What Is an ACS Citation Generator?
An ACS citation generator is a free online citation tool that turns the details of a source into a reference formatted to American Chemical Society (ACS) style. The tool writes the author initials and semicolons, sets the bold year and the italic volume, adds the Digital Object Identifier (DOI), and gives the matching in-text citation in the format you pick.
Chemistry students use this ACS citation maker for a lab report, a thesis, or a dissertation. Researchers in chemistry, biochemistry, chemical engineering, and materials science use it for manuscripts and posters that follow ACS style.
What Is ACS Style?
ACS style is the citation and writing style of the American Chemical Society, set out in The ACS Guide to Scholarly Communication. Each American Chemical Society citation has 2 parts: a reference list entry that describes the source so a reader can find it, and an in-text citation that points to that source from the sentence that uses it. ACS style offers 3 in-text formats, and all 3 share one reference format.
Parts of an ACS Reference
A journal article reference in ACS style has 5 parts: the authors, the article title, the journal with its volume and issue, the year, and the location, which is a page range, an article number, or a DOI. The color-coded reference below shows how to cite a journal article in ACS, part by part.
Reference list entry
(1) Perspective on integrating machine learning into computational chemistry and materials science. Journal of Chemical Physics 2021, 154 (23), 230903. DOI: 10.1063/5.0047760
In ACS format, the bold year between the journal name and the volume is the detail readers spot first. Article titles keep the capitalization of the published article and take no quotation marks.
ACS vs. APA, MLA, and Chicago
The ACS citation style differs from APA, MLA, and Chicago in 3 ways: it numbers sources by default, it separates authors with semicolons, and it prints the journal year in bold. The table compares a citation of a 2018 article by Maria Lopez in each style.
| Style | In-text citation | Order of the list | Between author names |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACS, numbered | Superscript number1 or (1) | Order of first citation | Semicolons |
| ACS, author-date | (Lopez, 2018) | Alphabetical | Semicolons |
| APA | (Lopez, 2018) | Alphabetical | Commas and & |
| MLA | (Lopez 51) | Alphabetical | Comma and “and” |
| Chicago notes | Superscript note number1 | Alphabetical bibliography | Commas and “and” |
How to Use Our ACS Citation Generator
To use the ACS citation generator, follow these 6 steps at the top of the page:
- Choose the in-text style
Pick Superscript numbers, Italic numbers, or Author-Date. Superscript numbers is selected by default and matches most ACS journals.
- Pick the source type
Website, Book, Journal, and Video have their own tabs. Open More for the other 40 source types, from patents and datasets to theses and AI tools.
- Search for the source
Type a book or article title and pick your source from the results, or paste an identifier or a web address and press Cite. The form fills in by itself.
- Check the details
Compare the author initials, the volume, and the pages with the source. Type an abbreviated journal title, if your instructor asks for one, and add a city only for a small publisher.
- Copy the citation
Press Copy to paste the reference into your paper.
- Build the reference list
Press Add to references. Numbered styles list sources as (1), (2), (3) in the order you add them, and Author-Date sorts them by the first author's surname. Press Copy all to paste the whole list.
Autocite and Copy to Word or Google Docs
The ACS citation generator fills the form from 6 kinds of search: a book or article title, a DOI, an International Standard Book Number (ISBN), an arXiv ID, a PubMed ID (PMID), or a YouTube or Vimeo link. Titles and identifiers fill from Crossref, DataCite, PubMed, and Open Library. Paste any other web address, and the tool reads the title, author, site name, and date that the page states; a few sites block this, and then only the link is added.
Copied references keep their bold and italics in Microsoft Word and Google Docs. The tool formats citations for one paper at a time and does not export BibTeX or RIS files. Reference managers such as Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote keep long-term libraries and offer ACS output styles.
How to Cite Sources in ACS Style
To cite a source in ACS style, mark the sentence that uses it with a number or an author and year, then give its full details in the reference list at the end of the paper. In the ACS citation format, each source keeps one number for the whole paper, even when you cite it again 10 pages later.
