Sixty years of Radiochimica Acta: a brief overview with emphasis on the last 10 years

Abstract

Abstract On the occasion of the diamond jubilee of Radiochimica Acta (RCA), this article briefly describes the progress made by the journal during the last 10 years; a detailed account of the developments during the first 50 years having been given earlier ( Radiochimica Acta 2012, 100, 483–492). Publishing responsibility for the journal was taken over in 2014 by Walter De Gruyter, a traditional German publishing company founded in 1749. This allowed RCA also to maintain its established traditional standard of publishing. Being broad-based, the journal encompasses all chemical aspects of nuclear science and technology. It has kept pace with the changing trends in radiochemical research. Today, besides fundamental nuclear chemistry, applied topics, such as chemical behaviour and mobility of actinides and fission products, accelerator-based radiochemistry, development of novel radiochemical techniques, study of radiation chemical effects, etc., are well represented. The journal is supported by a group of international Editors and Advisors who are distinguished radiochemists themselves. It follows a strict peer-review system and is assisted by a network of about 500 referees. About 200 manuscripts are received per year, out of which 40–45% are rejected. The impact factor (IF) of RCA is comparable to those of other radiochemistry-related journals, but the cited half-life (CHL) of RCA is by far the highest of all related journals. A list of top highly cited 100 articles has been provided alongside this article. In the past, most of the articles originated from Europe and North America, but in recent years the number of contributions from China and several developing countries has been increasing. All articles are published in English, and the journal is presently available to read both online and in a printed format.