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Nanoscale Horizons is a Transformative Journal, and Plan S compliant
Impact factor: 8.0*
Time to first decision (all decisions): 9.0 days**
Time to first decision (peer reviewed only): 41.0 days***
Editorial Board Chair: Katharina Landfester
Open access publishing options available
Journal scope
Nanoscale Horizons is a leading journal for the publication of exceptionally high-quality, innovative nanoscience and nanotechnology. The journal places an emphasis on original research that demonstrates a new concept or a new way of thinking (a conceptual advance), rather than primarily reporting technological improvements. However, outstanding articles featuring truly breakthrough developments such as record performance alone may also be published in the journal. For work to be published it must be of significant general interest to our community-spanning readership.
Topics covered in the journal include, but are not limited to:
- Synthesis of nanostructured and nanoscale materials
- Quantum materials
- 2D materials
- Layered materials
- Layered quantum materials
- Characterisation of functional nanoscale materials and bio-assemblies
- Properties of nanoscale materials
- Self-assembly and molecular organisation
- Complex hybrid nanostructures
- Nanocomposites, nanoparticles, nanocrystalline materials, and nanoclusters
- Nanotubes, molecular nanowires and nanocrystals
- Molecular nanoscience
- Nanocatalysis
- Theoretical modelling
- Single-molecules
- Plasmonics
- Nanoelectronics and molecular electronics
- Nanophotonics
- Nanochips, nanosensors, nanofluidics and nanofabrication
- Carbon-based nanoscale materials and devices
- Biomimetic materials
- Nanobiotechnology/bionanomaterials
- Nanomedicine
- Regulatory approaches and risk assessment
New concepts statement
Nanoscale Horizons Communications must include a separate ‘new concepts’ statement. This statement should be a paragraph of no more than 200 words and should address the following questions:
- What new concept has been demonstrated?
- What differentiates this concept from existing research?
- What additional insight does your work and the underlying concept bring to nanoscience and nanotechnology?
This statement will be seen by editors and reviewers and will help ascertain the significance of the research. The statement should not be a summary of the work reported, as in the article abstract. If the paper is accepted, this statement will also be published. Please note that papers cannot be peer-reviewed without this statement.
Watch new concepts statement video to find out more
Publish in Nanoscale Horizons
Expect to be impressed
Horizons research pushes the boundaries of nanoscience and nanotechnology – think new unexpected observations, new directions and new levels of insight.
Put your trust in our team
Our editorial processes are transparent, rigorous, fair and rapid, with an editorial board of leading scientists, guided by a society publisher – we get great work into the world, fast.
Learn something new
Focus articles clarify often misunderstood topic areas, and original research comes with a New Concepts statement which explains the work and its wider significance.
Part of the nanoscale family
Nanoscale Horizons is part of the nanoscale family, which also includes Nanoscale Advances and Nanoscale. The journal series allows full coverage of interdisciplinary advances in nanoscience and nanotechnology.
Nanoscale Horizons Outstanding Paper Award
In order to recognize some of the outstanding work published in the journal, as well as the authors behind those articles, we annually award a Nanoscale Horizons Outstanding Paper Award. The prize recognises the contributions of all authors and celebrates these exceptional publications.
Find out more
Meet the team
Find out who is on the editorial and advisory boards for the Nanoscale Horizons journal.
