Here are some basic guidelines for ACS style citations. For more technical or specific questions, the ACS Guide has a solution for practically any situation you might encounter.
For in-text references, there are three ways you can cite materials. Choosing between the 3 could be up to your professor's preference, a journal's style (for submission), or your own preference, just be consistent. A journal using each style is linked for browsing so you can get a sense of what it looks like.
- Footnotes, eg. This is the style most ACS journals use.1 (Accounts of Chemical Research)
- Parenthetical numbers in italics referring to a numbered list at the end of the paper, eg. This is the second most common style ACS journals use (2). (ACS Chemical Biology)
- Author name and year of publication in parentheses ("Author-date"). eg. This is not a style any ACS journals use but is still an accepted form of citations (Coghill et al., 2006).
For Reference lists, you will either compile a list in numerical order based on your footnotes or parenthetical numbers, or in alphabetical order based on author name. This is a brief list of possible sources you may use and examples of a citation for those sources. Please consult the full ACS guide for any other source type you might need to cite.
Specific types and Examples
- Journal article citations must include: author name(s), abbreviated journal title, year of publication, volume number (if any), and initial page of cited article (if not the complete span). For more information on journal abbreviations.
- Format: Author 1; Author 2; Author 3; etc. Title of Article. Journal Abbreviation Year, Volume, Inclusive Pagination.
- Example: Pearson, W. Platinum Theft. Ind. Eng. Chem. 1915, 7(4), pp. 358.
- Online journal articles
- Format: Author 1; Author 2; Author 3; etc. Title of Article. Journal Abbreviation [Online] Year, Volume, Pagination. URL (accessed Month Day, Year).
- Example: García, G.; Aparicio, S.; Ullah, R.; Atilhan, M. Deep Eutectic Solvents: Physicochemical Properties and Gas Separation Applications. Energy Fuels [Online] 2015, 29, 2616–2644. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/ef5028873 (accessed Aug 29, 2018).
- Books
- Format: Author 1; Author 2; Author 3; etc. Book Title, Edition number: Series Information (if any); Publisher: Place of Publication, Year; Volume Number, Pagination.
- Example: Browne, C.; Weeks, M. A History of the American Chemical Society, Seventy-Five Eventful Years; American Chemical Society: Washington, D.C., 1952; pp. 425-457.
- Patents
- Format: Patent Owner 1; Patent Owner 2; etc. Title of Patent. Patent Number, Date.
- Example: Adams, D.; Calcoen, J.; Justice, T.; Richert, G. Method and apparatus for sorting. U.S. Patent 9,517,491, December 13, 2016.