Free Online ACS Citation Generator
Generate accurate ACS format citations for any source type used in chemistry, biochemistry, and chemical engineering research. Enter your source details, add multiple authors, and copy your complete ACS reference list in seconds. Follows current ACS Style Guide guidelines. No account required.
Everything You Need in One Free ACS Citation Tool
Most ACS citation tools generate one reference at a time. Ours builds your entire reference list — with in-text citation numbers and a full bibliography included.
Perfectly formatted numbered ACS references for journal articles, books, websites, book chapters, and theses — every source type you need in chemistry.
Get the numbered in-text citations — (1)(2)(3) — that go inside your paper body, with a clear guide on how ACS superscript numbering works.
Add multiple sources and copy your complete ACS numbered reference list in one click — ready to paste at the end of your lab report or research paper.
Paste a DOI and click Fetch Metadata — the tool pulls the authors, title, journal, volume, and pages automatically from CrossRef. No manual typing needed.
How to Use This ACS Citation Generator
Pick your source type
Select Journal Article, Book, Website, Book Chapter, or Thesis from the source type buttons. Each type shows only the fields required for that specific ACS format.
Fill in the details
Enter all authors (ACS lists every author — no et al. cutoff in the reference list), title, journal abbreviation, year, volume, pages, and DOI. Or paste a DOI and click Fetch Metadata to auto-fill the fields.
Copy what you need
Click Add to Reference List. Then switch tabs: Individual Citations for per-source ACS references, Full Reference List to copy your entire bibliography at once, or In-Text References for the numbered citations that go inside your paper.
ACS Citation Format Examples
Reference examples for every source type — generated automatically by our tool.
Journal Article
Author1, A. B.; Author2, C. D. Article Title. Journal Abbrev. Year, Volume (Issue), Pages. DOI.
Book
Author, A. B. Book Title, Edition ed.; Publisher: City, Year; pp Pages.
Website
Author, A. B. Page Title. Website Name. URL (accessed Month Day, Year).
Book Chapter
ChapterAuthor, A. B. Chapter Title. In Book Title, Edition ed.; Editor, E. D., Ed.; Publisher: City, Year; pp Pages.
Thesis / Dissertation
Author, A. B. Thesis Title. Degree Type Thesis, University Name, City, Year.
How ACS In-Text Citations Work
ACS in-text citations are numbered — either superscript numbers or numbers in parentheses placed directly in the text after the statement being cited. The number corresponds to the source's position in your numbered reference list at the end of the paper. Unlike APA — which uses the author's name and year — ACS keeps the text clean and readable, which is why it is preferred in chemistry journals.
Superscript (most common)
This reaction proceeds via a radical mechanism.¹
Place the superscript number directly after the cited text, before the period.
Parenthetical number
Several studies confirm this finding (1, 3, 5).
Used in some ACS journals. Separate multiple sources with commas.
Consecutive range
This is well established in the literature.¹⁻⁴
Use a hyphen or en dash for three or more consecutive references.
ACS Author Rule — All Authors Listed in References
Unlike APA or AMA, ACS does not use "et al." in the reference list — all authors must be listed, separated by semicolons. For example: Smith, J. A.; Jones, B. C.; Brown, D. E.; Davis, F. G. In the text, if you mention authors by name, use "Smith et al." for three or more authors.
5 Source Types, All ACS Rules
Journal articles, books, websites, book chapters, and theses — each with its own dedicated form that produces the exact ACS reference format required by chemistry journals and ACS Paragon Plus submissions.
All Authors — No et al. Shortcut
ACS requires all authors in the reference list. Our tool lets you add unlimited authors with a single click per author, automatically formatting them as Last, F. M.; separated by semicolons — exactly as ACS Style Guide requires.
Free — No Account, No Limits
No subscription, no sign-up, no credit card. Generate unlimited ACS citations, full reference lists, and in-text citation numbers completely free. Your citations are auto-saved in your browser between sessions.
Why Use Our Free ACS Citation Generator?
ACS format is the required referencing style for chemistry, biochemistry, chemical engineering, and materials science. Every citation follows a precise numbered structure — author initials, official journal abbreviations, bold volume numbers, and specific punctuation — and a single formatting error can affect your grade or journal submission.
Most ACS citation tools generate one reference at a time. Ours builds your entire reference list in a single session: add all your sources, then copy individual ACS citations, your full numbered bibliography, or the in-text citation numbers — all formatted correctly and ready to paste. DOI auto-fetch via CrossRef fills in the author, title, journal, volume, and year automatically for any journal article with a valid DOI.
