Table of Contents:

   I. Scope of the Journal

   II. File Upload Requirements

   III. Content Requirements

   IV. Submission Process

   V. Manuscript Review Process

   VI. Editorial and Proofreading Process after Acceptance

   VII. Corrections and Withdrawals

Scope of the Journal

Materials Protection primarily publishes research papers and review articles in the field of surface engineering, including new thin film technologies, thermal spraying and thermal welding, coatings and painting, corrosion and protection, friction and wear, electroplating and electroless plating, anodizing (micro-arc oxidation), and hot-dip plating. The journal has regular columns such as Special Issue, Research Articles, Review Articles, Process Articles, and Practical Articles.

File Upload Requirements

1. Document Format: The default format for manuscript submission is Word (*.doc or *.docx). Please do not upload PDF files only.

2. Image Format: Submitted manuscripts must include high-quality photos and graphs (preferably created using Origin software and then copied into the document). If there are high-resolution original images of electron microscopy, micrographs, or macrographs, compress them into a single file for separate upload. Acceptable formats include *.tif, *.jpg, etc.

 

Content Requirements

1. Research papers must be innovative, comprehensive, and contain substantial content. Research letters should present original findings, while research reports emphasize the requirement for innovation. Literature reviews should be completed by renowned experts in the field, combining their recent research achievements, and should demonstrate strong foresight and guidance.

2. Manuscripts should have clear arguments, concise writing, reliable data, and references that reflect the recent developments in the field.

3. The manuscript should include:

   - Title in both Chinese and English

   - Author names in both Chinese and English

   - Author affiliations (level 2 units) in both Chinese and English, along with the province and city

   - Postal code

   - Abstract in both Chinese and English

   - Keywords (3-5)

   - Figure and table captions in both Chinese and English

   - An article typically includes sections such as Introduction, Main Body (Experiment, Results, and Discussion), Conclusion, and References.

Chinese abstract requirement: The Chinese abstract should be no less than 300 words.

English abstract requirement: The English abstract should be no less than 400 words and should be accompanied by a Chinese version (different from the Chinese abstract mentioned above). The abstract should provide an overview of the research results and conclusions, avoiding excessive introductions to the research purpose and background. The English abstract should expand on the length of the research results and conclusion, focusing on presenting key data, findings, and achievements.

4. The full name and number of the funding project in Chinese and English should be indicated on the first page of the manuscript.

5. The biography of the corresponding author in Chinese and English should include the year of birth, professional title, education background, and research direction. The contact information of the corresponding author should include the phone number and email address.

6. Before submission, please ensure that the manuscript format conforms to the paper template (available on the journal's official website under the "Download Center - Paper Template" section) of Materials Protection.

7. Data sharing is beneficial for research replication and data reuse. The journal encourages authors to share research data, including original data, observation records, experimental results, etc. Authors can also share software, code, models, algorithms, and other materials used in the research. Authors can upload such materials to open third-party storage platforms (such as Science Data Bank) and provide the link at the end of the article.

Submission Process

1. Please visit the journal's official website.

2. Click on "Online Submission" on the left side of the homepage. Please note that first-time authors need to register.

3. After successful login, it is recommended to follow the step-by-step submission process using the "Guided Submission" option. The signed copyright agreement should be uploaded as a scanned document.

Special Note: Before submitting, authors should carefully review the “Copyright License Agreement” and the the “Security Confidentiality Agreement” of the journal (please refer to the “Download Center” section on the homepage of the journal's official website). Once submitted, the journal assumes that the authors are familiar and agree with the content of the “Copyright License Agreement” and the the “Security Confidentiality Agreement”.

4. Wait for the editorial department to receive the submission (0-3 days).

Note: After successful submission, authors should regularly check their email for updates.

Manuscript Review Process

Materials Protection adopts a single-blind peer review system. The review process for manuscripts is as follows:

I. Initial Review: The editors conduct an initial review to assess whether the manuscript meets the journal' s scope, formatting requirements, and other basic criteria (0-1 day).

