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Researchers and authors searching for tetrahedron lett need clear verification of the journal’s official identity, scope, indexing, and submission workflow. As the rapid-communication branch of Elsevier’s Tetrahedron family, Tetrahedron Letters publishes preliminary research across synthetic organic chemistry. This guide outlines the journal’s publishing framework on ScienceDirect, submission rules, indexing status, and practical alternatives.
What it is
Tetrahedron Letters (abbreviated in citation indexes as Tetrahedron Lett.) is an international peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the rapid publication of short communications in organic chemistry. Founded in March 1959 under Pergamon Press and later acquired by Elsevier, the periodical was created to give organic chemists a dedicated venue for reporting preliminary findings of broad scientific interest.
The journal operates under registered serial identifiers across international bibliographic databases:
- Print ISSN: 0040-4039
- Electronic ISSN (e-ISSN): 1873-3581
- NLM Unique ID: 2984819R (Medline abbreviation: Tetrahedron Lett)
- Scopus Source ID: 26514
- Crossref Archive: Over 105,000 digital object identifiers registered continuously from 1959 to the present
In academic literature, authors refer to the title as tetrahedron letters or the tetrahedron letters journal. While its companion title, Tetrahedron, focuses on comprehensive full-length papers, Tetrahedron Letters prioritizes concise reports that establish priority and communicate innovative methodology.
Who runs it and what it covers
Tetrahedron Letters is published by Elsevier Ltd from Oxford, United Kingdom. Hosted digitally on ScienceDirect, the journal issues weekly content consisting of short communications, concise reviews, and perspective articles.
Editorial Scope and Core Subject Areas
The journal covers theoretical and practical advances across organic and organometallic chemistry, with primary remits including:
- Synthetic Methodology: Novel reaction transformations, reagent developments, atom-economical procedures, and cascade reactions.
- Catalytic Systems: Asymmetric catalysis, transition-metal catalysis, organocatalysis, biocatalysis, photocatalysis, and electrocatalysis.
- Total Synthesis and Natural Products: Concise synthetic routes toward bioactive natural products and complex architectures.
- Chemical Biology and Medicinal Synthesis: Molecular probes, bioconjugates, pharmaceutical leads, and bioorganic synthesis.
- Functional Organic Materials: Molecular switches, macrocycles, organic electronics, and supramolecular chemistry.
- Computational and AI-Driven Synthesis: Machine learning, reaction route prediction, and density functional theory supporting synthesis.
Published research centers on fundamental laboratory synthesis. When experimental discoveries advance toward pilot manufacturing, process safety, and reaction scale-up, researchers typically consult applied journals such as Organic Process Research & Development.
How to search or use it
Navigating Tetrahedron Letters involves using Elsevier’s digital tools for literature discovery and manuscript administration. The following step-by-step workflow outlines how to search, access, and submit articles using official interfaces:
- Locate the Journal Portal: Open the Tetrahedron Letters homepage on ScienceDirect. Where to find the sign-in link is located in the top-right header, allowing institutional access through IP authentication, OpenAthens, or individual profile credentials.
- Run Targeted Literature Searches: In the ScienceDirect search banner, select “Advanced search”. Filter by journal title or ISSN (0040-4039) to restrict keyword queries (such as reaction names, reagents, or catalytic mechanisms) directly to Tetrahedron Letters papers.
- Retrieve Articles by Identifier: When referencing literature from citation managers or chemical databases, input the complete Digital Object Identifier. The standard protocol for resolving a DOI through Crossref enables direct access to published communications and historical backfile issues.
- Browse Recent Releases and In-Press Material: Navigate to “Articles in press” to view peer-reviewed manuscripts that have been accepted and formatted as pre-proofs ahead of formal volume assignment, or open “All issues” to explore volumes back to 1959.
- Review Submission Specifications: Authors should consult the official “Guide for authors” on ScienceDirect to review word limits, graphic dimensions, and supporting data guidelines.
- Prepare the Mandatory Graphical Abstract: Tetrahedron Letters requires a graphical abstract with every manuscript submission. The graphic must present a concise visual summary of the chemical reaction, reagents, yields, or selectivity for table-of-contents listings.
- Apply the “Your Paper Your Way” Submission Protocol: For initial review, authors may submit a single Word or PDF file with embedded figures and tables, deferring specialized typesetting and strict reference styling until post-review revision.
- Submit via Editorial Manager: Select “Submit your paper” on the journal homepage to access Elsevier’s Editorial Manager platform. Log in, define author contribution roles following standard CRediT author statement samples, upload required manuscript files, and approve the generated submission PDF.
Strengths and limits
Authors and evaluators consider several operational strengths and limitations when considering Tetrahedron Letters:
Operational Strengths
- Rapid Publication Trajectory: The journal’s concise format minimizes review latency to establish scientific priority in competitive research domains.
