What Is Crystal Growth & Design Impact Factor in 2025?
Crystal Growth & Design is a peer-reviewed journal published by the American Chemical Society. The most recent confirmed impact factor is 3.8 for 2023. The 2025 impact factor will be released by Clarivate in mid-2026.
The journal covers the theory and practice of designing, growing, and using crystalline materials. Its intended audience includes scientists and engineers working in crystal growth, crystal engineering, and industrial applications of crystalline materials.
What the Impact Factor Measures
The impact factor is a journal-level metric calculated by Clarivate. It represents the average number of citations received in a given year by articles published in the journal during the two preceding years. For Crystal Growth & Design, the 2023 impact factor of 3.8 means that articles published in 2021 and 2022 were cited an average of 3.8 times in 2023.
This number places the journal in a competitive position among its peers. The journal has maintained a stable impact factor in the 3.5–4.0 range over the past several years, which indicates consistent citation performance rather than dramatic fluctuations.
Researchers use the impact factor as one signal of a journal’s visibility and reach. It is not a direct measure of individual article quality, since citation patterns vary widely by field and by article type. Review articles, for example, tend to attract more citations than original research papers.
How Crystal Growth & Design Compares to Other Journals in the Field
To understand where Crystal Growth & Design stands, it helps to look at similar journals. The Journal of Crystal Growth, published by Elsevier, has a 2023 impact factor around 1.8. CrystEngComm, published by the Royal Society of Chemistry, sits near 3.3. Crystal Growth & Design at 3.8 is slightly above both of these.
The difference comes partly from the journal’s focus on design and application rather than purely fundamental growth studies. Crystal Growth & Design publishes more articles on pharmaceutical cocrystals and polymorphism, which tend to attract citations from both chemistry and pharmaceutical science communities. A paper on cocrystal solubility, for example, might be cited by materials scientists, formulation chemists, and crystallographers.
The journal also benefits from being published by the American Chemical Society, which has strong distribution and indexing. Articles appear in Chemical Abstracts Service, Scopus, and Science Citation Index, making them easy to find through standard literature searches.
Journal Scope and Audience
Crystal Growth & Design focuses on the design, growth, and application of crystalline materials American Chemical Society. The journal covers the physical, chemical, and biological properties of these materials and how those properties affect the growth process. Topics commonly covered include:
- Polymorphism and cocrystal formation
- Crystal structure prediction
- Nucleation and growth mechanisms
- Characterization of crystalline materials
- Industrial crystallization processes
The journal was established in 2001 as a bimonthly publication and switched to a monthly frequency in 2006. It is indexed in major databases including Science Citation Index, Scopus, and Chemical Abstracts Service Wikipedia.
What to Expect for the 2025 Impact Factor
The 2025 impact factor will be calculated using citations from 2025 to articles published in 2023 and 2024. Several factors influence whether the number will rise, fall, or stay the same.
First, the journal’s citation half-life matters. Crystal Growth & Design articles tend to be cited steadily for several years after publication, which supports a stable impact factor. Second, the volume of published articles affects the denominator. If the journal publishes more articles, the impact factor can decrease even if total citations remain the same.
Third, the broader field of crystal engineering has been growing. More researchers are publishing in this area, which increases the pool of potential citations. This growth could push the impact factor slightly higher if Crystal Growth & Design articles are cited by researchers in related fields like materials science, chemistry, and pharmaceutical sciences.
A Simple Calculation
To illustrate how the impact factor works, consider a hypothetical scenario. Suppose the journal published 200 articles in 2023 and 2024 combined. If those articles received 800 citations in 2025, the impact factor would be 800 divided by 200, or 4.0. If citations dropped to 700, the impact factor would fall to 3.5.
This calculation shows why small changes in citation counts can shift the impact factor noticeably. A single highly cited article can raise the average, while a set of less-cited articles can lower it. The actual 2025 value will depend on real citation data that is not yet available.
The Role of Review Articles and Special Issues
Review articles significantly influence a journal’s impact factor. Crystal Growth & Design publishes occasional review articles and thematic special issues. A well-timed review on a hot topic like pharmaceutical cocrystals can accumulate dozens of citations within its first year, raising the journal’s average.
The journal’s most cited articles include reviews and research articles on polymorphism and cocrystal properties. One example is a 2009 article on the solubility advantage of pharmaceutical cocrystals, which has accumulated hundreds of citations over time.
Special issues on topics like crystal growth for energy applications or biomimetic crystallization also boost citation counts. These issues attract submissions from leading researchers, and the articles tend to be cited by others working in the same niche.
Practical Implications for Authors and Readers
For researchers considering where to submit their work, the impact factor is one factor among many. Crystal Growth & Design offers a reputable home for crystal engineering and design papers, with good visibility in the field. The journal’s acceptance rate is not publicly disclosed, but it is selective enough to maintain its citation performance.
Authors should also consider the journal’s audience. Papers on crystal structure prediction, growth mechanisms, and industrial crystallization fit well. Papers on unrelated topics like general materials synthesis or biological crystallography may be better suited elsewhere.
For readers, the impact factor signals that the journal publishes work that other researchers find useful. A 3.8 impact factor means the average article gets cited several times within two years. This is a solid benchmark for a specialized journal.
Key Takeaways
- The most recent confirmed impact factor for Crystal Growth & Design is 3.8 for 2023. The 2025 value will be released in mid-2026.
- The impact factor measures average citations per article over a two-year window. It is a journal-level metric, not a measure of individual article quality.
- The journal covers crystal design, growth, and application, with a strong focus on pharmaceutical cocrystals and polymorphism.
- Expect the 2025 impact factor to remain in the 3.5–4.0 range, consistent with recent trends. Actual values depend on citation data from 2025.