ACS Reference Templates by Source Type
ACS reference templates show how to cite in ACS style for 11 common source types. The templates follow the ACS Style Quick Guide.
| Source | Reference template |
|---|---|
| Journal article | Author, A. A.; Author, B. B. Article Title. Journal Year, Volume (Issue), first–last page. DOI: number |
| Book | Author, A. A. Book Title, Edition; Publisher, Year. |
| Edited book | Book Title; Editor, A. A., Ed.; Publisher, Year. |
| Book chapter | Author, A. A. Chapter Title. Book Title; Editor, A. A., Ed.; Publisher, Year; pp first–last. |
| Web page | Author, A. A. Page Title. Website Name, Month Day, Year. URL |
| Newspaper | Author, A. A. Headline. Newspaper, Month Day, Year. URL |
| Thesis | Author, A. A. Title. Ph.D. Dissertation, University, Year. URL |
| Patent | Inventor, A. A. Title. Patent number, Year. |
| Preprint | Author, A. A.; Author, B. B. Title. Preprint Server, Month Day, Year. DOI: number |
| Dataset | Author, A. A. Dataset Title (Dataset). Repository, Month Day, Year. DOI: number |
| Technical report | Author, A. A. Report Title, Report Number; Publisher: City, ST, Year. URL |
A preprint server is a site such as ChemRxiv, and a repository is a data archive such as Dryad or Zenodo. Chemistry papers often cite 2 more source types. A safety data sheet (SDS) reference names the chemical, its CAS Registry Number (CAS RN), the product number, the version, the manufacturer, and the date. A handbook entry, such as one from the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, gives the entry title, the handbook, its edition, the editor, the publisher, and the year.
How to Write Author Names in ACS
To write author names in ACS style, give the surname, a comma, and the initials, and put a semicolon between names. An ACS citation lists multiple authors in the order the source gives them, up to 10 names. For 11 or more, list the first ten authors, then a semicolon and et al.
- Two given names: Reinhard J. Maurer becomes Maurer, R. J.
- A hyphenated given name: Xiao-Feng Qin becomes Qin, X.-F.
- A suffix: Kenneth M. Merz Jr. becomes Merz, K. M., Jr.
- An organization: American Chemical Society stays American Chemical Society.
- Editors: the names follow the book title and end with Ed. for one editor or Eds. for 2 or more.
Type an organization under Last name in the generator and leave First name empty.
Journal Titles and CASSI Abbreviations
ACS style accepts the full journal title or its CAS Source Index (CASSI) abbreviation. The Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) runs CASSI, a free search tool that gives the standard short form of each journal, such as J. Am. Chem. Soc. for the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS).
The generator prints the journal name exactly as you type it and never shortens a title by itself. A guessed abbreviation can point a reader to the wrong journal. Look the title up in CASSI and type the short form in the Journal field, when your instructor or journal wants abbreviated titles.
DOIs, URLs, and Access Dates
ACS ends a reference with a link in one of 2 forms: a DOI written as DOI: 10.xxxx, or a URL. Paste a DOI as https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0047760 or as 10.1063/5.0047760, and the generator writes DOI: 10.1063/5.0047760. Neither form takes a period at the end.
Add an access date to a web page that has no date or that changes over time, such as an online encyclopedia entry in Wikipedia or a database record. ACS writes it as an ISO date (YYYY-MM-DD), as in (accessed 2024-04-21), and the generator converts a date typed as April 21, 2024 to that form.
Type a database name, such as ProQuest Ebook Central, in the link field for a source read through a library database. The generator then adds (retrieved from ProQuest Ebook Central) after the year or the pages.
ACS Citation Examples
ACS citation examples show the reference entry and the superscript in-text citation for 14 source types, from a journal article, an e-book, and a newspaper article to a preprint and an ASTM International standard. The examples below use real sources from the ACS Style Quick Guide and come from the generator on this page, numbered as the first source in the list.