Editorial Board Chair: Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Germany
Scientific editor: National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan
Scientific editor:The University of Sydney, Australia
Editorial board member:Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA
Scientific editor: Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium
Scientific editor:
University of British Columbia, Canada
Editorial board member:Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea
Scientific editor:
National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST), China
Scientific editor: Southeast University, China
Chunli Bai, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Uri Banin, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Frank Caruso, University of Melbourne, Australia
Cinzia Casiraghi, University of Manchester, UK
Paola Ceroni, University of Bologna, Italy
Xiaodong Chen, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Chunying Chen, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, China
Harold Craighead, Cornell University, USA
Serena Cussen, University College Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Qing Dai, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology of China, China
Shuai Dong, Southeast University, China
Laura Fabris, Politecnico di Torino, Italy
Andrea Ferrari, University of Cambridge, UK
Anna Fontcuberta i Morral, EPFL, Switzerland
Dirk Guldi, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany
Raju Kumar Gupta, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, India
Nobuhiko Hosono, University of Tokyo, Japan
Xingyu Jiang, Southern University of Science and Technology, China
Rongchao Jin, Carnegie Mellon University, USA
Dong Ha Kim, Ewha Womans University, Korea
Jang-Kyo Kim, University of New South Wales, Australia
Kostas Kostarelos, University of Manchester, UK
Yamuna Krishnan, University of Chicago, USA
Tai Wei David Leong, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Li Li, Northeastern University, USA
Quan Li, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Xing Yi Ling, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Jie Liu, Duke University, USA
Xiaogang Liu, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Renzhi Ma, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan
Stefan Maier, Monash University, Australia
Liberato Manna, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Italy
Chad Mirkin, Northwestern University, USA
Paul Mulvaney, University of Melbourne, Australia
Catherine Murphy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
Valeria Nicolosi, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Dong Qin, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
Sandra Rosenthal, Vanderbilt University, USA
Jungki Ryu, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Korea
Michael Sailor, University of California, USA
Paolo Samorì, Université de Strasbourg, France
Leslie Schoop, Princeton University, USA
Ester Segal, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Israel
Elena Shevchenko, Argonne National Laboratory, USA
Hisanori Shinohara, Nagoya University, Japan
Zuzanna Siwy, University of California, Irvine, USA
Sara Skrabalak, Indiana University, USA
Francesco Stellacci, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland
Shouheng Sun, Brown University, USA
Ling-Dong Sun, Peking University, China
Zhiyong Tang, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, China
Sarah Tolbert, University of California, Los Angeles, USA
Jonathan Veinot, University of Alberta, Canada
Umesh Waghmare, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, India
Jianfang Wang, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR
Sharon Weiss, Vanderbilt University, USA
Benjamin Wiley, Duke University, USA
Wenzhuo Wu, Purdue University, USA
Nobuhiro Yanai, Kyushu University, Japan
Stefan Zauscher, Duke University, USA
Xiao Cheng Zeng, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA
Hongjie Zhang, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, China
Hua Zhang, City University of Hong Kong, China
Miqin Zhang, University of Washington, USA
Manzhou Zhu, Anhui University, China
Jin Zou, University of Queensland, Australia
Our Community Board is an early career advisory board made up of researchers with expertise across all areas of the journal’s scope. The board members provide feedback and advice regarding journal activities, as well as acting as advocates for the journal.
Amina Benchohra, Université de Bretagne-Occidentale, France
Fangfang Cao, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Arun Richard Chandrasekaran, The RNA Institute, University at Albany, SUNY, USA
Yihuang Chen, Wenzhou University, China
Dennis Christensen, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark
Didem Dede, EPFL, Switzerland
Sara Domenici, Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy
Jingshan Du, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, USA
Yuanxing Fang, Fuzhou University, China
Yuan Fang, Soochow University, China
Calum T. J. Ferguson, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Germany
Susel Del Sol Fernández, University of Zaragoza, Spain
Lucas Güniat, Lumiphase Corporation , Switzerland
Minjeong Ha, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, South Korea
Marilena Hadjidemetriou, University of Manchester, UK
Xue Han, Brookhaven National Laboratory, USA
Shumeng Hao, Beijing Univerisity of Chemical Technology, China
Jundie Hu, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, China
Shuaidong Huo, Xiamen University, China
Ignacio Insua, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Taskeen Janjua, The University of Queensland, Australia
Meysam Keshavarz, Imperial College London, UK
Yoonseob Kim, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong
Zhiwei Li, Northwestern University, USA
Chunchun Li, East China University of Science and Technology, China
Zhiyuan Liu, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Albert Liu, University of Michigan, USA
Jette Mathiesen, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark
Dinesh Mullangi, Johns Hopkins University, USA
Saeed Nazemidashtarjandi, Harvard Medical School, USA
Pepita Pla-Vilanova, University of Lleida, Spain
Satyajit Ratha, Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar, India