II. Secondary Review: The editorial department invites relevant subject editors to review the manuscript based on its research direction. The secondary review focuses on evaluating the novelty of the research, experimental rationality, and other key aspects (0-7 days).

III. External Review: The manuscript is sent to at least two external expert reviewers for peer review (0-14 days). If there are conflicting opinions among the reviewers, additional experts will be consulted. The editorial department will send the final review comments to the authors, who are required to respond to each comment and submit a revised version of the manuscript.

IV. Final Review: The chief editor conducts the final review, taking into account the external review comments, and provides the ultimate decision: acceptance, revision and resubmission, or rejection (0-7 days).

Important Notes:

I. The results of the manuscript review will be communicated to the authors via email by the editorial board. Authors can also log into the online system within 1-3 months after submission to check the results. In rare cases, some manuscripts may undergo a longer review process. If authors have not received the review results after 3 months, you can contact the editorial department and consider submitting the manuscript elsewhere.

II. For manuscripts that require revisions and additional experimental work, please upload the revised version within the specified time frame provided by the editorial department. If an extension is needed, authors should promptly communicate the situation to the editorial department. Manuscripts that are not re-submitted within six months and have not been communicated to the editorial department will be considered automatically withdrawn.

III. The publication order of papers is primarily based on the order of submission. The duration of certain stages in the manuscript handling process may vary, but it does not affect the publication order of the articles. Authors do not need to frequently contact the editorial department. You can follow the online system for updates. Urgent review requests are not accepted, but expedited publishing is possible after the manuscript has been accepted.

IV. Editorial Board and Editor Submissions: For submissions from the editorial board and editors of the journal, all the review processes of the journal must be followed. The review work for such manuscripts will be conducted independently by relevant editorial board members, editors, and their research teams. Additionally, editorial board members and editors are not allowed to participate in the review process of manuscripts submitted by authors with whom they have competing, collaborative, or other conflicted interests.

V. Appeals: If authors disagree with the review comments or results, you can submit a written appeal to the editorial board via email. Authors must provide detailed explanations and justifications for each comment in their appeal. The editorial board will promptly review the appeal and provide feedback to the authors. Please note that typically, only one appeal per manuscript is considered.

VI. The above manuscript review process (including initial review, secondary review, external review, and final review) also applies to special issue submissions. Manuscripts submitted to special issues undergo the same review and editing processes as regular articles and are subject to the final acceptance decision made by the chief editor. The chief editor is responsible for the entire journal content, including special issues. The duties of invited editors for special issues include recommending special issue topics, soliciting manuscripts, organizing and supervising peer review, and facilitating communication among authors, reviewers, and the editorial board. Invited editors work under the supervision of the chief editor to ensure the fairness of the special issue manuscript review.

Editing and Proofreading Process after Manuscript Acceptance

Once the publication date for the manuscript is confirmed, the authors will be notified via email. There will be four rounds of editing and proofreading before typesetting and eventually publication.

Corrections and Withdrawals

Generally, Materials Protection does not make corrections or withdraw published articles. However, in the following necessary circumstances, corrections or withdrawals may be considered:

I. Corrections: If unintentional scientific errors are discovered in a published article, which do not significantly affect the results and conclusions of the article, the editorial board will promptly publish a correction notice in the journal. The notice will provide detailed explanations of the changes made to the original article and indicate the source of the article. The corrected version of the paper will be published, clearly specifying the modifications made to the original article and indicating the date of the update. When citing the article, the latest version should be referenced.

II. Withdrawals: The journal may consider withdrawing a published article in the following situations: ① When there are serious scientific errors in the article, rendering the results and conclusions unreliable; ② for articles suspected of plagiarism, data fabrication, or other academic misconduct, if proven, the article will be immediately retracted and dealt with according to the journal' s “Procedures for Determining Academic Misconduct in Papers.”