Journal Article Citation Example
(1) Tan, G. Y.; Das, M.; Keum, H.; Bellotti, P.; Daniliuc, C.; Glorius, F. Photochemical single-step synthesis of β-amino acid derivatives from alkenes and (hetero)arenes. Nature Chemistry 2022, 14 (10), 1174–1184. DOI: 10.1038/s41557-022-01008-w
1
ACS accepts the full journal title. If your instructor or journal asks for abbreviated titles, type the CAS Source Index (CASSI) abbreviation in the Journal field, such as J. Am. Chem. Soc. for Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Book Citation Example
(1) Francl, M. Steeped: The Chemistry of Tea; Royal Society of Chemistry, 2024.
1
Book Chapter Citation Example
(1) Kratz, N. Structural Ceramics. Applied Inorganic Chemistry, Vol. 3: From Magnetic to Bioactive Materials; Pöttgen, R., Jüstel, T., Strassert, C. A., Eds.; DeGruyter, 2023; pp 231–243.
1
E-book Citation Example
(1) Tanemura, K. A.; Sierra-Costa, D.; Merz, K. M., Jr. Python for Chemists; American Chemical Society, 2022. DOI: 10.1021/acsinfocus.7e5030
1
Web Page Citation Example
(1) Guidelines for Chemical Laboratory Safety in Academic Institutions. American Chemical Society, Committee on Chemical Safety, Task Force for Safety Education Guidelines, 2016. https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/about/governance/committees/chemicalsafety/publications/acs-safety-guidelines-academic.pdf
1
Wikipedia Article Citation Example
(1) Oganesson. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oganesson&oldid=1218419822 (accessed 2024-04-21)
1
Newspaper Article Citation Example
(1) Johnson, M. Nobel Prize awarded to three scientists for work in click chemistry, which links molecules quickly. Washington Post, October 5, 2022 (retrieved from ProQuest U.S. Major Dailies).
1
Thesis or Dissertation Citation Example
(1) Cable, M. L. Life in Extreme Environments: Lanthanide-Based Detection of Bacterial Spores and Other Sensor Design Pursuits. Ph.D. Dissertation, California Institute of Technology, 2010. http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechTHESIS:05102010-145436548
1
Technical Report Citation Example
(1) Hung, C.-C.; Hurst, J.; Santiago, D. Boron Nitride Nanoribbons from Exfoliation of Boron Nitride Nanotubes, NASA/TM-2017-219455; National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Glenn Research Center: Cleveland, OH, 2017. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=2017000388
1
Preprint Citation Example
(1) Deysher, G.; Oh, J. A. S.; Chen, Y.-T.; Sayahpour, B.; Ham, S.-Y.; Cheng, D.; Ridley, P.; Cronk, A.; Lin, S. W.-H.; Qian, K.; et al. An Anode-Free Sodium All-Solid-State Battery, Ver. 1. ChemRxiv, November 23, 2023. DOI: 10.26434/chemrxiv-2023-tkcd9
1
Standard Citation Example
(1) ASTM International. Standard Test Method for Tensile Properties of Plastics, ASTM D638-14; West Conshohocken, PA, 2014. DOI: 10.1520/D0638-14
1
Dataset Citation Example
(1) Cappa, C.; Li, Z.; Smith, K. Influence of Relative Humidity on the Heterogeneous Oxidation of Secondary Organic Aerosol (Dataset). Dryad, May 18, 2018. DOI: 10.25338/B8ZK5X
1
Patent Citation Example
(1) Lois-Caballe, C.; Baltimore, D.; Qin, X.-F. Method for Expression of Small RNA Molecules within a Cell. US7732193B2, 2010.
1
AI Chatbot Citation Example
(1) ChatGPT-4o (AI Chatbot). OpenAI. https://chatgpt.com/ (accessed 2024-08-28)
1
ACS notes that a reference to an AI tool is no substitute for a disclosure in your text that names the prompts you used and the content the tool generated.
