Announcements

MDPI will be attending the Swiss Chemical Society (SCS) Fall Meeting 2026, which will take place on 27–28 August 2026 at the vonRoll Campus, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland. We welcome researchers from diverse backgrounds to visit our booth (#20) and share their latest ideas with us.

The SCS Fall Meeting is the major regularly organized event of the Swiss Chemical Society and one of the largest annual research conferences in Switzerland. For decades, the SCS Fall Meeting has been a great platform for senior scientists to showcase their current research results as well as for young chemists to present their research, often for the first time ever at a major conference. Be inspired by the people you will meet there and be part as one of the 1000+ participants.

This year, the SCS Fall Meeting will be organized over two days, providing additional opportunities for sharing ideas and networking.

Topics of the nine parallel sessions:

• Analytical Sciences (Building 6, B101);
• Catalysis Science & Engineering (Building 8, 004);
• Computational Chemistry (Building 8, 102);
• Chemistry and the Environment (Building 6, B102);
• Inorganic & Coordination Chemistry (Building 8, 103);
• Materials Chemistry (Building 8, 104);
• Medicinal Chemistry & Chemical Biology (Building 8, 002);
• Organic Chemistry (Building 8, 001);
• Physical Chemistry (Building 8, 003).

The following open access journals will be represented at the conference:

• Molecules;
• Polymers;
• Molbank;
• Analytica;
• Physchem;
• Compounds;
• Reactions;
• Chemistry;
• Sustainable Chemistry;
• Inorganics;
• Purification.

If you are planning to attend the above event, we encourage you to visit our booth and speak to our representatives. We are eager to meet you in person and assist you with any queries that you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit the official website: https://fm26.scg.ch/.

Conference: ACS Fall 2026
Date: 23–27 August 2026
Location: Chicago, IL, USA

MDPI will be attending ACS Fall 2026, which will be held from 23 to 27 August 2026 in Chicago, IL, USA.

This conference is the prime location for chemistry professionals to meet, share ideas, and advance scientific and technical knowledge. By attracting thousands of chemical professionals, the meetings provide excellent opportunities to share your passion for chemistry, connect with the world’s largest scientific society, and advance your career in this ever-changing global economy. 2026 marks ACS’ 150th Anniversary (#ACS150)—a milestone celebrating 150 years of advancing global chemistry, with the slogan “Chemists Making History”.

Technical scientific sessions of the conference include hundreds of themed symposia covering all chemistry subfields:

• Materials, catalysis, and sustainable green chemistry;
• Medicinal chemistry, biochemistry, and chemical biology;
• Environmental chemistry and energy and carbon neutrality;
• Analytical chemistry, computational chemistry, and astrochemistry;
• Chemical engineering, polymer chemistry, and food chemistry.

The following MDPI journals will be represented at the conference:

• Molecules;
• Analytica;
• Laboratories;
• Compounds;
• Molbank;
• Liquids;
• Separations;
• Colloids and Interfaces;
• Sustainable Chemistry;
• Chemistry;
• Materials;
• Marine Drugs;
• DDC.

If you are planning to attend the conference, we encourage you to visit our booth and speak to our representatives. We are eager to meet you in person and assist you with any queries that you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit the official website: https://www.acs.org/events/fall.html.

Our portfolio of journals available for publishing up-to-date research in immediate open access format has been further expanded. In June 2026, eleven new journals released their inaugural issues and two transferred journals released their first issue as part of MDPI, covering the subjects of environmental & earth sciences, chemistry & materials science, public health & healthcare, engineering, medicine & pharmacology, and biology & life sciences. 

We extend our gratitude to the Editors-in-Chief, Associate Editors, and Editorial Board Members who will shape the future course of these new journals. Each journal is dedicated to upholding strong editorial standards through a thorough peer review process, enabling impactful open access scholarship. 

Please feel free to browse and discover more about the new journals below. 

We would like to thank everyone who has supported the development of open access publishing. If you would like to create a new journal, you are welcome to send an application here or contact the New Journal Committee (newjournal-committee@mdpi.com).

Peer review is the invisible foundation of academic progress. The 2025 MDPI Top Reviewers are some of the key experts who helped build it.

We are honored to recognize 1000 individuals from our global community of 210,000 reviewers across 67 countries and territories—chosen for their commitment to rigorous, constructive peer review and the consistency of their contributions throughout 2025.

The Top Reviewers provided constructive and impartial feedback that makes research stronger and more impactful, and we are grateful for it.

The names of these reviewers are listed below in alphabetical order by first name:

(Note: we respected all privacy preferences, with part of nominees opting for limited attribution.)