Chemistry undergraduates use it to build reference lists for lab reports and research papers. Graduate students use it when preparing ACS Paragon Plus manuscript submissions. Biochemistry and chemical engineering students use it for any course that requires ACS Style Guide formatting. It supports all five source types you encounter in chemistry coursework: journal articles, books, websites, book chapters, and theses.
How to use ACS Citation Generator?:
Select your source type — Journal Article, Book, Website, Book Chapter, or Thesis — from the source type buttons at the top of the tool.
Enter all authors (ACS lists every author in the reference list — no et al. cutoff), title, journal abbreviation, year, volume, pages, and DOI. Use Fetch Metadata to auto-fill fields from a DOI.
Click Add to Reference List. Switch between tabs: Individual Citations for per-source ACS references, Full Reference List to copy your entire bibliography at once, and In-Text References for the numbered citations that go in your paper body.
Built for chemistry and science students who need accurate, complete ACS citations without the stress of manual formatting — free, instant, and no account required.
ACS Citation FAQs
Common questions about ACS citation format, in-text citations, journal abbreviations, and our free ACS citation generator.
ACS (American Chemical Society) citation format is a numbered referencing style used in chemistry, biochemistry, chemical engineering, and related sciences. In ACS style, sources are cited in the text using superscript numbers — like ¹ or ² — or numbers in parentheses — like (1) or (2). A full numbered reference list appears at the end of the paper, ordered by the sequence in which sources are first cited in the text, not alphabetically.
ACS citation format is used by chemistry students, biochemistry researchers, chemical engineers, pharmaceutical scientists, and anyone publishing in ACS journals such as the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS), ACS Nano, ACS Catalysis, Analytical Chemistry, and other ACS Publications. It is the required format for ACS Paragon Plus manuscript submissions and most undergraduate and graduate chemistry coursework.
To cite a journal article in ACS format: Author1, A. B.; Author2, C. D. Article Title. Journal Abbrev. Year, Volume (Issue), Pages. DOI. Example: Smith, J.; Jones, A. Synthesis of Novel Palladium Catalysts. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024, 146 (3), 1200–1215. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.3c12345. Note that ACS uses the official journal abbreviation, not the full journal name.
To cite a book in ACS format: Author, A. B. Book Title, Edition ed.; Publisher: City, Year; pp Pages. Example: Pauling, L. The Nature of the Chemical Bond, 3rd ed.; Cornell University Press: Ithaca, NY, 1960; pp 120–145. If there is no edition, omit that element. Our ACS citation generator formats this automatically.
To cite a website in ACS format: Author, A. B. Page Title. Website Name. URL (accessed Month Day, Year). Example: American Chemical Society. ACS Style Guide. https://www.acs.org/styleguide (accessed May 1, 2024). If there is no identifiable author, begin with the page title or organization name. Always include the accessed date for online sources.
ACS in-text citations are superscript numbers or parenthetical numbers placed directly after the text being cited. For example: 'This reaction proceeds via a radical mechanism.¹' or 'This reaction proceeds via a radical mechanism (1).' The number corresponds to the source's position in the numbered reference list at the end of the document. Numbers are assigned in order of first appearance in the text, not alphabetically.
In ACS format, all authors are listed — unlike APA or AMA, there is no 'et al.' cutoff rule for the reference list. Authors are formatted as Last, F. M. and separated by semicolons. For example: Smith, J. A.; Jones, B. C.; Brown, D. E. In the text, if you mention the authors, you use 'Smith et al.' for three or more authors. Our ACS citation generator lists all authors you enter, formatted correctly with semicolons.
Yes, completely free. No sign-up, no account, no credit card required. Generate unlimited ACS citations, build a full reference list, and copy in-text citation numbers — all at no cost. Your data is never stored or shared.
ACS format uses numbered citations — superscript numbers or parenthetical numbers like (1)(2) — and is used in chemistry and physical sciences. APA format uses author-date citations like (Smith, 2020) and is used in social sciences and psychology. In ACS format, the reference list is ordered by first appearance in the text. In APA, references are listed alphabetically by author last name. ACS also requires official journal abbreviations, while APA uses full journal titles.
