The ACS Style Guide recommends extensive style conventions for citing references.
The following is just a short excerpt from chapter 14.
Periodicals
Author 1; Author 2; Author 3; etc. Title of Article. Journal Abbreviation Year, Volume, Inclusive Pagination.
Author 1; Author 2; Author 3; etc. Journal Abbreviation Year, Volume, Inclusive Pagination.
Author name
Include all author names in a reference citation (Some publications list the first 10 authors followed by a semicolon and et al.). With multiple authors, separate the names from one another by semicolons. Always end the author field with a period. List the names in inverted form: surname first, then first initial, middle initial, and qualifiers (Jr., II). Use periods and spaces after initials in persons’ names.
Article title
Article titles are not essential in reference citations, but they are considered desirable to highlight the contents of a paper and facilitate location in reference libraries. Article titles are set in roman type without quotation marks and end with a period (or a question mark if that is
part of the title). Capitalization follows that of the original publication.
Journal abbreviation
Abbreviate the journal name according to the Chemical Abstracts Service Source Index (CASSI), and italicize it. One-word journal names are not abbreviated (e.g., Biochemistry, Macromolecules, Nature, Science). No punctuation is added to end this field; thus, a period will be there with an abbreviation but not with a spelled-out word.
Caruso, R. A.; Susha, A.; Caruso, F. Multilayered Titania, Silica, and Laponite Nanoparticle Coatings on Polystyrene Colloidal Templates and Resulting Inorganic Hollow Spheres. Chem. Mater. 2001, 13, 400–409.
Year of publication
The year is set in boldface type, followed by a comma in boldface type.
Publication volume
The volume number is set in italic type and is separated from the pagination information by a comma.
For periodicals in which each issue begins with page 1, include issue information (either the number or the date) in the publication volume field. Issue information is set in roman type, enclosed in parentheses, and spaced from the volume number, which it directly follows.
Mullin, R. Chem. Eng. News 2005, 83 (42), 7.
Mullin, R. Chem. Eng. News 2005, 83 (Oct 17), 7.
For journals that have no volume numbers, include issue numbers. Use the following form. Note that the issue number is not italicized.
Wills, M. R.; Savory, J. Lancet 1983, No. 2, 29.
Pagination
The complete page range is preferable. In page spans, use all digits, closed up, with no commas or spaces. (Note that the en dash “–” is used to indicate a closed range of values. Be careful to distinguish between the en dash “–” and the hyphen “-”, which is smaller.)
Books without editors
Author 1; Author 2; Author 3; etc. Chapter Title. Book Title, Edition Number; Series Information (if any); Publisher: Place of Publication, Year; Volume Number, Pagination.
Author 1; Author 2; Author 3; etc. Book Title; Series Information (if any); Publisher: Place of Publication, Year; Volume Number, Pagination.
When a book has authors and no editors, it means either that the entire book was written by one author or that two or more authors collaborated on the entire book.
Morris, R. The Last Sorcerers: The Path from Alchemy to the Periodic Table; Joseph Henry Press: Washington, DC, 2003; pp 145–158.
Le Couteur, P.; Burreson, J. Napoleon’s Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History; Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam: New York, 2003; pp 32–47.
Edition Number
The edition number (in ordinal form) and the abbreviation “ed.” follow the book title, set off by an italic comma; they are set in roman type. The edition information is separated from the next field of the reference by a semicolon.
Reagent Chemicals, 10th ed.;
Pagination
If the book as a whole is the reference, page numbers need not be given.
If you are citing a chapter, the complete page range is best.
Pagination information is set in roman type and ends with a period, except when miscellaneous information follows it, in which case it should end with a semicolon. Use the abbreviations “p” and “pp” to indicate single and multiple pages, respectively.
Books with editors
Author 1; Author 2; Author 3; etc. Chapter Title. In Book Title, Edition Number; Editor 1, Editor 2, etc., Eds.; Series Information (if any); Publisher: Place of Publication, Year; Volume Number, Pagination.
