. Soc., 12(3), 100-105.

Mixing ACS with APA conventions. Quotation marks and parenthetical dates are not ACS format.

Correct Example

Smith, A. J. Title. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 100–105.

Clean ACS format: no quotation marks, no parenthetical dates, italic journal abbreviation.

06.Precision Chart: Chemistry Format Comparisons

Feature	ACS Style	RSC Style	APA 7th Ed
In-text Style	Superscript ¹	Bracketed (1)	Author, Year (2020)
Ordering	Alpha or Numeric	Alphabetical	Alphabetical
Journal Title	Abbreviated (CASSI)	Abbreviated	Full Title
Author Sep.	Semicolons (;)	Commas (,)	Commas (,)