ACS In-Text Citations: Superscript, Italic, and Author-Date
The 3 ACS in-text formats are a raised number, an italic number in parentheses, and the first author’s surname with the year inside parentheses. Pick one format and keep it for the whole paper. Most ACS journals print superscript numbers, and ACS Publications journals do not use the author-date system.
The 2021 article by Hanikel and 7 coauthors below appears in all 3 formats, each with the reference list entry it pairs with. The numbered formats show the article as source 1, and the author-date reference carries no number.
ACS In-Text Citation Example
Superscript numbers
(1) Hanikel, N.; Pei, X. K.; Chheda, S.; Lyu, H.; Jeong, W.; Sauer, J.; Gagliardi, L.; Yaghi, O. M. Evolution of water structures in metal-organic frameworks for improved atmospheric water harvesting. Science 2021, 374 (6566), 454–459. DOI: 10.1126/science.abj0890
1
ACS accepts the full journal title. If your instructor or journal asks for abbreviated titles, type the CAS Source Index (CASSI) abbreviation in the Journal field, such as J. Am. Chem. Soc. for Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Italic numbers
(1) Hanikel, N.; Pei, X. K.; Chheda, S.; Lyu, H.; Jeong, W.; Sauer, J.; Gagliardi, L.; Yaghi, O. M. Evolution of water structures in metal-organic frameworks for improved atmospheric water harvesting. Science 2021, 374 (6566), 454–459. DOI: 10.1126/science.abj0890
(1)
ACS accepts the full journal title. If your instructor or journal asks for abbreviated titles, type the CAS Source Index (CASSI) abbreviation in the Journal field, such as J. Am. Chem. Soc. for Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Author-Date
Hanikel, N.; Pei, X. K.; Chheda, S.; Lyu, H.; Jeong, W.; Sauer, J.; Gagliardi, L.; Yaghi, O. M. Evolution of water structures in metal-organic frameworks for improved atmospheric water harvesting. Science 2021, 374 (6566), 454–459. DOI: 10.1126/science.abj0890
(Hanikel et al., 2021)
ACS accepts the full journal title. If your instructor or journal asks for abbreviated titles, type the CAS Source Index (CASSI) abbreviation in the Journal field, such as J. Am. Chem. Soc. for Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Where the Citation Goes in the Sentence
A superscript number goes after the closing punctuation, and an italic number or an author-date citation goes before it. The table shows the same sentence in each format.
| Format | Example sentence |
|---|---|
| Superscript number | Water clusters fill the pores before the channels open.1 |
| Italic number | Water clusters fill the pores before the channels open (1). |
| Author-date | Water clusters fill the pores before the channels open (Hanikel et al., 2021). |
Put the number straight after the name, when the sentence names the authors: Hanikel et al.1 measured the uptake, or Hanikel et al. (1) measured the uptake. An author-date sentence that names the authors keeps only the year in parentheses: Hanikel et al. (2021).
Citing Several Sources at Once
To cite several sources at one point, separate the numbers with commas and join a run of 3 or more consecutive numbers with an en dash.
| Format | Two separate sources | A run of sources | Both |
|---|---|---|---|
| Superscript | 2,5 | 3–5 | 3,5–7 |
| Italic | (2, 5) | (3–5) | (3, 5–7) |
Author-date citations list the sources alphabetically by first author and separate them with semicolons: (Ellis, 2004; Kaplan and Stolman, 2007). The generator builds one citation per source, so type a combined citation by hand.
How to Format the ACS Reference List
To format an ACS reference list, follow these 4 rules:
- Title the list References and place it at the end of the paper.
- Number the entries in citation order for superscript numbers or italic numbers in parentheses, so the first source cited is (1).
- Sort the entries by the first author’s surname for author-date citations, with no numbers.
- List each source once and reuse its number for every later citation.
The generator writes numbered references with each number in parentheses, as ACS journals print it. Change (1) to 1. by hand, when your instructor’s template shows the period form.
