Journal History | Molecules

1996	The Inaugural Issue was released. Molecules was published as a monthly journal.
1999	Molecules received its first Impact Factor (0.248).
2000	Molecules published its 500th paper.
2004	Molecules published its 1,000th paper.
2007	Molecules adopted the full Open Access system.
2012	Molecules announced the first edition of the Best Paper award.
2013	Molecules established the following section: -Metabolites (Discontinued, 2013–2018). Molecules published its 5,000th paper.
2015	Molecules established the following sections: -Green Chemistry; -Photochemistry; -Bioorganic Chemistry; -Organometallic Chemistry.
2016	Molecules published its 10,000th paper. Molecules announced the first edition of the TuYouYou award.
2017	Molecules established the following sections: -Inorganic Chemistry; -Physical Chemistry; -Analytical Chemistry; -Nanochemistry; -Chemical Biology. Molecules organized The 1st Molecules Medicinal Chemistry Symposium.
2018	Molecules established the following sections: -Materials Chemistry; -Electrochemistry; -Macromolecular Chemistry.
2019	Molecules adopted a semi-monthly publication schedule. Molecules established the following sections: -Flavours and Fragrances; -Colorants. Molecules published its 20,000 paper.
2020	Molecules established the following sections: -Applied Chemistry; -Molecular Structure; -Molecular Liquids; -Microwave Chemistry; -Ultrasound Chemistry; -Cross-Field Chemistry; -Food Chemistry. Molecules announced the first edition of the PhD Thesis Award.
2021	Molecules received its 2020 Impact Factor (4.412).
2022	Molecules received its 2021 Impact Factor (4.927). Molecules announced the first edition of the Best Paper Award.
2023	Molecules received its 2022 Impact Factor (4.6). Prof. Dr. Thomas J. Schmidt was appointed as Editor-in-Chief.
2024	Molecules received its 2023 Impact Factor (4.2). Tu Youyou Award has been upgraded from Molecules Award to MDPI Award.
2025	Molecules announced the first edition of the Editor of Distinction Award. Bioactive Lipids was discontinued.
2026	The year 2026 marks the 30th Anniversary of Molecules. Molecules organized The 5th Molecules Medicinal Chemistry Symposium in Beijing, China (the first time in the Asian region) Cross-Field Chemistry was discontinued. Microwave Chemistry was discontinued. Ultrasound Chemistry was discontinued.

Editor-in-Chief

1996–1997	Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Shu-Kun Lin
1997–1999	Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Esteban Pombo-Villar
1999–2005	Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Shu-Kun Lin
2005–2020	Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Derek J. McPhee
2021–2023	Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Farid Chemat * passed away on January 2023
2023–present	Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Thomas J. Schmidt

Section Editor-in-Chief

2015–2021	Section Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Pierre Pichat for the section on Photochemistry
2016–2023	Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Thomas J. Schmidt for the section on Natural Prodcuts Chemistry
2016–2024	Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. James Gauld for the section on Computational and Theoretical Chemistry
2016–present	Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Diego Muñoz-Torrero for the section on Medicinal Chemistry Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Roman Dembinski for the section on Organic Chemistry
2018–2021	Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Farid Chemat for the section on Green Chemistry Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. M.-H. Whangbo for the section on Inorganic Chemistry
2018–2022	Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Roland J. Pieters for the section on Chemical Biology
2018–present	Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Mark von Itzstein for the section on Bioorganic chemistry Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Ashok Kakkar for the section on Nanochemistry
2019–2023	Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Vadim A. Soloshonok for the section on Organic Chemistry
2019–2026	Section Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Joselito P. Quirino for the section on Analytical Chemistry
2019–present	Section Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Joselito P. Quirino for the section on Analytical Chemistry Section Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Giuseppe Cirillo for the section on Materials Chemistry Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Anan Yaghmur for the section on Physical Chemistry
2020–2022	Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Rudy J. Richardson for the section on Molecular Structure
2020–2023	Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. R. Daniel Little for the section on Electrochemistry
2020–2024	Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Mara G. Freire for the section on Molecular Liquids
2020–present	Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Henryk H. Jeleń for the section on Flavours and Fragrances Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Michal Szostak for the section on Organometallic Chemistry
2021–2024	Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Mauro Maccarrone for the section on Bioactive Lipids
2021–2026	Section Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Sylvain Caillol for the section on Macromolecular Chemistry
2021–present	Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Axel Klein for the section on Inorganic Chemistry
2022–present	Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Lucia Panzella for the section on Colorants
2023–present	Section Editor-in-Chief: Dr. RuAngelie Edrada-Ebel for the section on Natural Products Chemistry Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Tristan Richard for the section on Food Chemistry Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Y. George Zheng for the section on Chemical Biology Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Shaojun Yuan for the section on Applied Chemistry Section Editor-in-Chief: Dr. M. Gilles Mailhot for the section on Green Chemistry
2025–present	Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Jianzhang Zhao for the section on Photochemistry Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Shuhua Li for the section on Computational and Theoretical Chemistry
2026–present	Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Przemyslaw Niedzielski for the section on Analytical Chemistry Section Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Dr. Alejandro Rodríguez Pascual for the section on Macromolecular Chemistry