Recently, we had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Lori Gonnet, the winner of the Molbank Travel Award. In this interview, Dr. Gonnet shares insights into her research in sustainable synthetic chemistry, discusses the importance of international conferences and open access publishing, and offers advice to young researchers beginning their scientific careers.

1. First of all, congratulations on winning the Molbank Travel Award. Could you briefly introduce yourself to our readers and tell us a little bit about your fields of interest?

Thank you very much. My name is Lori Gonnet, and I am currently a senior postdoctoral researcher at the University of Birmingham under the supervision of Prof. Tomislav Friščić. My research focuses on the development of sustainable synthetic methodologies, particularly in the field of mechanochemistry.

Mechanochemistry uses mechanical forces to trigger chemical reactions instead of relying on large amounts of solvents, many of which can be toxic. My current work centers on a technology called resonant acoustic mixing (RAM), which we are using as a media-free chemical reactor for organic synthesis.

Traditionally, RAM technology was developed for industrial mixing applications, such as the manufacture of energetic materials, but we have repurposed it for synthetic chemistry applications. One of the major advantages of RAM is that it avoids the use of grinding media such as balls or screws, which are commonly used in mechanochemical methods and can lead to metal contamination in final products.

RAM is also highly scalable. With the instrument we currently use, reactions can be scaled from milligrams up to kilogram quantities without major protocol changes. This work is carried out in collaboration with Genentech, and we are exploring greener, faster, and more scalable approaches for pharmaceutical synthesis. We also use in situ techniques such as Raman spectroscopy and infrared thermography to monitor reactions and temperature changes in real time.

2. Can you share with us your feelings after winning the award? How did you hear about this award and how supportive might this kind of award be for researchers?

I was truly honored and very grateful to receive this travel award. It is always rewarding to feel that your work is being recognized, especially in an emerging field like mechanochemistry. It also feels encouraging to see sustainable synthetic methodologies gaining more recognition within the scientific community.

I discovered the award through MDPI announcements and social media. I regularly follow updates online, and I came across the call for applications there.

I believe this kind of award is extremely supportive, especially for PhD students and postdoctoral researchers. Attending international conferences can be very expensive and often outside the budget of young researchers. Awards like this provide valuable opportunities to present research to a wider audience, gain visibility, and build important professional connections and collaborations at an early stage in one’s career.

3. Could you briefly describe the conferences you plan to attend through the funding of this award, and discuss the significance of participating in such conferences for your research?

I am very excited to use this award to attend the Gordon Research Conference on Green Chemistry, which will take place in Barcelona, Spain, in July.

What makes this conference particularly special is its format. All participants stay at the same venue, which creates a unique atmosphere for discussions and networking. Beyond the formal presentations and poster sessions, researchers have opportunities to interact during meals, coffee breaks, and informal discussions throughout the event.

For early career researchers, this type of environment is incredibly valuable because it allows direct interaction with experts in the field. It is also a great opportunity for me to present my research on resonant acoustic mixing to influential researchers working in green chemistry and sustainable synthesis.

The conference brings together both academic and industrial scientists, which is especially important because industry perspectives often help guide the practical implementation of sustainable methodologies on a larger scale. I believe participating in conferences like this is essential for exchanging ideas, fostering collaborations, and discussing how chemistry can become more environmentally sustainable in the future.

4. How do you view the role of open access journals (such as Molbank) in academic communication? Will you consider reviewing or contributing to them in the future?

I truly believe that open access journals are game-changing for science. Open access publishing helps break down barriers that can prevent researchers from accessing scientific literature, especially depending on their institution or available funding.

In rapidly developing fields such as mechanochemistry, it is very important for new methodologies and discoveries to become accessible quickly to the scientific community. Open access journals make this possible and help accelerate scientific progress.

I would absolutely consider continuing to contribute to and review for journals such as Molbank in the future. I strongly support keeping scientific knowledge open and accessible to everyone.

5. Do you have any other suggestions on how our journal could further support young researchers and the academic community?

I think the Travel Award itself is already a fantastic initiative for early career researchers because it helps them attend conferences and establish professional connections.

Another idea could be to create research highlights specifically dedicated to early career scientists. A mentorship platform connecting senior researchers or postdoctoral fellows with PhD students could also be very beneficial.

I would also love to see short video formats where young researchers could present their work in a simple and engaging way. For example, a one-minute video introducing a new methodology or explaining a technique such as resonant acoustic mixing could help increase visibility and make research more accessible to the broader scientific community.

6. Do you have any advice for aspiring young researchers looking to make a meaningful impact in their respective fields?

My main advice would be–do not be afraid to repurpose tools or ideas from other fields.

