MATERIALS & DESIGN

This is the second article published in this journal. The first article was during my PhD studies in 2015. At that time, the process was slower and not open access. It took about 5 months to be accepted, and I was very happy at that time!

This is my first article after starting work. I have a relatively good understanding of the journal and have a strong emotional connection to it. The specific process is as follows:

June 16, 2021: Submission
June 26, 2021: Under review
July 20, 2021: Feedback received with 24 comments from two reviewers. One expert distinguished between critical comments and general comments. The comments were very to the point and constructive.

August 10, 2021: Resubmission
August 20, 2021: Under review
September 12, 2021: Further revisions requested. One of the reviewers was not satisfied with four of my modifications. I made the revisions and submitted them on the same day.

September 17, 2021: Acceptance

Overall, the process was relatively fast. After submitting, it is important to be patient and not rush. Personally, I believe that the research level of this journal is not on par with Nature Communications or Acta Materialia. However, it has a good reputation and is well-recognized within the field. One advantage is its high impact factor. Unlike the journal Applied Surface Science, which received a warning last year, this journal did not. Additionally, this journal is not comparable to the MDPI's open access journals in terms of quality.

I have been thinking about this magazine for many years. I submitted a review in December last year, and chose the category I for submission. However, by the end of the year, it was changed to category II, which was disappointing. After submitting, it took more than a month for the editor to review. I asked the editor once and was told that they were still looking for reviewers. After about two months, it was returned for revisions. The reviewer was a colleague in the same field, and there were not many issues, so I thought everything would be fine. However, after it was returned, it went through another round of review, and it was not reviewed by the same person as before. So, I had to make more changes. It took half a year, but finally, it was accepted. Looking at past comments, I thought it would be quick, and other articles seemed to be quick as well. But this time, it was slower. Good things come to those who wait. This is my second review in life, and I am thankful for the team's effort. There is always a reward for hard work.