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Chemosphere is an established multidisciplinary environmental science journal published by Elsevier (print ISSN: 0045-6535; online ISSN: 1879-1298; ISO 4 abbreviation: Chemosphere). Established in 1972, the journal publishes research on environmental chemistry, environmental toxicology, chemical fate and transport, and hazardous substance management. In environmental testing and analytical science, laboratory data generated during laboratory environmental monitoring frequently informs the field studies and chemical transport models submitted to this publication.
Short answer
Chemosphere is a legitimate, high-volume peer-reviewed academic journal published by Elsevier that maintains active Q1 indexing in Scopus and comprehensive Crossref registration; however, it was formally delisted from Clarivate’s Web of Science Core Collection in December 2024 following an investigation into peer-review integrity and editorial quality.
How Chemosphere’s peer review works
According to Elsevier’s official editorial policy, Chemosphere operates under a single-anonymized (single-blind) peer-review model. Under this workflow, the reviewers know the authors’ identities, institutional affiliations, and country of origin from the manuscript text, but the reviewers’ identities remain concealed from the authors throughout the review process.
The manuscript evaluation follows sequential stages:
- Initial Editorial Screening: Submissions are first assessed by the Editor-in-Chief or handling subject editors to determine whether the manuscript aligns with the journal’s scope and satisfies basic scientific and ethical standards. Manuscripts lacking clear environmental mechanisms or chemical relevance are rejected without external review.
- External Evaluation: Manuscripts passing initial screening are assigned to independent peer reviewers with recognized subject-matter expertise. Reviewers evaluate experimental design, analytical precision, statistical soundness, and environmental conclusions.
- Editorial Determination: Handling editors synthesize referee feedback to issue an initial decision: accept, minor revision, major revision, or reject. Revised manuscripts typically return to the original reviewers before final editorial acceptance. Detailed standards for rigorous evaluation are outlined in the peer review term directory.
What is peer reviewed and what is not
Chemosphere publishes multiple contribution categories, but not all published content undergoes full external peer review. The editorial framework distinguishes between empirical research and administrative commentary:
| Content Type | External Peer Review | Editorial Workflow |
|---|---|---|
| Original Research Papers | Yes | Full single-anonymized peer review with multiple independent expert evaluations. |
| Review Articles | Yes | In-depth critical synthesis subjected to standard external peer review. |
| Short Communications | Yes | Brief empirical reports covering preliminary findings, evaluated via peer review. |
| Editorials and Special Issue Prefaces | No | Prepared and reviewed internally by the editorial board or guest editors. |
| Letters to the Editor | Varies | Evaluated by handling editors; may be shared with original authors for response. |
| Corrigenda and Errata | No | Post-publication correction notices verified by the editorial office. |
Indexing and recognised lists
The bibliographic indexing status of Chemosphere varies across major global discovery databases. Authors and institutions should evaluate indexing directly against their institutional evaluation criteria:
| Indexing Service / Database | Current Coverage Status | Verified Details & Metrics |
|---|---|---|
| Scopus (Elsevier) | Active | Continuous coverage from 1972 to present. Ranked in the top quartile (Q1) across Environmental Chemistry and Pollution categories. |
| Web of Science Core Collection (Clarivate) | Delisted (Discontinued) | Placed on hold in July 2023; officially delisted on December 16, 2024. Newly published articles do not receive Web of Science indexing or Journal Impact Factor tracking. |
| Crossref | Active | Over 49,800 registered Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) deposited under Elsevier BV, with active reference linking and metadata updates through Crossref DOI registration. |
| OpenAlex | Active | Open catalog record (ID: S203465130) showing over 50,700 recorded works, more than 2.48 million citations, a 2-year mean citedness of 11.51, and an h-index of 390. |
| DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals) | Not Indexed | Not eligible for DOAJ indexing because Chemosphere operates as a hybrid journal (subscription-based with open access publishing options) rather than a pure open access journal. |
How to check a specific article yourself
Because Chemosphere experienced changes in its indexing status, researchers, hiring committees, and research administrators must verify specific article records directly:
- Verify the Official DOI: Check the article’s Digital Object Identifier on Crossref or the publisher landing page. Ensure the DOI resolves to the official ScienceDirect domain.
