Journal of Phase Change Materials

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Author Guidelines

JOURNAL OF PHASE CHANGE MATERIALS — AUTHOR GUIDELINES
ISSN 2788-7170 | Open Access | No Article Processing Charges

J-PCM welcomes original research articles, systematic reviews, rapid communications, letters to the editor, and selected conference papers in all areas of phase change materials science and engineering. All submissions are subject to double-blind peer review.

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ARTICLE TYPES AND WORD LIMITS
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Original Research Article   — max 3,500 words
Comprehensive Review        — max 5,000 words
Brief / Rapid Communication — max 1,500 words
Commentary / Perspectives   — max 3,500 words

Word limits exclude the abstract, tables, figures, and reference list.
Maximum 5 figures and 5 tables for full articles (2 each for Brief Communications).
Review authors should contact the Editor-in-Chief with an outline before submitting.

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MANUSCRIPT FILES
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Submit the following:
- Main manuscript (Word .docx, fully anonymised)
- Title page (separate file)
- Cover letter
- Figures as separate TIFF files
- Graphical abstract (optional)

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COVER LETTER
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Required. Must include:
- Article title and type
- Brief statement of novelty and significance
- Confirmation the manuscript is submitted solely to J-PCM
- Declaration of any conflicts of interest
- Names and emails of three suggested reviewers with no conflicts of interest

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TITLE PAGE (separate file)
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- Full article title
- All author names, institutional affiliations, and ORCID iDs (if available)
- Corresponding author name, email, and postal address

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ABSTRACT
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Maximum 250 words. Must be self-contained. Do not cite references, figures, or tables in the abstract. Suggested structure: Background, Methods, Results, Conclusions.

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KEYWORDS
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Provide 3–6 keywords immediately after the abstract. Use American spelling. Avoid terms already in the title. Avoid general or plural terms.

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ARTICLE STRUCTURE
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Number all sections (1, 1.1, 1.1.1 …). The abstract is not numbered.

1. Introduction
State the objectives, provide background, and clearly explain what is novel and why it is significant. Do not repeat the abstract. Do not provide an extensive literature survey.

2. Materials and Methods
Provide sufficient detail to allow independent replication. Summarise previously published methods with a reference. Describe any modifications to existing methods.

3. Theory / Calculation (if applicable)
Extend the introduction. Lay the theoretical or computational foundation for the work.

4. Results
Present results clearly and concisely. Use a maximum of 5 figures and 5 tables. Place all figures and tables within the main text, not in separate files.

5. Discussion
Explore the significance of the results. Do not repeat the results. A combined Results and Discussion section is acceptable where appropriate.

6. Conclusions
Briefly summarise findings without repeating results. State implications and significance. Suggest future directions. Include a take-home message for the PCM community.

7. Conflict of Interest Statement
Declare all financial and non-financial conflicts of interest, or state: "The authors declare no conflicts of interest."

8. Author Contributions
Describe each author's contribution using CRediT taxonomy (e.g., Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – original draft, etc.).

9. Acknowledgements
List individuals who provided assistance (language help, proof reading, etc.). Do not place on the title page or as a footnote.

10. Funding
Format: "Funding: This work was supported by [Funder Name] [grant number(s)]."

11. References

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FORMATTING
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- Font: 11 pt Times New Roman
- Line spacing: single
- Continuous line numbers and page numbers throughout
- File format: Microsoft Word (.docx)
- Equations: editable text only (not images); number displayed equations consecutively
- Tables: editable text only (not images); no vertical rules or cell shading

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FIGURES
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- Submit as separate TIFF files (LZW compression)
- Line drawings and graphs: minimum 1200 dpi
- Photographs: minimum 300 dpi (600 dpi if text is present)
- Width: 6.5 cm (single column), 13.5 cm (full column), max 15 cm (full page)
- Font size within figures: 8–10 pt; use Arial, Courier, or Times New Roman
- Main lines ~0.3 mm; assistant lines ~0.15 mm
- Captions submitted separately in the main manuscript
- Ensure colour figures are accessible to readers with colour vision deficiency
- Name files sequentially: Figure1.tif, Figure2.tif, etc.

