Advanced Fiber Materials

Advanced Fiber Materials is a peer-reviewed, international, interdisciplinary journal focused on fiber and fiber-related research. It was launched in 2019 by the State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials at Donghua University (China) and is published by Springer Nature. The journal provides a platform for research on new concepts, theories, methods, ideas, technologies, and achievements in the fiber field, serving scientists, engineers, and scholars working on advanced fibers and their applications.

Journal identity and publication facts

Advanced Fiber Materials carries the print ISSN 2524-7921 and the electronic ISSN 2524-793X (ISSN-L 2524-7921). The ISSN record assigns the title to Singapore as the country of the ISSN center, reflecting Springer's regional publishing registration; the journal's content is © Donghua University, Shanghai, China. The standard ISO 4 abbreviation is Adv. Fiber Mater. The journal's article DOI prefix is 10.1007/s42765, and the journal's Springer homepage is link.springer.com/journal/42765. Coverage in citation databases begins with the 2019 launch volume.

A note on the site's previous record: the earlier thin profile described the journal as "published by Springer Nature (United States)" — an artifact of an automated metadata import — and listed a "quartile (213)" that was actually a ranking figure, not a quartile. The verified publisher is Springer Nature, publishing on behalf of Donghua University in Shanghai, China. The journal's subject areas, per directory records, include electronic, optical and magnetic materials, materials chemistry, materials science, and polymers and plastics. These corrections are stated here so that the record is accurate.

Founding and institutional backing

Advanced Fiber Materials was initiated by the State Key Laboratory of Fiber Material Modification at Donghua University and is co-sponsored by Donghua University and the Chinese Materials Research Society. Donghua University, based in Shanghai, is one of China's leading institutions in textile science and engineering, and the State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials is a national-level research platform in the field. The journal was created with the stated aim of building an internationally influential academic journal serving major national needs and the frontiers of the fiber discipline — creating an exchange platform for researchers and leading the development of fiber science in service of economic growth and industrial development.

The inaugural issue appeared in 2019 and was made available free of charge. It contained an editorial article outlining the journal's purpose and scope, two review articles, and three original research papers, and it introduced the founding editorial board. The journal's stated mission emphasizes publishing high-level papers that reflect rapid progress in fiber materials.

Editorial leadership

The journal's Editor-in-Chief is Professor Meifang Zhu of Donghua University — a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Director of the State Key Laboratory of Fiber Material Modification, and Dean of the College of Materials Science and Engineering. The founding associate editors, announced with the inaugural issue, were Professor Takeshi Kikutani of the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Japan), Professor Tianxi Liu of Donghua University, Professor Seeram Ramakrishna of the National University of Singapore, and Professor Guangming Tao of the Huazhong University of Science and Technology (China). Managing editors at launch included Prof. Zhigang Chen, Prof. Gang Wang, Assoc. Prof. Yanhua Cheng, and Dr. Fatemeh Zabihi, all of Donghua University. Donghua University's announcements describe an editorial board composed of academicians and world-leading scientists, scholars, and experts across fiber-related areas. Readers should verify the current masthead on the journal's Springer page, since editorial teams evolve; the names above are those documented at the journal's founding and in university announcements.

Aims and scope

The journal's scope centers on fiber and fiber-related research across materials science, chemistry, and engineering. Directory classifications place it in electronic, optical and magnetic materials; materials chemistry; materials science; and polymers and plastics. The journal's published content shows the breadth of this remit: advanced fiber materials for wearable electronics; smart fibers and textile-based wearable strain sensors; structural and functional design of electrospun nanofibers for hemostasis and wound healing; electrospun nanofibrous materials for wound healing; biosensing and environmental monitoring based on electrospun nanofibers; photocatalytic degradation of PET fiber-based microplastics; stretchable nanofiber composite evaporators for seawater desalination; electrospun materials for oil/water separation; perovskite solar fibers; functional electrospun fibers for local cancer therapy; and textile architectures for human-body thermal management. These examples illustrate a journal that spans fundamental fiber science — electrospinning, fiber functionalization, nanofiber design — and applications in energy, environment, biomedicine, and wearable devices.

Article types

Accepted article types include Research Articles, Reviews, Letters, News, Perspectives, and Highlights, per the journal's launch announcement. The journal thus accommodates full original research, synthetic review articles, concise letter-format contributions, forward-looking perspective pieces, and news and highlights items that draw attention to notable developments. This range suits a fast-moving field where both comprehensive studies and rapid communications have value.

Indexing and abstracting

The journal's Springer page lists abstracting and indexing in: Baidu, CLOCKSS, CNKI, CNPIEC, Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), Current Contents/Engineering, Computing and Technology, Dimensions, EBSCO, EI Compendex, Google Scholar, the Japanese Science and Technology Agency (JST), Naver, OCLC WorldCat Discovery Service, Ovid Discovery, Portico, ProQuest, SCImago, SCOPUS, Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), Semantic Scholar, TD Net Discovery Service, Wanfang, and eLibrary.ru. Donghua University announced the journal's inclusion in the Science Citation Index Expanded as a milestone, noting that it followed earlier inclusion in the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) and CAS. Long-term archiving is handled through CLOCKSS and Portico.