Michael B. Ross, University of Massachusetts Lowell, USA
Tracy Schloemer, Stanford University, USA
Qianqian Shi, University of Newcastle, Australia
Pengzhan Sun, University of Macao, China
Jaime Andres Perez Taborda, National University of Colombia, Colombia
Yanlong Wang, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, China
Chao Wang, Oregon State University, USA
Jiangjiexing Wu, Tianjin University, China
Tong Wu, Qingdao University, China
Zhenhua Wu, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
Xiuqiang Xie, Hunan University, China
Yikai Xu, East China University of Science and Technology, China
Akiko Yagi, Nagoya University, Japan
Jiandong Yao, Sun Yat-sen University, China
Fei Zhang, Tianjin University, China
Zishuai (Bill) Zhang, Peking University, China
Kai Zhu, Harbin Engineering University, China
Xiaolu Zhuo, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China
Michaela Mühlberg, Executive Editor ORCID
Heather Montgomery, Managing Editor ORCID
Tiffany Rogers, Development Editor
Jonathon Watson, Editorial Manager
Alex Metherell, Associate Editorial Manager
Matthew Blow, Publishing Editor
Chris Dias, Publishing Editor
Hemna Fathima, Publishing Editor
Rob Hinde, Publishing Editor
Clara Humann, Publishing Editor
Evie Karkera, Publishing Editor
Tamara Kosikova, Publishing Editor
Sophie Mander, Publishing Editor
Carole Martin, Publishing Editor
Kirsty McRoberts, Publishing Editor
Cat Schofield, Publishing Editor
Manman Wang, Publishing Editor
Rebecca Siddall, Editorial Assistant
Elizabeth So, Editorial Assistant
Shengnan Sha, Assistant Editor
Sam Keltie, Publisher, Journals, ORCID
Article Types
Nanoscale Horizons publishes:
- Communications
- Reviews
- Minireviews
- Focus articles
- Comments
Communications
All original research published in the journal is in the form of Communication articles. These are exceptionally high-quality and innovative reports that are of significant broad appeal to the nanoscience community at large. The research presented should provide new insight into the topic and demonstrate a new concept or a new way of thinking (a conceptual advance), rather than primarily reporting technological improvements. However, outstanding articles featuring truly breakthrough developments such as record performance of materials alone may also be published in the journal.
Nanoscale Horizons Communications must include a separate ‘new concepts’ statement. This statement should be a paragraph of no more than 200 words and should address the following questions:
- What new concept has been demonstrated?
- What differentiates this concept from existing research?
- What additional insight does your work and the underlying concept bring to nanoscience and nanotechnology?
This statement will be seen by editors and reviewers and will help ascertain the significance of the research. The statement should not be a summary of the work reported, as in the article abstract. If the paper is accepted, this statement will also be published. Please note that papers cannot be peer-reviewed without this statement.
Although there is no page limit for a Communication, the recommended length is three printed journal pages. Authors are encouraged to provide a succinct and relevant introduction to the research and to consider the use of the supplementary information for additional material. Please see below for some examples of exemplar 'new concepts' statements.
See examples of new concept statementReviews
Reviews are typically commissioned by the Nanoscale Horizons editorial board and editorial office, although we do welcome direct submissions of reviews of timely topics. Nanoscale Horizons Reviews must be very high-quality, authoritative, state-of-the-art accounts of the selected research field.
Reviews should be timely and provide insights based on existing literature as well as being of general interest to the journal's wide readership. All Reviews undergo a rigorous and full peer review procedure, in the same way as regular research papers.
Authors are encouraged to identify areas in the field where further developments are imminent or of urgent need and any areas that may be of significance to the community in general. Reviews are typically six to eight printed journal pages in length. Reviews should not contain unpublished original research.
Minireviews
Minireviews are highlights or summaries of research in an emerging area of nanoscience or nanotechnology (typically from the last two to three years). They are not intended to be comprehensive overviews but rather should highlight recent and important developments and provide insights into the emerging area on which they are focused. Minireviews should set the topic in the context of the relevant literature and may include perspectives on the future development of the field
Perspectives on the future development of the field are appropriate. The recommended length of a Nanoscale Horizons Minireview is three printed journal pages.
Focus articles
Nanoscale Horizons Focus articles are educational articles that can take the form of either an editorial or a review article. They are designed to address topic areas which are often misunderstood or require greater explanation.
Focus articles are invited by the Nanoscale Horizons editorial board and editorial office. Suggestions from readers for topics and authors of Focus articles are welcome and should be directed to the editor.
Comments
Comments and Replies are a medium for the discussion and exchange of scientific opinions between authors and readers concerning material published in Nanoscale Horizons.
For publication, a Comment should present an alternative analysis of and/or new insight into the previously published material. Any Reply should further the discussion presented in the original article and the Comment. Comments and Replies that contain any form of personal attack are not suitable for publication.
Comments that are acceptable for publication will be forwarded to the authors of the work being discussed, and these authors will be given the opportunity to submit a Reply. The Comment and Reply will both be subject to rigorous peer review in consultation with the journal’s Editorial Board where appropriate. The Comment and Reply will be published together.