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TABLES
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- Submit as editable Word tables (not images)
- Place tables within the main text at the point of first reference
- Number tables consecutively (Table 1, Table 2, …)
- Provide a brief descriptive title above each table
- Place footnotes below the table body
- No vertical rules or cell shading
- Total tables must not exceed 5

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GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT (optional)
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A single image summarising the article in pictorial form.
Minimum size: 531 × 1328 pixels (h × w). Resolution: 96 dpi at 5 × 13 cm.
Accepted formats: TIFF, EPS, PDF, or MS Office.
Submit as a separate file.

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REFERENCES — VANCOUVER STYLE
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Use sequential numbers in square brackets, placed before punctuation.
Examples:
  This material is widely used [1].
  This was later contradicted [3,4].
  Several studies confirm this [1–4,7].

Journal article:
  Smith AB, Jones CD. Title of article. J Phase Chang Mater. 2023;2(1):1–12. doi:10.XXXX/jpcm.2023.001

Book chapter:
  Author AB. Chapter title. In: Editor CD, editor. Book Title. City: Publisher; 2020. p. 100–120.

Website:
  Author AB. Page title [Internet]. Publisher; 2022 [cited 2023 Jan 15]. Available from: https://www.example.com

- Every reference in the list must appear in the text and vice versa.
- Unpublished results and personal communications may be noted in the text but not listed in the references.
- Include contemporary citations providing sufficient context for critical analysis.

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ETHICAL STANDARDS
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J-PCM follows COPE guidelines and ICMJE recommendations.

Authorship: All listed authors must meet all four ICMJE authorship criteria. Guest, gift, and ghost authorship are not permitted.

Research ethics: Studies involving human subjects or animals must have received appropriate ethical approval. State the approving committee name and reference number in the Materials and Methods section.

Plagiarism: All submissions are screened for plagiarism. A similarity index above 15% (excluding references) will be returned for revision before review.

Conflicts of interest: Declare all financial and non-financial conflicts in the manuscript and cover letter.

Data availability: Authors are encouraged to make data supporting their findings available in a public repository and to include a Data Availability Statement.

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OPEN ACCESS AND COPYRIGHT
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J-PCM is fully open access. There are no submission fees or article processing charges.
Authors retain copyright under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) licence.
Preprints may be posted at any time. Please update preprint records with the published DOI upon acceptance.

For further information contact: sudip.chakraborty@unical.it

Submission Preparation Checklist

  • The manuscript has not been previously published and is not under consideration by any other journal.
  • The submission is an original work and all sources have been properly cited. The manuscript has been checked for plagiarism.
  • All authors listed meet the ICMJE authorship criteria and have approved the final manuscript.
  • A separate, anonymised manuscript file has been prepared (no author names or affiliations in the main document).
  • A separate title page has been prepared containing: full article title, all author names and affiliations, ORCID iDs (if available), and corresponding author contact details.
  • A cover letter is included, stating the article title, a brief statement of novelty, confirmation of sole submission to J-PCM, declaration of conflicts of interest, and names of three suggested reviewers.
  • The abstract is self-contained, a maximum of 250 words, and does not reference figures, tables, or citations.
  • 3–6 keywords are provided immediately after the abstract.
  • The manuscript uses Vancouver reference style with numbered citations in square brackets. All references in the list appear in the text and vice versa.
  • All figures are submitted as separate high-resolution TIFF files (minimum 1200 dpi for line art; 300 dpi for photographs). Figure captions are provided separately in the manuscript.
  • The manuscript includes a Conflict of Interest statement and an Author Contributions section.
  • Funding sources are acknowledged in the required format: "Funding: This work was supported by [Funder] [grant number]."
  • Where applicable, ethical approval details (committee name and approval number) are stated in the Materials & Methods section.
  • Permission has been obtained to reproduce any third-party material (figures, tables, data) included in the submission.
  • I have read and agree to the Journal of Phase Change Materials Publication Ethics Policy.

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