Welcome to 2024

In recent years, I have written in editorials about the damages and challenges posed by COVID-19 in the context of publishing a scientific journal. On one hand, lockdowns and restricted access to laboratories have created a less-than-ideal working atmosphere for students and supervisors. In addition, we have seen issues related to science denial, vaccine skepticism, etc. This has reflected in an accentuated impact in the science developed all over the world, and as a consequence, generated a drop in the number of papers submitted and published in our journal, particularly in 2023, where the number of published papers experienced a decline compared to previous years.

In tandem with these challenges, our journal faced a decrease in its impact factor from 2.135 in 2022 to 1.4 in 2023, according to JCR (Journal Citation Reports, Clarivate). However, the CiteScore (Elsevier) noteworthy increased, rising from 3.3 in 2022 to 3.8 in 2023. It is hard to predict the future, but we anticipate challenges in the coming years. Nevertheless, we are actively implementing initiatives that will aid us in overcoming difficulties.

In response to this situation, we have been keeping the organization and publication of special numbers on thematic subjects. With substantial positive reception, we published in 2023 a number on “Chromatographic Methods and Related Techniques” containing 18 papers on this topic. This thematic was brilliantly supervised by Prof Dr Andréa Rodrigues Chaves (JBCS Editor) from UFG (Brazil) and Prof Dr Carla Beatriz Grespan Bottoli (Guest Editor) from Unicamp (Brazil).

For the coming year, two other special issues are being carefully planned, one on Medicinal Chemistry and a second on Solid State Chemistry. We are optimistic that these two special issues will bring to the journal a large number of good papers, contributing to a high-quality scientific discussion on the proposed themes.

I have some news for 2024. Starting from the first number, JBCS 35-01, the papers in our journal pass to be numbered using elocation-id (electronic location identifier). Each paper receives its unique identification number, discontinuing the use of sequentially numbered issues, in alignment with the publication recommendation from SciELO.¹ We are currently in the process of advancing to the second phase of this publication recommendation, transitioning towards a ‘Build Online’ format. We are in communication with the Web of Science to ensure the promptest and most effective means of enhancing visibility for our articles.

Also in this first issue of 2024, we are making a minor adjustment to the paper layout by introducing the JBCS logo and gray background at the top of the first page. This change is aimed at emphasizing the distinction of our journal’s name.

I would like to thank the Board of Directors and the Council of the Brazilian Chemical Society,² the Editors, Authors, and Reviewers for the amazing support during the last year, and I am confident that the dedication of this outstanding team will persist throughout 2024. Special thanks to the JBCS Editorial Office that has so bravely worked for the maintenance and the high level of our publication.

Finally, I am certain that you will enjoy reading JBCS in 2024, and I encourage you to contribute by submitting quality papers to support our journal.

References

• ¹
  Scientific Electronic Library Online, www.scielo.br, accessed in December 2023.
  » www.scielo.br
• ²
  Sociedade Brasileira de Química, https://www.sbq.org.br/, accessed in December 2023.
  » https://www.sbq.org.br/

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  05 Jan 2024
• Date of issue
  Jan 2024