Citation metrics (attributed snapshots)

Citation metrics for Advanced Fiber Materials vary across directory sources and time points; all figures below are attributed to their sources and should be verified against current databases before being relied upon for evaluation decisions. The site's earlier thin profile listed an h-index of 76 and an impact factor of 22.6 — figures consistent with OpenAlex-derived data shown on the OOIR platform, which reports an impact factor of 22.6 (based on Web of Science 2025 data for the 2024 impact factor), ranking the journal 12th of 316 in Materials Science, Multidisciplinary and 1st of 20 in Materials Science, Textiles. Research.com reports an impact factor of 21.3 for the journal. Resurchify reports an "impact IF" of 19.70 for 2024, an SJR of 3.919 (2024), an h-index of 58, and a rank of 440 among journals, conferences, and book series. Exaly's citation analysis of 652 published articles reports that 11 percent have received no citation and 6.6 percent have received over 100 citations. These snapshots agree that the journal is a high-impact, Q1 title in its categories, but the exact figures differ by source, methodology, and date — which is why this profile attributes each figure rather than presenting a single "official" number. The journal's rapid rise is notable: from a 2019 launch to top-quartile rankings within a few years, reflecting the explosive growth of fiber-related research in energy, biomedical, and wearable applications.

Publishing model and access

Advanced Fiber Materials is published by Springer Nature in a hybrid publishing arrangement typical of Springer journals: articles may be published under subscription access or as open access at the authors' choice. The journal's content is copyright Donghua University. Authors should consult the journal's Springer page for the current open-access options and any article-processing charges, since these are subject to change. The journal's archiving in CLOCKSS and Portico ensures long-term availability of the published record.

Peer review and editorial standards

As a Springer Nature journal, Advanced Fiber Materials operates peer review under Springer's editorial policies. The journal's launch materials describe it as peer-reviewed, and its editorial board of international experts oversees manuscript evaluation. Specific details of the review model (single- versus double-anonymized) and current turnaround statistics were not confirmed from the sources consulted during this research session; authors should consult the journal's submission guidelines on the Springer page for the current process description.

Readership and audience

The journal addresses materials scientists, chemists, physicists, engineers, and biomedical researchers working on fibers — from polymer chemists developing electrospinning formulations to device engineers building fiber-based sensors and energy devices. Its interdisciplinary positioning means individual issues may range from fundamental studies of fiber formation mechanisms to applied demonstrations of wearable health monitors. The journal's strong citation performance indicates that its content is read and built upon well beyond the fiber-specialist community, reaching energy, environmental, and biomedical researchers.

Notable research directions

Several research directions recur in the journal's highly cited content and illustrate where the field is moving. Wearable electronics and smart textiles form one pillar: fiber-based strain sensors, energy-harvesting textiles, and textile architectures for thermal management. Biomedical fibers form another: electrospun nanofibers for wound healing and hemostasis, functional fibers for local therapy, and biosensing platforms. Environmental applications form a third: photocatalytic fibers for microplastic degradation, nanofiber membranes for oil/water separation, and nanofiber evaporators for desalination. Energy applications include perovskite solar fibers and fiber-based energy storage. Together these directions show a field moving from passive structural fibers toward active, functional, multifunctional fiber systems.

Submission guidance

Authors considering Advanced Fiber Materials should first assess fit: the journal seeks work that advances fiber science or demonstrates significant fiber-enabled applications, rather than routine characterizations. The choice of article type matters — full Research Articles for comprehensive studies, Letters for concise rapid communications, Reviews for field syntheses, and Perspectives for forward-looking analysis. Manuscripts are submitted through Springer's editorial system linked from the journal homepage. Authors should prepare figures to the standard expected of a high-impact materials journal, ensure that fiber fabrication and characterization methods are described in reproducible detail, and consider the open-access options at submission. Given the journal's selectivity, authors should also prepare a clear cover letter explaining the advance the work represents for fiber science.

How to cite this journal

The standard citation form is: Author(s), "Article title," Adv. Fiber Mater., volume, page range (year), DOI 10.1007/s42765-0XXXX-XXX. ISSNs for cataloging are 2524-7921 (print) and 2524-793X (electronic). The ISO 4 abbreviation Adv. Fiber Mater. should be used where citation styles require an abbreviated title.

Strengths and limitations for prospective authors

Advanced Fiber Materials offers a high-impact, internationally visible venue dedicated to fiber science, backed by a major national laboratory, a strong editorial board, and publication by Springer Nature. Its indexing is comprehensive — SCIE, Scopus, EI Compendex, CAS — and its citation metrics place it in the top quartile of materials journals. Limitations to weigh: the journal is selective, and its rapid rise means competition for space is intense; exact current metrics should be verified in Journal Citation Reports or Scopus rather than relying on directory snapshots; and authors should confirm current open-access fees on the Springer page. As with any high-impact journal, prospective authors should ensure their work represents a genuine advance before submitting.

