Author Guidelines

The journal covers analytical methods and their validation; synthesis and modification of materials; isolation, analysis, and modification of biomolecules; organic and inorganic synthesis; theoretical and computational chemistry; and chemical applications in environmental and energy research. Interdisciplinary studies must establish a substantive chemical contribution.

• Research Articles report complete original studies with sufficient evidence to evaluate the principal conclusions.
• Communications report concise original findings; brevity must not compromise methodological detail or supporting evidence.
• Reviews critically evaluate a defined field, identify limitations in the evidence, and develop a reasoned perspective. Reviews are considered at the request of the Editorial Board; prospective authors should contact the editor with an outline.

Submit the manuscript in clear English using the current JRK Word template. Use a single column, Times New Roman 11 pt, and 1.5 line spacing; follow the template for margins. Add page numbers and continuous line numbers to support review. Use editable text, equations, and tables. Define abbreviations at first use and use SI units and consistent chemical nomenclature.

The existing general manuscript length is 2,000–3,000 words. Authors should contact the editor before submission when the study or an invited review requires a longer text. Essential methodological information must remain available in the manuscript or Supporting Information.

Submit through the JRK online submission system. Enter complete author metadata in the system, even when it is removed from the review manuscript.

• Title page: title; full author names without academic degrees; affiliations and countries; corresponding author email; ORCID identifiers where available; contributions; funding; acknowledgements; and complete competing interests and ethics declarations.
• Anonymized manuscript: remove names, affiliations, identifying acknowledgements, and identifying file metadata. Cite previous work normally in the third person. Use an anonymized declaration where a funding or ethics statement would reveal author identity; supply complete details separately to the editor.
• Cover letter: explain the chemical contribution and fit to JRK; confirm originality, exclusive submission, and approval by all authors; disclose related manuscripts, prior dissemination, and any relevant conflicts.
• Supporting Information where needed: include additional procedures, characterization, underlying numerical data, spectra, calculations, and supplementary figures. Remove identifying metadata from reviewer files.
• Permissions and ethics: provide permissions for reused material and any ethics approvals or reporting documentation required for the study. Provide confidential documents to the editor separately.

Title and abstract

Use a concise, informative title without unsupported novelty claims. Provide a single-paragraph abstract of no more than 250 words, followed by up to six specific keywords. State the purpose, approach, principal quantitative findings where relevant, and conclusion. Avoid citations and undefined abbreviations.

Introduction

Establish the chemical problem, assess relevant prior evidence, identify the unresolved question, and state the objective. Explain the contribution without claiming that the work is the first unless the claim can be substantiated.

Materials and Methods

Describe materials, sampling, experimental design, controls, procedures, instruments, and analysis in enough detail for repetition. Identify reagent purity or grade, relevant suppliers, instrument models, operating conditions, and modifications to cited methods. Report concentrations, quantities, temperatures, durations, yields, and calculation procedures where relevant.

Results and Discussion

Present results in a logical order and interpret them against appropriate literature. Explain uncertainty, alternative interpretations, and limitations. Separate measured observations from inferred mechanisms. Results and Discussion may be combined or separated when this improves clarity.

Conclusions

Answer the research objective using the evidence presented. State the contribution and material limitations. Do not introduce new results or claim applications that were not evaluated.

End matter

Provide acknowledgements, author contributions, funding, competing interests, ethics statements where applicable, a data availability statement, any AI disclosure, and references. Restore complete identifying information in the final accepted version.

Compound identification

Support the identity and purity of new compounds using appropriate complementary characterization. Provide interpretable spectra and assignments, relevant acquisition conditions, and the basis for purity assessment. For natural products, document biological source, taxonomic identification, extraction, isolation, and evidence distinguishing known from new compounds.

Materials and performance

Report synthesis conditions, composition, and characterization appropriate to the claims. Describe test conditions, controls, normalization, and the basis for comparison with published performance. Morphology alone is insufficient to establish chemical composition or a proposed mechanism.

Analytical methods

Document sampling, preparation, calibration, blanks, and quality control. Report validation characteristics relevant to intended use, such as selectivity, working range, precision, recovery, detection and quantification limits, and uncertainty. State calculation methods and avoid assuming linearity from a correlation coefficient alone.

Biological assays

Identify organisms or cell models, provenance and authentication where relevant, treatment conditions, negative and positive controls, dose ranges, and independent replication. Distinguish screening results from demonstrated mechanisms or therapeutic effectiveness.

Computational work

State software and versions, model assumptions, input structures, parameters, convergence criteria, and validation procedures. Supply input files and code when needed to evaluate the claims. Docking scores alone do not establish binding affinity or biological activity.

