Call For Papers: Expanding Frontiers: The Evolution of Physical Chemistry Through Modern Instrumentation

The past five decades have witnessed a remarkable expansion in the capabilities of physical chemistry, driven by advances in signal processing and the dramatic enhancement of both temporal and spatial resolution. This special issue from ACS Physical Chemistry Au aims to highlight how these developments have opened new experimental and conceptual frontiers, enabling direct observation of chemical phenomena that were previously beyond reach.

State-of-the-art ultrafast spectroscopies now provide femtosecond and even attosecond resolution of photochemical and charge transfer dynamics, while scanning probe techniques such as STM and AFM offer atomically resolved insights into surface processes and molecular architectures. Single-molecule methods have revealed stochastic behavior and heterogeneity obscured in ensemble measurements, and innovations in synchrotron-based approaches and X-ray free-electron lasers have enabled ultrafast structural and electronic characterization under realistic and dynamic conditions.

Together, these advances have transformed what physical chemists can observe and quantify, allowing for the real-time capture of transient intermediates, the mapping of potential energy surfaces, and the detailed study of chemical reactivity at the molecular and even atomic level. The contributions in this issue will reflect the profound impact of modern instrumentation on the scope, resolution, and ambition of contemporary physical chemistry research.

Topics include, but are not limited to:

• Challenging the limits of traditional spectroscopy
  • Single-molecule spectroscopy, including single-molecule localization spectroscopy
  • Attosecond dynamics
  • Ultrafast laser spectroscopy
  • Pump–probe microscopy
  • Time-resolved chirality studies
  • Strong light–matter interaction in optical microcavities
  • Multi-dimensional spectroscopy
• Challenging the limits of electrical and thermal measurements
  • Single-molecule electrical and thermal conductance
  • Electrochemical STM studies
  • Spectroelectrochemistry
  • Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy
• Challenging the limits of spatial resolution and control
  • Scanning-probe studies of molecules and dynamics on surfaces
  • Single-atom catalysis
  • Manipulating materials on nano and subnano scales
  • High-resolution and multi-modal imaging
• Challenging the limits of computation
  • Computation of large- and multi-scale systems
  • Simulation and modelling involving large data sets with artificial intelligence
  • Extending high-level computational methods to larger systems
  • Advancements in computational physical chemistry, aided by machine learning or other modern numerical approaches
  • AI-driven data acquisition and analysis

Submit your manuscript by September 1, 2026.

Organizing Editors

Prof. Gemma C. Solomon, Deputy Editor, ACS Physical Chemistry Au
University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Prof. Jin Z. Zhang, Associate Editor, ACS Physical Chemistry Au
University of California Santa Cruz, United States

Prof. Tanja Cuk, Associate Editor, ACS Physical Chemistry Au
University of Colorado at Boulder, United States

Submission Information

We welcome submissions for this Special Issue through September 1, 2026. For more information on submission requirements, please visit the journal’s Author Guidelines page.

Accepted manuscripts for consideration in this Special Issue will include research Articles, Letters, Perspectives, Reviews, and Tutorials. Papers accepted for publication for this Special Issue will be available ASAP (as soon as publishable) online as soon as they are accepted. 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: ACS Physical Chemistry Au is a gold open access journal. Please see the Open Access Pricing for Authors page for more information.

How to Submit

• Log in to the ACS Publishing Center.
• Select the "Journals" tab.
• Choose ACS Physical Chemistry Au.
• Click "Submit."
• Select your manuscript type, and, under "Special Issue Selection," choose “Expanding Frontiers: The Evolution of Physical Chemistry Through Modern Instrumentation."

If you have any general questions regarding submission to this Special Issue, please contact solomon-office@physchemau.acs.org.