Author Guidelines
Aims and Scope
Article Types
Solar Fuels publishes a selective range of article types designed to communicate advances of the highest significance in solar fuel science and technology. All submissions are assessed according to rigorous editorial and peer-review standards, with priority given to originality, conceptual innovation, technical excellence, and broad interdisciplinary impact. Solar Fuels publishes original Research Articles, Reviews, Editorials, and Highlights. Please refer to the article type specifications below for details.
Editorials are authoritative and forward-looking contributions that address emerging scientific directions, strategic priorities, and developments of wide relevance to the solar fuel research community.
Highlights are short, accessible commentaries that showcase and contextualize particularly significant advances published either in Solar Fuels or in the broader scientific literature. Written by invited experts, Highlights are intended to distill the essence of important discoveries, explain their conceptual significance, and communicate their potential impact to a broad, interdisciplinary readership. These articles emphasize clarity, insight, and perspective rather than technical detail.
Research Articles constitute the core of the journal and report original scientific findings that represent substantial advances in solar fuel research. Submissions are expected to demonstrate clear conceptual novelty, rigorous validation through experimental and/or theoretical approaches, and significance that extends beyond a narrowly defined subfield. Articles should present a coherent and compelling narrative supported by high-quality data and reproducible methodologies. The standard structure includes Abstract, Introduction, Results and Discussion, and Methods sections, with additional supporting information provided as necessary. Research Articles are selected based on their potential to redefine existing paradigms or enable transformative technologies.
Review Articles provide comprehensive and critical syntheses of rapidly advancing areas within solar fuel science and technology. These contributions aim not only to summarize current knowledge but also to deliver deep insight, identify unresolved challenges, and define future research directions. Reviews should integrate experimental, theoretical, and, where relevant, industrial perspectives to present a cohesive and authoritative overview of the field. Review Articles are analytical and forward-looking in tone.
Manuscript Preparation
General Formatting Requirements
All manuscripts must be prepared in English, using clear, concise, and grammatically correct language. Authors are strongly encouraged to have their manuscript reviewed by a native English speaker or a professional editing service before submission, as poor language may delay evaluation.
Manuscripts should be submitted as a single editable Microsoft Word document (.docx). The journal provides an official template, and the use of the template is strongly recommended to expedite the review process and avoid formatting-related delays. The template is available for download from the journal's website.
For general formatting, use a standard font such as Times New Roman at 12-point size for the main text. The entire manuscript should be double-spaced, with continuous line numbers in the left margin to facilitate reviewer comments. Page numbers should be included consecutively. Margins should be at least 2.5 cm on all sides.
Structure of a Research Article
A typical Research Article should follow the order outlined below. Other article types (Reviews and Highlights) may adopt a flexible structure, but should still include an Abstract, Introduction, and appropriate headings.
Title: Concise and informative, reflecting the core advance of the work.
Author list: Full first and last names of all authors, with superscript numerals indicating affiliations. The corresponding author should be clearly marked with an asterisk and provide a complete email address.
Abstract: A single paragraph of 150–250 words that succinctly states the background, research problem, key methods, principal findings, and broader implications. The Abstract should be self-contained and factual, without citation to references.
Keywords: Provide 4 to 7 keywords or phrases for indexing purposes, placed immediately after the Abstract.
Introduction: Clearly define the research context, the specific problem addressed, the objectives of the study, and its significance. The Introduction should place the work in the broader field and explain why the contribution is timely and important.
Results and Discussion: Present the findings logically, using figures and tables to support the narrative, and interpret the results in light of existing literature. Subsections with descriptive headings are encouraged. Data should be reported with appropriate statistical measures and error analysis.
Conclusion: Summarize the main findings, discuss the implications, and address any limitations.
Methods: Provide sufficient experimental, computational, or analytical methods to enable independent reproduction of the work. This section should include materials, instrumentation, sample preparation, measurement conditions, data processing, and any statistical or computational methods. For established techniques, citation to standard protocols is acceptable, but any modifications must be clearly described. Method details may be provided in the Supporting Information.
Acknowledgements (optional): Recognize funding sources (including grant numbers) and individuals who contributed intellectually or technically but do not meet authorship criteria.
Conflict of Interest Statement: All authors must disclose any financial or non-financial competing interests. If none exist, a statement to that effect is still required.
Author Contributions: Specify the specific contributions of each author using the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) framework where possible.
Data Availability Statement: A mandatory statement that describes where and how the data supporting the findings can be accessed (see Data Policy below).
References: Numbered consecutively in the order they appear in the text, using the Vancouver style.
Supporting Information: If additional data, detailed methods, or supplementary figures are required, they should be provided as a separate file and cited in the main text as "Supplementary Fig. S1" etc.