ACS Style Guide Edition Guidelines
ACS citation rules come from The ACS Guide to Scholarly Communication, the online guide that replaced The ACS Style Guide, 3rd edition (2006), in 2020. ACS updates the Guide online, and its free ACS Style Quick Guide of reference examples was last revised on April 14, 2026. There is no printed 4th edition.
What Changed After the ACS Style Guide, 3rd Edition
The examples in the 2006 guide and the current Quick Guide differ in 5 rules:
| Rule | ACS Style Guide, 3rd ed. (2006) | ACS Guide to Scholarly Communication (2020 onward) |
|---|---|---|
| Journal titles | CASSI abbreviation: J. Med. Chem. | Full title or CASSI abbreviation |
| Online articles | [Online] label, URL, and access date | DOI: 10.xxxx |
| Access date | (accessed Mar 19, 2007) | (accessed 2024-04-21) |
| Place of publication | Longman: New York, 2001 | Left out for large publishers: Royal Society of Chemistry, 2024 |
| AI tools | No guidance | Formats for chatbots, such as ChatGPT from OpenAI, and image generators |
Which ACS Version Should You Use?
Use the current Guide to Scholarly Communication, unless your instructor or department names the 3rd edition. Follow the journal’s instructions for authors, when you submit a manuscript to an ACS journal, since each journal sets details such as abbreviated titles there. Older class handouts built on the 2006 rules still print bracketed [Online] tags and month names in access dates, so update those references before you hand in a paper.
Common ACS Citation Mistakes to Avoid
There are 6 common ACS citation mistakes, from commas between authors to a raised number placed before the period. Each mistake below shows a wrong version and the corrected version.
-
1Separating authors with commas
WrongBard, A. J., Faulkner, L. R. Double-Layer Structure and Absorption.
RightBard, A. J.; Faulkner, L. R. Double-Layer Structure and Absorption. Electrochemical Methods: Fundamentals and Applications, 3rd ed.; Wiley, 2022; pp 599–652.
-
2Printing the year and volume in plain type
WrongPatel, P. Mighty MXenes: Ready to roll. C&EN Global Enterprise 2024, 102 (9), 26–32.
RightPatel, P. Mighty MXenes: Ready to roll. C&EN Global Enterprise 2024, 102 (9), 26–32. DOI: 10.1021/cen-10209-cover
-
3Making up a journal abbreviation
WrongJ. Chem. Phy. or Journ. Chem. Physics
RightJ. Chem. Phys. (the CASSI form) or the full title, Journal of Chemical Physics
-
4Putting the article title in quotation marks
WrongBard, A. J.; Faulkner, L. R. “Double-Layer Structure and Absorption.”
RightBard, A. J.; Faulkner, L. R. Double-Layer Structure and Absorption.
-
5Placing a superscript before the period
WrongThe channels open at 30% humidity1.
RightThe channels open at 30% humidity.1
-
6Writing the access date with a month name
WrongOganesson. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oganesson (accessed April 21, 2024)
RightOganesson. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oganesson (accessed 2024-04-21)
Why Use Our ACS Citation Generator?
Our ACS citation generator offers 4 practical benefits for chemistry papers: tested output, 3 in-text formats from one form, no invented details, and free, private use.
Tested Against ACS's Own Examples
The output passes 50 checks against the ACS Style Quick Guide and university chemistry library guides, from journal articles and patents to datasets and AI chatbots.
3 In-Text Formats, 1 Switch
Move between superscript numbers, italic numbers, and author-date at any point, and the reference list renumbers or re-sorts to match.
No Invented Details
The tool never guesses a journal abbreviation, an author, or a date. A missing detail stays empty, and a note under the citation names what to add.
Free and Private
There is no account and no limit. Typed details stay in your browser; only a search or a pasted identifier goes to the lookup service.
An ACS citation generator saves time on every chemistry citation and returns a properly formatted ACS citation in superscript, italic, or author-date form. Compare each reference with the first page of the article before you submit, as a database record can drop an issue number or misspell an author.