That is exactly what we did with resonant acoustic mixing. Originally, it was simply designed as an industrial mixer, but we explored its potential as a chemical reactor for organic synthesis. Some of the most exciting breakthroughs come from applying ideas in unexpected ways.

I would also encourage young researchers to stay curious and persistent. If you have an unconventional or “outside-the-box” idea, skepticism from others should not discourage you. Instead, it can become motivation to continue exploring your vision.

Meaningful scientific impact often comes from challenging traditional approaches and embracing interdisciplinary thinking.

7. What research directions in the field of synthetic chemistry do you think will receive more attention from the academic community in the coming years?

I strongly believe that scalable green chemistry will receive increasing attention in the coming years.

The scientific community has already demonstrated that sustainable methodologies can work effectively on both small and large laboratory scales. The next major challenge is implementing these methods at a true industrial scale, where traditional solvent-intensive processes are still dominant.

I also think that in situ monitoring techniques will become increasingly important. In our recent work with RAM, we used Raman spectroscopy and infrared thermography to monitor chemical and thermal changes in real time during reactions. These techniques allow us to understand reaction processes without interrupting them or adding solvents for analysis.

Overall, I believe future research will focus on developing more sustainable, efficient, and cost-effective synthetic processes, and hopefully solvent-free methodologies will eventually become the norm in many areas of chemistry.

8. As the winner of this award, is there something you want to express or someone you wish to thank most?

I would first like to sincerely thank Molbank and MDPI for supporting early-career researchers through initiatives such as this award. It truly means a lot.

I would also like to thank my supervisor, Prof. Tomislav Friščić, as well as all my colleagues at the University of Birmingham for their constant support and encouragement.

Finally, I would like to thank our collaborators at Genentech. Collaborations between academia and industry are essential for bridging fundamental research with real-world applications and for helping build a more sustainable future for chemistry.

Impact Factors measure how often articles in scientific journals are cited—specifically, the average number of citations received in a given year by articles published in that journal over the previous two years, as tracked in the Web of Science. For researchers, the number answers a practical question: how often is work published in this journal being picked up and built upon?

The metric is assigned to the journal as a whole, not to individual articles. A high Impact Factor tells you something useful about a journal's place in its field; it tells you less about any single paper within it.

For a complementary, article-level view, MDPI lists an Altmetric score on each article page. Where the Impact Factor tracks academic citations, the Altmetric score captures broader online attention: how an article is being shared, discussed, and referenced beyond the journal literature. Together, they offer two different ways of asking the same question: is this research reaching people?

With 2025 CiteScores from Scopus published a few weeks ago, Clarivate has now released this year's Journal Impact Factors in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR).

254 MDPI Journals Saw a Rise in Impact Factor

This year's JCR include 330 MDPI journals across a wide range of disciplines. Of these, 231 journals are placed in the top 50% (Q1 or Q2) of their respective subject categories, a result that spans fields as different as materials science, public health, environmental studies, and mathematics. 78 journals hold a top-quartile position (Q1), and 33 journals have a JIF of 5.0 or above.

• 330 journals earned a Journal Impact Factor (JIF)
• 29 journals earned a first JIF
• 254 journals had an increase in JIF
• 71% of ranked journals are in Q1 or Q2

For the full metrics on any MDPI journal, visit our Web of Science journals overview page or a journal's individual statistics page.

29 MDPI Journals Received Their First Journal Impact Factor

A first Impact Factor is a confirmation for an emerging journal. It marks the point at which a journal has been publishing long enough, and cited broadly enough, to enter the formal record of scientific influence. For the research communities those journals serve, it signals that the work being published is being read and built upon.

This year, 29 MDPI journals received a Journal Impact Factor for the first time, across a range of emerging and established research areas. Each represents years of editorial development and peer review—recognized in 2026 for the first time in the JCR.

This is also part of a longer shift in how science gets indexed. When the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) launched in 2016, 24 MDPI journals were included. By 2024 that number had grown to over 200, reflecting a broader change in the visibility of open access publishing within major citation tracking systems, not just at MDPI but across the sector.

Open Access with Impact

MDPI journals have received a total of 25.2 million citations in Web of Science. That figure matters less as a measure of MDPI's reach and more as a measure of what happens when research is freely available: it gets found, read, and used. Open access is only meaningful if the work actually travels and citations are one indicator that it does.

More than 4.6 million authors have published with MDPI. That breadth, across disciplines, institutions, and geographies, is what makes open access at this scale worth doing.