- Deep Historical Archive: Continuous publication since 1959 provides an extensive archive of over 105,000 indexed DOIs documenting modern synthetic methods.
- Broad Global Indexing: The journal is indexed comprehensively in Scopus, Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE / Web of Science Core Collection), and PubMed/NLM Catalog.
- Flexible Initial Submission: Elsevier’s “Your Paper Your Way” format simplifies initial submission by removing initial formatting barriers.
Editorial and Practical Limits
- Article Length Restrictions: The communication format mandates brevity; extensive reaction optimizations and detailed characterization suites belong in full-article journals.
- Hybrid Open Access Costs: While traditional subscription publishing carries no author-facing page fees, authors electing immediate gold open access incur an Article Publishing Charge (APC) of $3,610 USD.
- Metric Benchmarking: In an evolving publishing landscape, researchers evaluating journal quartile rankings or assessing how to look up a journal’s impact factor should benchmark the journal against organic chemistry subfields rather than broad multidisciplinary indices.
Alternatives
Authors seeking to publish synthetic organic chemistry communications or readers surveying rapid literature have several peer-reviewed alternatives that share overlapping scopes with Tetrahedron Letters. The table below compares key publication dimensions based on official publisher specifications:
| Journal / Venue | Publisher | Primary Format | Review Focus | Publication Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tetrahedron Letters | Elsevier | Short communications, concise reviews, perspectives | Rapid preliminary reporting across synthetic organic chemistry | Hybrid (Subscription or $3,610 USD APC) |
| Organic Letters | American Chemical Society (ACS) | Brief research communications (letters) | Urgent, high-impact discoveries in organic and bioorganic chemistry | Hybrid (Subscription or author-choice OA APC) |
| Chemical Communications (ChemComm) | Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) | Urgent short communications | Broad chemical sciences communications requiring rapid dissemination | Hybrid (Subscription or gold OA APC) |
| Synlett | Georg Thieme Verlag | Short papers, accounts, letters | Preliminary reports and emerging concepts in synthetic chemistry | Hybrid (Subscription or open access option) |
| Tetrahedron | Elsevier | Full original research articles, comprehensive reports | Complete experimental data, detailed methodology, and total syntheses | Hybrid (Subscription or gold OA APC) |
FAQ
What does the abbreviation “Tetrahedron Lett.” stand for?
Tetrahedron Lett. is the official ISO 4 and NLM bibliographic title abbreviation for Tetrahedron Letters, published by Elsevier under ISSN 0040-4039. It is the standard citation format used in journal reference lists and indexing databases.
Who publishes the Tetrahedron Letters journal?
Tetrahedron Letters is published by Elsevier Ltd. Articles are hosted digitally on ScienceDirect, with manuscript submission and peer-review operations managed through Elsevier’s Editorial Manager platform.
Is Tetrahedron Letters open access or subscription-based?
The journal operates as a hybrid journal. Authors can publish standard research articles under subscription access with no author fees, or elect immediate gold open access upon payment of an Article Publishing Charge of $3,610 USD (as established in Elsevier’s official fee schedules).
Does Tetrahedron Letters require a graphical abstract?
Yes. Elsevier mandates that every manuscript submitted to Tetrahedron Letters must include a graphical abstract. This visual element summarizes the chemical transformation, reagents, or mechanism in an easily scannable format for table-of-contents listings and search indexing.
Where is Tetrahedron Letters indexed?
Tetrahedron Letters is indexed across major international scientific databases, including Clarivate’s Science Citation Index Expanded (Web of Science Core Collection), Scopus (Source ID 26514), PubMed/NLM Catalog (ID 2984819R), and Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS).
Sources
The factual data, serial identifiers, scope descriptions, and operational protocols in this guide were verified against official publisher and indexing documentation on November 9, 2026:
- National Library of Medicine (NLM) Catalog: Tetrahedron letters record (NLM Unique ID 2984819R; Medline TA: Tetrahedron Lett; ISSN 0040-4039). Verified at ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/2984819R on November 9, 2026.
- Crossref Journal Metadata Registry: Tetrahedron Letters deposit record (ISSN 0040-4039, 105,694 total DOIs). Verified via Crossref API at api.crossref.org/journals/0040-4039 on November 9, 2026.
- Elsevier Serial Title Metadata API: Tetrahedron Letters profile (ISSN 0040-4039, e-ISSN 1873-3581, Scopus Source ID 26514, Open Access Type: Hybrid). Verified at api.elsevier.com/content/serial/title/issn/0040-4039 on November 9, 2026.
- ISSN International Centre: Record for ISSN 0040-4039 (Key title: Tetrahedron letters; Center: Netherlands). Verified at portal.issn.org/resource/ISSN/0040-4039 on November 9, 2026.
- Elsevier Guide for Authors and Scope Documentation: Official Tetrahedron Letters submission guidelines, graphical abstract requirements, and open access pricing schedules ($3,610 USD). Verified on November 9, 2026.
