Call For Papers: Indoor Air Chemistry in the Context of a Changing Climate

People spend more than 90% of their time indoors, and our buildings can be a refuge from things like outdoor air pollution, storms, wildfire smoke, and extreme heat/cold. However, we often find larger concentrations of pollutants like aerosol particles and volatile organic compounds indoors. Sources of indoor pollutants are multifaceted, including outdoor pollutants (wildfires, traffic, ozone) and indoor sources like the building materials and furniture, humans themselves (bioaerosols like bacteria and viruses), their activities (smoking, cleaning, cooking), and their use of personal care products (deodorants, nail varnish, hair spray) and indoor scents (air fresheners, scented candles).

Chemicals and aerosol particles are found in the indoor air and on indoor surfaces and we need to improve our ability to predict and evaluate their effects on human health. In addition, some communities face greater challenges in the form of increasing climate change impacts along with decreased access to tools, like air filters or UVC lamps, that can be used to improve poor indoor air quality. As we work to adapt to our changing climate, people will need more information on the best ways to improve the air quality in their homes, schools, and workplaces.

This Special Issue in ACS ES&T Air seeks a wide range of research contributions on indoor chemistry and indoor air quality. Papers focusing on research from laboratory and field studies as well as computational and modeling efforts are welcomed. The Special Issue will provide a platform for researchers to share their latest findings, discuss technological challenges, review work in the field, and outline future directions in this critical area of indoor air chemistry research.

Topics include, but are not limited to:

• Outdoor air pollution and climate impacts on indoor environments (wildfires, weather extremes, flooding, etc.)
• Sources and sinks of indoor air pollutants
• Gas-phase oxidation and formation of secondary organic aerosol
• Aerosol composition, dynamics, and impacts
• Indoor air quality remediation (domestic air cleaners and indoor air cleaning)
• Partitioning and chemical reactions on indoor surfaces and surface film composition
• Health impacts of indoor air exposure
• Community based research

Submit your manuscript by September 30, 2025.

Organizing Editors

Dr. Rachel O’Brien, Topic Editor, ACS ES&T Air
University of Michigan, United States

Prof. Nicola Carslaw, Guest Editor
University of York, United Kingdom

Dr. Yingjun Liu, Guest Editor
Peking University, China

Submission Information

We welcome submissions for this Special Issue through September 30, 2025. For more information on submission requirements, please visit the ACS ES&T Air Author Guidelines page.

All manuscript types available in the journals may be considered for this Special Issue.Papers accepted for publication for this Special Issue will be available ASAP (as soon as publishable) online. After all submissions have been published, they will then be compiled online on a dedicated landing page to form the Special Issue. Manuscripts submitted for consideration will undergo the full rigorous peer review process expected from ACS journals.

Open Access: There are diverse open access options for publications in American Chemical Society journals. Please visit our Open Science Resource Center for more information.

How to Submit

• Log in to the ACS Publishing Center.
• Select the "Journals" tab.
• Choose ACS ES&T Air.
• Click "Submit."
• Select your manuscript type, and, under "Special Issue Selection," choose “Indoor Chemistry in the Context of a Changing Climate."

If you have any general questions regarding submission to this Special Issue, please contact the managing editor (managing.editor@estair.acs.org).