- Check the Scopus Record: Search the article title or author identifiers in Scopus to verify that the specific volume and issue are indexed in Elsevier’s database.
- Inspect Web of Science Coverage Window: If Web of Science indexing is required for institutional compliance or grant reporting, check whether the article’s publication date falls before the December 16, 2024 delisting threshold. Articles published while the journal was indexed remain in historical Web of Science records, but subsequent content is excluded.
- Review Submission and Revision Timestamps: Examine the printed history on the PDF (Received, Revised, Accepted dates) to evaluate the duration of editorial review and peer appraisal.
- Confirm Laboratory and Analytical Quality: For analytical and testing data reported in the paper, confirm that the experimental procedures align with recognized quality frameworks, such as ISO 17025 calibration certificate interpretation standards.
Controversies or retractions
In July 2023, Clarivate placed Chemosphere “on hold” in the Web of Science Master Journal List. This designation indicated that the journal was undergoing re-evaluation due to concerns regarding editorial quality standards and publication integrity.
Subsequent investigations by Clarivate, alongside independent academic reporting by Retraction Watch, documented several integrity failures:
- Compromised Peer Review: Investigations identified coordinated manipulation of referee processes in select special issues, including undisclosed conflicts of interest among handling guest editors and reviewers.
- Authorship Manipulation and Paper Mills: Numerous papers exhibited hallmarks of paper-mill activity, including suspicious post-acceptance author additions and repetitive textual anomalies, resulting in expressions of concern and dozens of formal retractions.
- Clarivate Delisting: On December 16, 2024, Clarivate officially discontinued Chemosphere from the Web of Science Core Collection for failing to meet editorial quality benchmarks. As a result, the journal lost its Journal Impact Factor.
While delisting from Web of Science represents a severe reputational and indexing setback, it does not mean the journal is an illegitimate or fraudulent operation. Elsevier continues to manage Chemosphere under the ethical guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), implementing corrective editorial audits, retractions of compromised articles, and tightened oversight of special issues.
Frequently asked questions
What happened to Chemosphere?
Chemosphere was placed on hold in the Web of Science Master Journal List in July 2023 and officially delisted from the Web of Science Core Collection on December 16, 2024, due to editorial quality concerns and peer-review integrity investigations. It remains actively published by Elsevier and indexed in Scopus.
Is Chemosphere a good journal?
Chemosphere is historically one of the most prominent journals in environmental chemistry, with over 50,000 published works and an h-index of 390. However, its December 2024 delisting from Web of Science has substantially altered its standing for researchers whose institutions require Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) indexing for graduation, promotion, or grant compliance.
What is the ISSN number for the journal Chemosphere?
The print ISSN for Chemosphere is 0045-6535, and the online electronic ISSN is 1879-1298. The linking ISSN (ISSN-L) is 0045-6535.
Which Elsevier journal has the highest impact factor?
Across Elsevier’s broader publishing portfolio, medical journals such as The Lancet carry the highest Clarivate Journal Impact Factors. Within environmental science and energy engineering, Elsevier journals such as Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews and Applied Catalysis B: Environment and Energy maintain leading citation impact metrics.
Is Chemosphere a Q1 journal?
In Scopus, Chemosphere is classified as a Q1 journal across Environmental Chemistry, Pollution, and Environmental Engineering categories. However, in Web of Science, it does not currently hold a journal quartile or Journal Impact Factor due to its December 2024 discontinuation.
Sources
- OpenAlex API. “Chemosphere Journal Profile and Citation Metrics (S203465130).” https://api.openalex.org/sources/S203465130 (2026).
- Crossref Metadata API. “Journal Title and DOI Deposit Summary for ISSN 0045-6535.” https://api.crossref.org/journals/0045-6535 (2026).
- Elsevier. “Chemosphere: Guide for Authors and Peer Review Policy.” ScienceDirect, https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/chemosphere (2026).
- Clarivate. “Web of Science Master Journal List: Editorial Re-evaluation and Journal De-listing Notices.” Clarivate Analytics, December 2024.
- Retraction Watch. “Elsevier Journal Chemosphere Delisted from Web of Science.” Retraction Watch Database, December 2024.
- Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). “Search Records for ISSN 0045-6535.” https://doaj.org/api/v3/search/journals/0045-6535 (2026).