References
References must be numbered sequentially in the order in which they are first cited in the text, using Arabic numerals in brackets. The reference list at the end of the manuscript should contain full details of each citation. Journal abbreviations should follow the standard ISO abbreviations (e.g., J. Am. Chem. Soc.). Examples of common reference formats:
Journal article:
A. Name, B. Name and C. Name, Journal Title, year, volume, page/article number(s), DOI [optional]. Example: J. Smith, M. Doe, S. Lee, Crystal growth of perovskite oxides. Nat. Mater. 2025, 24, 1234-1241.
When page/article number(s) are not yet known, articles should be cited by DOI (Digital Object Identifier) — for example, H. J. Hebden, E. R. Schrock, S. K. Takase and R. Müller, Chem. Commun., 2022, DOI: 10.1039/C2CC17634C.
All references must be checked for accuracy and completeness. Unpublished data and personal communications should be cited parenthetically in the text and not included in the reference list, but must be accompanied by a statement of permission from the source.
Figures and Tables
Figures
Figures are a critical component of a scientific paper and must be prepared with the highest quality. Authors should ensure that all figures are cited in the text in numerical order.
Technical Requirements:
Figures should be embedded in the manuscript document, not supplied as separate files.
Resolution: For color or greyscale images, a minimum resolution of 300 dots per inch (dpi) at the final printed size is required. For line art (graphs, charts, schematics), a resolution of at least 600 dpi is necessary.
File formats: Preferred formats are TIFF, EPS, PDF, or JPEG. Vector-based formats (EPS, PDF) are strongly encouraged for line drawings, as they scale without loss of quality. Photographs are best supplied as TIFF.
Dimensions: Figures should be designed to fit within the journal's column width: approximately 8.5 cm for a single column and 17.5 cm for a double-column figure. Please prepare figures at the intended final size to avoid scaling artefacts.
Fonts: Use clear sans-serif fonts such as Arial, with a font size between 8 and 10 points. Ensure that all text, labels, and numbers are legible at final size.
Line weights: Lines should be at least 0.5 points thick to remain visible after reduction.
Color: Use color sparingly and purposefully. Do not rely solely on color to convey essential information; use different patterns, symbols, or labels to ensure accessibility for color-blind readers and for printed versions.
Figure Legends: Each figure must have a concise legend that explains the content without reference to the main text. The legend should begin with a brief title (typically up to 15 words) followed by a description of symbols, lines, and experimental conditions.
Tables
Tables should be embedded within the manuscript document, not supplied as separate image files. Number tables consecutively in the order they are cited. Each table must have a concise title placed above the table body. Use the table insertion function in Word—do not use tabs, spaces, or manual formatting to create tables.
Use a clear, simple layout with minimal shading or color.
Font size should be 8 to 10 points.
Footnotes within tables should be indicated by superscript lowercase letters (a, b, c, etc.) and explained directly below the table.
Ensure that all data are properly aligned and that units are clearly stated.
Templates
To streamline the submission and publication process, Solar Fuels provides an official Microsoft Word template on the journal website. Authors are strongly urged to download and use the template, as they incorporate the correct style for headings, references, figure placement, and overall layout. The Word template includes predefined styles for all sections. Using the template reduces the risk of formatting-related delays or rejection and ensures compliance with the journal's production requirements. Please always ensure you are using the most recent version of the templates, as they are periodically updated.
Solar Fuels Article Template
Submission Process
Manuscripts should be submitted electronically via the journal's online submission system. The following items must be uploaded during submission:
Manuscript file A single editable Word document (.docx) file containing the full text, references, figures, and tables, etc.
Supporting Information If applicable, a separate file containing supplementary data, methods, or additional figures should be uploaded. This file will be published online alongside the main article.
Cover Letter A brief letter to the Editorial Office, stating the significance, novelty, and suitability of the work for Solar Fuels. The cover letter should also mention any prior publication or presentation of the work, and any potential conflicts of interest. This letter is not a substitute for the formal conflict of interest disclosure.
The main manuscript and Supporting Information should be submitted separately. Do not combine them into a single compressed file.
For revised manuscripts, figures may be submitted as separate files. Figures do not need to be submitted as separate files for the initial submission.
Upon submission, all manuscripts undergo an initial editorial triage to assess suitability for the journal. Those that pass this stage are then assigned to an Editor for detailed scientific assessment and, if deemed appropriate, sent for single-blind peer review. Authors will be notified of the editorial decision after the review process is complete. The journal upholds the highest standards of publication ethics and editorial integrity. A summary of key policies is provided below. For comprehensive details on peer-review procedures, editorial decision-making, appeals, and post-publication integrity, please consult the Peer Review Policy page, which forms an integral part of the journal's Complete Author Guidelines. Additional policy pages covering open access, AI use, data availability, and publication ethics are also accessible below.