Frequently asked questions

Who publishes Advanced Fiber Materials? Springer Nature publishes the journal; content is © Donghua University, Shanghai, China, which co-sponsors the journal with the Chinese Materials Research Society.

Who is the Editor-in-Chief? Professor Meifang Zhu of Donghua University, as announced by Donghua University; verify the current masthead on the journal's Springer page.

What are the journal's ISSNs? Print ISSN 2524-7921; electronic ISSN 2524-793X.

When was the journal launched? The inaugural issue appeared in 2019.

What is the journal's impact factor? Directory snapshots vary: approximately 21–23 for 2024 depending on source and methodology (OOIR reports 22.6 based on Web of Science data; Research.com reports 21.3; Resurchify reports an impact score of 19.70). Verify current figures in Journal Citation Reports.

Is the journal indexed in SCIE and Scopus? Yes — both are listed on the journal's Springer page, along with EI Compendex, CAS, Current Contents, and others.

What article types does the journal accept? Research Articles, Reviews, Letters, News, Perspectives, and Highlights.

How do I submit? Through Springer's editorial submission system, linked from the journal's homepage at link.springer.com/journal/42765.

Why a dedicated fiber journal: the field's transformation

The launch of Advanced Fiber Materials in 2019 reflected a structural shift in materials science. For most of the twentieth century, fibers were primarily structural — textiles, ropes, composites reinforcement — and fiber research lived inside textile science, polymer science, or composite-materials journals. Over the past two decades, fibers have become functional: they sense, harvest energy, deliver drugs, filter contaminants, and interface with the human body. This functional turn drew fiber research into energy science, biomedicine, environmental engineering, and electronics — fields whose flagship journals were not designed around fiber-specific questions of spinning, drawing, surface functionalization, and textile architecture. A dedicated journal gives this community a venue where fiber formation science and fiber-enabled applications are evaluated together, by reviewers who understand both. The journal's rapid citation ascent suggests the bet was well placed: the fiber field was large enough and dynamic enough to sustain a top-quartile title within a few years of launch.

Donghua University and the institutional base

Donghua University's role as the journal's institutional home is not incidental. Based in Shanghai, the university is historically rooted in textile science and engineering and hosts the State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials — a national-level platform that anchors the journal scientifically. The Editor-in-Chief, Professor Meifang Zhu, directs that laboratory and leads the university's College of Materials Science and Engineering, giving the journal direct access to one of the world's deepest concentrations of fiber expertise. The co-sponsorship by the Chinese Materials Research Society broadens the journal's national base beyond a single institution. This institutional configuration — a leading specialized university, a state key laboratory, a national materials society, and an international commercial publisher — is a common and effective model for launching high-ambition journals in China, combining domestic research strength with Springer's global distribution and editorial infrastructure.

The journal's citation trajectory

Advanced Fiber Materials' metrics tell a striking story. Directory sources record an impact-factor-like figure rising from near zero at launch (2019) to roughly 20 or above by 2024 — an unusually steep climb that reflects both genuine citation accumulation and the arithmetic of a young journal, where a small denominator of citable items can amplify the effect of highly cited papers. The journal's most-cited papers, on wearable electronics, strain sensors, and wound-healing nanofibers, each accumulated hundreds of citations, pulling the average upward. The SJR of 3.919 and the Scopus-based h-index figures in the high fifties to seventies confirm broad-based citation rather than a handful of outliers, though Exaly's analysis notes that about 11 percent of the journal's articles remain uncited — a normal pattern even for high-impact titles. Authors should read these metrics as evidence of a high-visibility venue with real selectivity, not as a guarantee of citation for any individual paper.

Open access and author choices

As a Springer Nature journal, Advanced Fiber Materials participates in Springer's standard publishing options: authors may publish under the traditional subscription model or choose open access. Many institutions hold transformative agreements with Springer Nature that cover open-access fees for affiliated authors; researchers should check with their library whether such an agreement applies before assuming they must pay out of pocket. The journal's hybrid character means that access to individual articles varies — some are freely available, others require subscription — so readers without institutional access should use the journal's website filters or scholarly sharing networks to locate accessible versions. Authors who need guaranteed open access, for funder compliance, should select the open-access option at submission and confirm the current article-processing charge on the journal's page.

Sources and verification note

The facts in this profile are drawn from the journal's official Springer page (journal 42765), Donghua University's official announcements (including the inaugural-issue announcement and the SCIE-inclusion announcement), the ISSN Portal record for ISSN 2524-793X, and Crossref DOI registrations. Metric figures are attributed to the directory sources that report them (OOIR, Research.com, Resurchify, Exaly) and vary by source and date; they are not presented as independently verified current values. Readers should confirm fees, editorial contacts, and current metrics on the official journal page before submitting.