Author 1; Author 2; Author 3; etc. In Book Title, Edition Number; Editor 1, Editor 2, etc., Eds.; Series Information (if any); Publisher: Place of Publication, Year; Volume Number, Pagination.
When a book has editors, it means that different authors wrote various parts of the book independently of each other. The word “In” before the book title indicates that the authors mentioned wrote only a part of the book, not the entire book.
Almlof, J.; Gropen, O. Relativistic Effects in Chemistry. In Reviews in Computational Chemistry; Lipkowitz, K. B., Boyd, D. B., Eds.; VCH: New York, 1996; Vol. 8, pp 206–210.
Holbrey, J. D.; Chen, J.; Turner, M. B.; Swatloski, R. P.; Spear, S. K.; Rogers, R. D. Applying Ionic Liquids for Controlled Processing of Polymer Materials. In Ionic Liquids in Polymer Systems: Solvents, Additives, and Novel Applications; Brazel, C. S., Rogers, R. D., Eds.; ACS Symposium Series 913; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2005; pp 71–88.
If the book as a whole is being referenced, the author names might not appear.
Ionic Liquids in Polymer Systems: Solvents, Additives, and Novel Applications; Brazel, C. S., Rogers, R. D., Eds.; ACS Symposium Series 913; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2005.
Theses
Author. Title of Thesis. Level of Thesis, Degree-Granting University, Location of University, Date of Completion.
References to theses should be as specific as practical, including, at a minimum, the degree-granting institution and date.
Chandrakanth, J. S. Effects of Ozone on the Colloidal Stability of Particles Coated with Natural Organic Matter. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Colorado,
Boulder, CO, 1994.
Mäckel, H. Capturing the Spectra of Silicon Solar Cells. Ph.D. Thesis, The Australian National University, December 2004.
Kulamer, T. M.S. Thesis, Princeton University, 2004.
Patents
Patent Owner 1; Patent Owner 2; etc. Title of Patent. Patent Number, Date.
The minimum data required for an acceptable citation are the name(s) of the patent owner(s), the patent number, and the date. If possible, include the title as well. Ensure that the patent stage (Patent, Patent Application, etc.) is indicated and that the pattern of the number (e.g., spaces, commas, dashes) follows that of the original patent document.
Sheem, S. K. Low-Cost Fiber Optic Pressure Sensor. U.S. Patent 6,738,537, May 18, 2004.
Lenssen, K. C.; Jantscheff, P.; Kiedrowski, G.; Massing, U. Cationic Lipids with Serine Backbone for Transfecting Biological Molecules. Eur. Pat. Appl. 1457483, 2004.
Petrovick, P. R.; Carlini, E. Antiulcerogenic Preparation from Maytenus ilicifolia and Obtaintion Process. Br. Patent PI 994502, March 6, 1999.
If possible, include the Chemical Abstracts reference (preceded by a semicolon) as well.
Langhals, H.; Wetzel, F. Perylene Pigments with Metallic Effects. Ger. Offen. DE 10357978.8, Dec 11, 2003; Chem. Abstr. 2005, 143, 134834.
Online encyclopedias*
Article Title. Encyclopedia Title, edition [Online]; Publisher, Posted Online Posting Date. URL (accessed Month Day, Year).
General web sites
Author (if any). Title of Site. URL (accessed Month Day, Year), other identifying information (if any).
* Remarks (not taken from the ACS Style Guide)
Some online encyclopedias are often updated with new content; therefore, it may be useful to use a permanent link, which leads to the text as it was at the time. Wikipedia offers a “Cite this page” tool that automatically creates references in various styles, for example: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&page=Benzene&id=751982820 (see also Citing Wikipedia), which can be easily adapted to the above-mentioned style.
Benzene. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia [Online]; Posted November 28, 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Benzene&oldid=751982820 (accessed Nov 28, 2016).
However, note that Wikipedia is not considered a reliable source.