To cite a book chapter in ACS format: ChapterAuthor, A. B. Chapter Title. In Book Title, Edition ed.; BookEditor, E. D., Ed.; Publisher: City, Year; pp Pages. Example: Grubbs, R. H. Olefin Metathesis Reactions. In Modern Organic Synthesis, 2nd ed.; Weinreb, S. M., Ed.; Wiley: New York, 2023; pp 45–78.
To cite a thesis in ACS format: Author, A. B. Thesis Title. Degree Type Thesis, University Name, City, Year. Example: Doudna, J. CRISPR-Cas9 Mechanisms in Bacterial Adaptive Immunity. Ph.D. Thesis, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 2024.
ACS uses official Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) journal abbreviations. For example, the Journal of the American Chemical Society is abbreviated as J. Am. Chem. Soc., ACS Nano remains ACS Nano, and Analytical Chemistry is abbreviated as Anal. Chem. You can find the complete list of ACS journal abbreviations on the ACS Publications website or in the ACS Style Guide. Our tool accepts whatever abbreviation you enter, so always verify against the official CAS abbreviation list.
Yes. You can add as many sources as you need — journal articles, books, websites, book chapters, and theses — and the tool builds a complete numbered ACS reference list automatically. Go to the Full Reference List tab to see all your references together and copy the entire list in one click. References are numbered in the order you add them, matching ACS format requirements.
ACS strongly recommends including DOIs (Digital Object Identifiers) for journal articles when available, as they provide a permanent, reliable link to the source. For books and other sources without DOIs, they are optional. Our ACS citation generator includes the DOI in the formatted citation automatically when you enter it, formatted as https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx per current ACS Style Guide recommendations. You can also use the Fetch Metadata button to auto-fill citation fields from a DOI.
For ACS Paragon Plus submissions, use the standard ACS numbered format. Most ACS journals require the official CAS journal abbreviation, the volume number in bold, and the year in italics (or vice versa depending on the specific journal, though the tool follows the most common 'Abbrev. Year, Volume, Pages' structure). Our generator is designed to meet these requirements, including listing all authors as required for peer-reviewed submissions.
To cite the American Chemical Society (ACS) itself as an organization or for one of its official reports: American Chemical Society. Title of Report or Page. URL (accessed Month Day, Year). For example: American Chemical Society. ACS Style Guide. https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/styleguide.html (accessed May 1, 2024).
ACS Citation Format: Complete Guide, Examples & Rules
ACS (American Chemical Society) citation format is the standard referencing style for chemistry, biochemistry, chemical engineering, and materials science. In ACS style, sources are cited using superscript numbers or parenthetical numbers placed directly in the text — for example ¹ or (1) — and a complete numbered reference list appears at the end of the paper in the order sources were first cited. Our free ACS citation generator creates these formatted references automatically for every source type required in chemistry coursework and research.
Unlike APA format — which uses author-date citations like (Smith, 2020) and alphabetical reference lists — ACS format uses numbered citations and orders references by their first appearance in the text. ACS also requires official CAS journal abbreviations (for example, J. Am. Chem. Soc. rather than the full journal name) and lists all authors in the reference list using last name followed by initials, separated by semicolons. These specific formatting rules are required for submissions to ACS Paragon Plus and for publication in any of the more than 60 ACS peer-reviewed journals including JACS, ACS Nano, ACS Catalysis, Analytical Chemistry, and Langmuir.
Chemistry students frequently search for ACS citation format examples before starting a lab report or research paper. The five reference formats shown above — journal article, book, website, book chapter, and thesis — cover every source type encountered in undergraduate and graduate chemistry programs. If you are working on an ACS Paragon Plus manuscript submission, the journal article format is the one most commonly required, and our DOI auto-fetch feature fills in all fields automatically from CrossRef when you paste a valid DOI.
Who Uses ACS Citation Format?
- ✓Chemistry Students — Required for lab reports, literature reviews, and research papers in undergraduate and graduate chemistry programs.
- ✓Biochemistry Researchers — Standard format for manuscripts submitted to ACS biochemistry journals including Biochemistry and ACS Chemical Biology.
- ✓Chemical Engineers — Used for papers submitted to Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research and other ACS engineering journals.
- ✓Materials Scientists — Required for ACS Nano, Chemistry of Materials, and other ACS materials science publications.
- ✓Pharmaceutical Scientists — Standard for Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, Molecular Pharmaceutics, and ACS pharmacology journals.
Generate Your ACS Citations — Free, No Sign-Up
Build your complete ACS reference list in one session — with in-text citation numbers included. Select a source type above and generate your first ACS citation in seconds. No account, no limits, no waiting.