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How to Cite Sources

ACS Style Guide

Developed by the American Chemical Society, this style may be used for research papers in the field of chemistry.

Each citation consists of two parts: the in-text citation, which provides brief identifying information within the text, and the reference list, a list of sources that provides full bibliographic information.

Formatting

  • Invert the names of all authors (the last name followed by initials).
  • Keep author names in the order they appear on the document.
  • Put semicolons between the names.

    Dillard, J. P.; Shen, L.
    Guastello, D.; Braun, S.; Gutierrez, J.; Johnston, K.; Olbinski, B.

  • For scholarly journals, put the year the work was published or produced in bold.

    Evans, D. A.; Fitch, D. M.; Smith, T. E.; Cee, V. J. Application of Complex Aldol Reactions to the Total Synthesis of Phorboxazole B. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2000, 122, 10033-10046.

  • For nonscientific magazines and newspapers, give the exact date of publication. Abbreviate the month, followed by the day of the month, a comma, the year, a comma, and the pagination. Do not bold the year.

    (Jan 2016, 2010, p H1.).

  • For books, do not bold the year of publication.
  • Journals
    • Capitalize the main words of titles and subtitles. Do not use quotation marks or italics.
    • Finish the component with a period.
    • Italicize journal titles. Abbreviate the journal title according to the Chemical Abstracts Service Source Index.
    • Example: Caruso, R. A.; Caruso, F. Multilayered Titania, Silica, and Laponite Nanoparticle Coatings on Polystyrene Colloidal Templates and Resulting Inorganic Hollow Spheres. Chem. Mater. 2001, 13, 400-409.
  • Books
    • Put the titles and subtitles of books in italics.
    • Finish the component with a semicolon.
    • Example: Morris, R. The Last Sorcerers: The Path from Alchemy to the Periodic Table; Joseph Henry Press: Washington, DC, 2003; pp 145-158.
  • Journals, Magazines, and Newspapers

    Caruso, R. A.; Caruso, F. Multilayered Titania, Silica, and Laponite Nanoparticle Coatings on Polystyrene Colloidal Templates and Resulting Inorganic Hollow Spheres. Chem. Mater. 2001, 13, 400-409.

    Mullin, R. Chem. Eng. News 2005, 83 (42), 7.

    2-15

    11771-11779

    • Put the volume number in italics, followed by a comma and pagination.
    • If the periodical has issues as well as volumes, put the issue number in parentheses after the volume number, before the comma, and not in italics.
    • Where possible, indicate the complete page range in the pagination. Do not put commas or spaces in paginations.
  • Books
    • Include the name of the publisher, and the place and year of publication in book references.

      American Chemical Society

      Cambridge, MA,

      Chichester, U.K.,

      Dordrecht, Netherlands,

      Paris,

      Gould, S. J. The Structure of Evolutionary Theory; Belknap Press: Cambridge, MA, 2002.

      • Put publisher names in normal typeface, not italicized, bolded, or abbreviated. Follow them with a colon.
      • For items published in the US, give the city and state of publication. For items published outside the US, give the city and country, unless it is a major world city. Follow the place of publication with a comma.
      • Put the year of publication in normal typeface, after the place of publication. Finish the component with a period at the end of a reference, or a semicolon if more information follows.

Examples

  • List authors by their last name, then a comma, then their first initial(s), e.g. Skinner, A.
  • Provide all the information you can find on a given item. Omit any pieces of a citation that do not apply to a particular item: for instance, the ACS Style Guide recommends providing series information and volume numbers, but don't worry about providing these for books that are not in a series or not multivolume works.

Book

Author 1; Author 2; etc. Title of Book, Edition Number; Series Information If Applicable; Publisher, Year. 

Examples

Chang, R. General Chemistry: The Essential Concepts, 12th ed.; McGraw-Hill, 2016.

Le Couteur, P.; Burreson, J. Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History; Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, 2003.

E-Book

Author 1; Author 2; Author 3; etc. Book Title, edition information; Series Information If Applicable; Publisher, Year. DOI or URL

Example

Lo, K. K. Luminescent and Photoactive Transition Metal Complexes as Biomolecular Probes and Cellular Reagents; Springer, 2015. https://librarysearch.williams.edu/permalink/f/s1eqoc/01WIL_ALMA51121331050002786 

Chapter in Book

Author 1; Author 2; etc. Title of Chapter. In Title of Book, Edition Number; Series Information, Volume Number; Publisher, Year; pp Pages Used. DOI or URL

Example

Gbalint-Kurti, G. G. Wavepacket Theory of Photodissociation and Reactive Scattering. In Advances in Chemical Physics, Vol. 128; Rice, S. A., Ed.; Wiley, 2004; pp 257.