Thank You to the MDPI Scholarly Community

These results belong to the people who do the actual work: the Editors-in-Chief who set the standards, the Editorial Board Members and reviewers who hold them, and the authors who choose open access for their research. The numbers in the Journal Citation Reports are the downstream effect of decisions made at the desk, in the review, and at submission. Thank you for making them.

Data: 2025 Journal Impact Factors, Journal Citation Reports™ (Clarivate, 2026)

MDPI will be attending the 10th Tokyo Conference on Advanced Catalytic Science and Technology, from 18 to 23 August 2026, at Waseda University (Waseda Campus), Tokyo, Japan.

The conference provides an excellent opportunity for researchers interested in catalysis to exchange new ideas and explore the latest developments in the field.

We would be delighted to welcome you to our booth, where you can learn more about our journals and speak directly with our team. We will be exhibiting from 19 to 22 August.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Catalysts;
• Molecules;
• AppliedChem;
• Biomass;
• Chemistry;
• Compounds;
• Inorganics;
• Materials;
• Molbank;
• Organics;
• Photochem;
• Physchem;
• Sustainable Chemistry;
• C;
• Reactions;
• Surfaces.

If you plan to attend the forum, we encourage you to visit our booth and speak with our representatives. We look forward to meeting you in person and answering your questions.

For more information, please visit the official website: TOCAT10.

Conference: CCS - the 13th Natural Product Synthesis - Young Investigator Forum
Organization: Chinese Chemical Society
Date: 26–28 June 2026
Place: Qingdao, China

MDPI journals will participate in the CCS - The 13th Natural Product Synthesis - Young Investigator Forum as an exhibitor. The conference will take place in Qingdao, China, from 26 to 28 June 2026.

The following MDPI journals will be represented at the symposium:

• Marine Drugs;
• Phycology;
• Antioxidants;
• Chemistry;
• Compounds;
• Cosmetics;
• Laboratories;
• Molbank;
• Pharmaceuticals;
• Sci. Pharm..

If you are planning to attend this conference, please feel free to start a conversation with us. Our delegates are looking forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions you may have.

For more information about the conference, please visit https://www.chemsoc.org.cn/meeting/NPSYIF2026/.

The 2025 CiteScore metrics have been officially released by Scopus, and the results confirm what has become a consistent pattern for MDPI's journal portfolio: broad recognition across disciplines, steady improvement across the majority of ranked titles, and a growing presence at the top of subject category rankings.

CiteScore, published annually by Elsevier's Scopus database, measures the average citations received by articles published in a journal over a four-year window. As a complement to the Journal Impact Factor, which uses a two-year window based on the Web of Science database, CiteScore provides an alternative, long-term perspective on citation performance.

The 365 MDPI journals in Scopus (as of May 2026) are indexed across a wide range of subject categories, ensuring that open access research remains highly discoverable to a global readership through one of the most widely used platforms in academic publishing.

Data Summary (2025 CiteScores)

• New Additions: 41 MDPI journals received a CiteScore for the first time.
• Trending Upward: 234 of 322 previously ranked journals (73%) saw an increase in their CiteScore compared to last year.
• High Visibility: 314 journals (86%) rank in Q1 or Q2 in at least one subject category.
• Elite Performance: 42 journals rank in the top 10% of their subject categories.

Portfolio Performance

Among the 322 journals that held a CiteScore in 2024, 234 saw an increase this year. Quartile improvements outnumbered declines across the portfolio, with 52 journals moving to a higher quartile and only 20 seeing a decline. Furthermore, no previously ranked journals were removed. The 42 journals now ranked in the top 10% of their subject categories are drawn from a strong foundation of 178 journals holding a Q1 position.

With the large majority of our indexed portfolio ranked in the top half of research fields, researchers can confidently choose MDPI to meet funder mandates for high-quality, fully compliant Open Access publishing.

Exceptional Achievements for Foods and Life

Notably, both Foods and Life achieved a 99th percentile ranking in their respective subject categories for the 2025 CiteScores. This outstanding placement positions them as leading journals in their fields and highlights the high visibility and global impact of the open access research they publish.

Journal Metrics and Beyond

Journal-level metrics describe outlets, not individual articles. An increasing number of funders and institutions—including signatories of DORA and the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment—now explicitly encourage evaluation at the article level rather than by the journal in which research appears. MDPI supports this direction: we report CiteScore alongside the Journal Impact Factor, Journal Citation Indicator, and article-level usage data because no single number captures the full reach and contribution of published research.

Thank You

These results reflect the sustained effort of thousands of editors-in-chief, editorial board members, reviewers, and authors across every field MDPI serves. The metrics are the outcome; the work is yours.