Submission and assessment process
On submission to the journal, all manuscripts are initially assessed by a team of professional Publishing Editors who have a wide range of scientific backgrounds. They make an assessment of whether the manuscript may be suitable for the journal, based on the scope and very high significance and broad general interest criteria required for publication. Publishing Editors are supported in this decision making by our academic Scientific Editors who are members of our Editorial Board. Only manuscripts that are successful during these initial assessments will be sent for full peer review. Full details of the initial assessment process can be found with our processes and policies.
The journal follows a single-blind peer review process and articles are typically sent to at least two independent reviewers for evaluation. Professional Publishing Editors are responsible for peer review and associated editorial decisions. The team are guided by our Editorial Board who set the scientific standards and guidelines for the journal. Our Editorial Board are all leading scientists who together have expertise across the breadth of nanoscience and nanotechnology.
Journal specific information
We provide some general considerations on suitability for publication of original research in the journal:
- Articles that challenge current thinking, present new unexpected observations, create new directions in nanoscience & nanotechnology or introduce a new understanding of a topic. For example, new mechanisms, new synthetic procedures or simplifying the current challenging or lengthy synthetic method, new molecular design guidelines, novel properties that have not been observed before, novel applications
- Articles with no new concept, but truly exceptional (top 5% in field) and surprising results are welcome
- We consider that a new (nano)material can be equated with a new concept if potentially surprising performance/properties are reported
- Demonstration of the use of a (nano) material in an application is not a requirement but could provide further evidence for the impact of work
- Reports on known (nano)materials are acceptable if (i) the article reports unexpected combinations with other materials or (ii) the article reports a new unexpected application, new observations or physical properties, etc., that provide insight into molecular design rules/guidelines
- Authors should ensure that there is sufficient information on (nano)material synthesis and characterisation in the article or supplementary information for the work to be repeatable. If it is not present then the editors will return the article to the authors
- Articles that contain some or wholly theoretical/computational studies are welcome. They should contain a discussion that compares the study to experimental data if this exists in the literature. Authors must provide sufficient information to enable readers to reproduce any computational results. The computational methods used in the study should be included in either the article or the supplementary information. If the software was used for calculations and is generally available, it must be properly cited in the notes and references. References to the methods upon which the software is based must also be provided. Computational results obtained using methods, parameters, or input data that are not adequately described in the manuscript or in the referenced literature are not acceptable for publication
- Articles that do not put into context the importance of the study are not suitable for peer review in the journal. Articles with no comparison to state of the art (if available) are not suitable for peer review in the journal
- Articles that simply report a combination of already known things with no surprising results are not suitable for peer review in the journal
Open access publishing options
Nanoscale Horizons is a hybrid (transformative) journal and gives authors the choice of publishing their research either via the traditional subscription-based model or instead by choosing our gold open access option. Find out more about our Transformative Journals. which are Plan S compliant.
Gold open access
For authors who want to publish their article gold open access, Nanoscale Horizons charges an article processing charge (APC) of £3,000 (+ any applicable tax). Our APC is all-inclusive and makes your article freely available online immediately, permanently, and includes your choice of Creative Commons licence (CC BY or CC BY-NC) at no extra cost. It is not a submission charge, so you only pay if your article is accepted for publication.
Learn more about publishing open access.
Read & Publish
If your institution has a Read & Publish agreement in place with the Â鶹AV, APCs for gold open access publishing in Nanoscale Horizons may already be covered.
Please use your official institutional email address to submit your manuscript and check you are assigned as the corresponding author; this helps us to identify if you are eligible for Read & Publish or other APC discounts.
Traditional subscription model
Authors can also publish in Nanoscale Horizons via the traditional subscription model without needing to pay an APC. Articles published via this route are available to institutions and individuals who subscribe to the journal. Our standard licence allows you to make the accepted manuscript of your article freely available after a 12-month embargo period. This is known as the green route to open access.
Readership information
The readership is cross-disciplinary and includes scientists, researchers and professionals in academia and industry interested in nanoscience and nanotechnology, including (but not limited to) the following areas.
- Physics
- Chemistry
- Biology
- Medicine
- Materials
- Energy/environment
- Information technology
- Detection science
- Healthcare and drug discovery
- Electronics
Subscription information
Online only 2025: ISSN 2055-6764 £2,879 / $4,750
*2023 Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate Analytics, 2024)
**The median time from submission to first decision including manuscripts rejected without peer review from the previous calendar year
***The median time from submission to first decision for peer-reviewed manuscripts from the previous calendar year
Nanoscale Horizons
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