How to Find Supporting Information for Chemistry Journal Articles
To find supporting information (SI), open the article’s page on the publisher’s website and look for a link labeled “Supporting Information,” “Supplementary Material,” or “SI.” The file is often separate from the article PDF. It may be a PDF, a data file, or a compressed folder. In chemistry papers, SI commonly contains experimental procedures, compound characterization, and spectra.
Find the publisher’s article page
Search for the paper by title and author, or use its DOI. Add the DOI to https://doi.org/ to go to the article record. Crossref provides DOI metadata and links to publisher records Crossref.
On the publisher’s page, check near the abstract, article details, and PDF link. SI may be a separate download or appear under a tab or section for supplementary files. Publishers use different labels:
- ACS Publications uses “Supporting Information” ACS Publications.
- Royal Society of Chemistry journals provide supporting information alongside article content Royal Society of Chemistry.
- Elsevier articles may label files “Supplementary Material” Elsevier.
If you found the paper through a search tool, reference manager, or database, follow the DOI to the publisher page. The original record may show the article PDF without a link to its SI.
What to expect in the file
Chemistry SI often includes details that the main article summarizes, such as reaction procedures, reagent quantities, conditions, workup, and purification. It may also contain NMR, IR, or mass spectra, along with crystallographic or computational data. Contents vary by paper and journal. Some large datasets are deposited in a repository instead of attached to the article Elsevier.
Use the article’s compound numbers, figure references, or section headings to find the relevant part of the SI. Check that the material matches the main text. If a procedure or characterization detail is absent, treat it as unreported. Do not fill in the gap yourself.
Example: locating a compound procedure
Suppose the main text says compound 3 was prepared using a general procedure but does not give the quantities.
- Open the article’s publisher page from its DOI.
- Select the “Supporting Information” or “Supplementary Material” link.
- Search the SI for the heading or entry for compound 3.
- Read the procedure for the reported amounts, reagents, conditions, workup, and purification.
- Check the characterization section for compound 3 if you need to compare its reported data with your own.
The SI may contain details omitted from the main article, but its contents vary. Use only what the authors report. Do not infer missing conditions from another procedure.
If the link is missing or does not work
Check the article page for another supplementary-material tab or a separate file list. A download may open in a viewer, or the SI may be a ZIP archive instead of a PDF. Look for a download control in the viewer, and extract an archive before deciding that its contents are unavailable.
SI may be accessible even when the article itself requires a subscription, but access depends on the publisher and file. Try the SI link before assuming access is blocked. If the file is unavailable, check whether the paper cites an external repository. You can also contact the corresponding author and specify the paper and the file or data you need.
Key Takeaways
- Open the article’s publisher page, preferably through its DOI, and look for “Supporting Information,” “Supplementary Material,” or “SI.”
- SI is commonly a separate file and may contain procedures, characterization, spectra, or links to deposited data.
- Use the article’s compound or figure references to find the relevant material, then check it against the main text.
- If the file is missing, check other download options, follow any repository link, or contact the corresponding author.