Statistics

Define experimental units, sample sizes, and biological versus technical replicates. Explain exclusions, statistical tests, assumptions, and multiple-comparison procedures where applicable. Define every error bar and report effect sizes or uncertainty where informative. Do not treat technical replicates as independent experimental units.

Number figures, schemes, and tables in order of citation. Place figure captions below figures and table captions above tables. Define symbols, abbreviations, scale bars, sample sizes, and error bars in captions. Make tables editable and avoid duplicating the same dataset in a table and a graph.

Use legible labels and chemically correct structures with consistent stereochemistry, charges, and atom labels. Supply publication-quality files; a recommended minimum is 300 dpi for photographs and 600 dpi for line drawings at final size, or a suitable vector format. Retain unprocessed images and spectra. Disclose image processing and any assembly of separate panels; do not selectively alter features or omit contradictory data.

Supporting Information must be cited in the main text, organized with descriptive headings, and supplied with captions and explanations. Essential findings and their interpretation belong in the main article. A graphical abstract may be supplied if requested by the editor; it must accurately represent the work.

Number references in order of first citation and use superscript numbers in square brackets, following the JRK template and reference style. Include complete bibliographic details, article titles, page ranges or article numbers, and DOI where available. Cite datasets and software used in the study. Verify every reference against its source; distinguish preprints from peer-reviewed work. Select references for relevance and evidence, without compulsory citations to JRK, the authors, or reviewers.

Reference patterns

• Journal article: Author(s). Article title. Journal abbreviation, volume(issue): pages or article number (year). DOI.
• Book: Author(s). Book title, edition. Publisher (year).
• Chapter: Author(s). Chapter title. In Book title, editor(s), publisher, pages (year).
• Dataset or software: Creator(s). Title, version, repository (year). Persistent identifier.
• Web source: Author or organization. Page title. URL and access date.

Include a Data Availability statement explaining where the evidence underlying the findings can be accessed, preferably through a suitable repository with a persistent identifier. Share numerical source data, spectra, and relevant computational files where possible. Explain legitimate legal, ethical, or commercial restrictions and the access procedure. A statement that data are available on request must identify what is available and why unrestricted deposit is not possible. Editors may request underlying records during assessment.

Authorship and competing interests

All authors must have made a substantive contribution, approved the submitted version, and accept responsibility for their work. Describe contributions, preferably using CRediT roles. Disclose financial and non-financial competing interests, funding sources and grant numbers, and the role of sponsors. Requests to change authorship must include a reason and agreement of affected authors and are subject to editorial assessment.

Ethics, permits and safety

Provide the approving committee, approval identifier, and consent information for studies involving humans or animals, where applicable. Document collection permits, access and benefit-sharing requirements, and relevant biosafety arrangements. Identify unusual chemical or procedural hazards and describe appropriate precautions.

Research integrity

Do not submit fabricated, falsified, plagiarized, or redundantly published work. Disclose related publications, thesis-derived material, and preprints, and follow the journal’s prior-dissemination policy. Reuse requires appropriate citation and permissions where necessary. Similarity reports inform editorial assessment; a percentage alone does not determine misconduct.

Use of AI

AI systems cannot be authors. Disclose substantive generative AI use, identifying the tool, purpose, and the authors’ verification. Describe AI used in research methods sufficiently for evaluation. Authors are responsible for all claims, references, data, and images, including AI-assisted material. Do not use AI to invent evidence or upload confidential third-party material without authorization.

JRK uses double-anonymous peer review, normally with at least two qualified reviewers for manuscripts sent to external review. Editors first assess scope, basic completeness, originality, and ethical concerns. Manuscripts may be returned for correction or declined before external review. Reviewers advise the editor; the editorial decision considers the evidence and responses and is not determined by a vote.

For revision, submit a clean manuscript, a version showing changes, and a point-by-point response identifying page and line locations. Explain respectfully any disagreement and provide supporting evidence. Meet the deadline stated in the decision letter or request an extension. Acceptance is not guaranteed by revision. Check proofs carefully and promptly; substantive changes after acceptance require editorial assessment. Authors should report significant errors discovered after publication to the editor.

The published JRK fee page lists an IDR 250,000 submission fee and an IDR 1,500,000 publication charge after acceptance. Check the current Publication Fees and Author Fees policies for payment instructions and any waivers. Payment does not determine acceptance.

Published articles use the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence; authors retain copyright under the journal’s licensing policy. Obtain appropriate permission for third-party material that cannot be covered by this licence.