Edited Book

Book Title, Edition Number; Editor 1, Editor 2, etc., Eds.; Series Information (if any); Publisher, Year. DOI or URL

Example

Mom the Chemistry Professor: Personal Accounts and Advice from Chemistry Professors Who Are Mothers, 2nd ed.; Woznack, K., Charlebois, A., Cole, R. S., Marzabadi, C. H., Webster, G., Eds.; Springer, 2018. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-78972-9

Book in Series

Author 1; Author 2; etc. Title of Chapter. In Title of Book; Editor 1, Editor 2, etc., Eds.; Series Information, Volume Number; Publisher, Year; pp Pages Used. DOI or URL

Example

Goh, S. L. Polymer Chemistry in an Undergraduate Curriculum. In Introduction of Macromolecular Science/Polymeric Materials into the Foundational Course in Organic Chemistry; ACS Symposium Series 1151; American Chemical Society, 2013; pp 113-127.

  • List authors' last names, followed by their initials. For multiple authors, place a semicolon between author names. 
  • Indent any lines beyond the first line of an entry. 

Electronic Journal Article

For online scholarly articles found electronically, use the following format:

Author 1; Author 2; Author 3; etc. Title of Article. Journal Abbreviation [Online] Year, Issue, Inclusive Pagination. Complete URL (accessed Date).

For articles found through an electronic database, include the database name in the citation. Replace the article's URL with that of the database.

Author 1; Author 2; Author 3; etc. Title of Article. Journal Abbreviation [Online], Date, Inclusive Pagination. Database Name. Complete URL of database (accessed Date).

For articles published online in advance of the print issue, use this format:

Author 1; Author 2; Author 3; etc. Title of Article. Journal Abbreviation [Online early access]. DOI. Published Online: Date. Complete URL (accessed Date).

Examples

Peacock-Lopez, E. Exact Solutions of the Quantum Double Square-Well Potential. Chem. Ed. [Online] 2007, 11, 383-393. http://chemeducator.org/bibs/0011006/11060383ep.htm (accessed Dec 6, 2018).

Begley, S. When Does Your Brain Stop Making New Neurons? Newsweek [Online] July 2, 2007, p 62. Expanded Academic Index. http:/galegroup.com (accessed Aug 23, 2007).

Chung, J.M. and Peacock-Lopez, E. Cross-diffusion in the Templator model of chemical self-replication. Phys. Lett. A [Online early access]. DOI:10.1016/j.physleta.2007.04.114. Published Online: June 12, 2007. http://www.sciencedirect.com (accessed Aug 23, 2007).

Magazine or Newspaper Article

For print nonscientific magazines and newspapers, use the following format: 

Author 1; Author 2; Author 3; etc. Title of Article. Title of Periodical, Complete Date, Pagination.

For newspapers, include "p." or "pp." before the page numbers. If the article appears on discontinuous pages, give all page numbers, separated by a comma. If retrieved online, include "Retrieved from" statement and the URL.

Examples

Manning, R. Super Organics. Wired, May 2004, pp 176-181.

General Website

Author, X (if any). Title of Site. URL (accessed Month Day, Year), other identifying information (if any).

Examples:

National Library of Medicine. Environmental Health & Toxicology. https://www.nlm.nih.gov/enviro/index.html (accessed Feb 04, 2020).

International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry Home Page. http://www.iupac.org/dhtml_home.html (accessed April 24, 2005).

Institutional or Agency Website

Author 1; Author 2; etc. Title of Document, Year. Title of Site. URL (accessed Month Day, Year).

Example:

Adrian, B.; Dooley, O.; Huang, C.; Levkowitz, M. Tackling Bed Bugs: A Starter Guide for Local Government, 2016. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Web site. http://npic.orst.edu/pest/bedbug/tacklingbbstarterguide.pdf (accessed Nov 19, 2010).

Subscript Numbers

Used for printed versions of ACS publications. When printed, the superscript numbers remain visible and are less distracting to the reader than parenthetical numbering.

  • At the end of the cited information:

    Fluoridated water as well as various fluroide products such as toothpaste provide fluoride ions necessary for remineralization.¹

  • Within the cited information:

    Rakita¹ states that fluroidated water as well as various fluoride products such as toothpaste provide fluoride ions necessary for remineralization.

Parenthetical Numbering 

Used when preparing manuscripts and submissions for ACS journals and books to be viewed digitally because it is easier to click on the numbers to view the full references. (1).

  • At the end of the cited information:

    Fluoridated water as well as various fluoride products such as toothpaste provide fluoride ions necessary for remineralization (1).

  • Within the cited information:

    Rakita (1) states that fluoridated water as well as various fluoride products such as toothpaste provide fluoride ions necessary for remineralization.

Author Name & Year of Publication 

Not currently used in ACS publications.

Note: for two authors, use "and": Rakita and Smith. For more than two authors use "et al.": Rakita et al.

  • At the end of the cited information:

    Fluoridated water as well as various fluoride products such as toothpaste provide fluoride ions necessary for remineralization (Rakita, 2004).

  • Within the cited information:

    Rakita states that fluoridated water as well as various fluoride products such as toothpaste provide fluoride ions necessary for remineralization (2004).

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