ChemRxiv (chemrxiv.org) is the preprint server for chemistry and related disciplines, operated by the American Chemical Society (ACS), Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), German Chemical Society (GDCh), and Chemical Society of Japan (CSJ). It hosts preprints — non-peer-reviewed manuscripts posted before or alongside journal submission — in organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, materials science, chemical engineering, biochemistry, computational chemistry, and related fields. All preprints are freely available without subscription.

How do I download a ChemRxiv preprint PDF?

Go to chemrxiv.org and search by author, title, or keyword. On a preprint's page, click the 'Download' button or 'PDF' link to download the full manuscript. ChemRxiv preprints are always freely available — no account or subscription required. Some preprints include supporting information as a separate PDF or ZIP file; the main manuscript PDF is the one to convert.

Do chemistry preprints convert well to EPUB?

It depends on the content. The text sections (introduction, methods, results, discussion) convert well for most chemistry papers. Chemical structures and reaction schemes are rendered as images in the PDF and preserved as images in the EPUB. Equations (in papers that use mathematical notation) also appear as images. If a paper is heavily structure- or equation-dominated, EPUB conversion is most useful for the text sections; for primarily image-based content, the original PDF may be more useful.

How does ChemRxiv compare to other chemistry preprint sources?

ChemRxiv is the primary chemistry preprint server, equivalent to arXiv for physics/CS or bioRxiv for biology. For published journal articles, the main free sources are: PubMed Central (for NIH-funded chemistry/biochemistry research), open-access ACS journals, RSC Gold open-access papers, and author self-archived versions on ResearchGate or academia.edu. ChemRxiv preprints are typically posted 1–6 months before the peer-reviewed version appears.

Should I cite the ChemRxiv preprint or wait for the peer-reviewed version?

For rigorous academic work, cite the peer-reviewed published version when available. ChemRxiv preprints are appropriate to cite when: the peer-reviewed version is not yet available, you're referencing a specific result that may have changed in the final version (note this), or in fields where preprint citation is standard (increasingly common in chemistry). Check whether the preprint has a 'Published version' link on ChemRxiv, which will give you the DOI for the final paper.

How to Convert ChemRxiv Chemistry Preprints to EPUB for E-Reader Reading (2026)

Updated June 2026 · Research

ChemRxiv is the preprint server for chemistry and related disciplines — operated jointly by ACS, RSC, GDCh, and CSJ. It hosts thousands of freely available preprints in organic chemistry, materials science, chemical engineering, biochemistry, and computational chemistry. Converting these PDFs to EPUB makes the text sections significantly more comfortable to read on an e-reader, especially for long methods-heavy papers.

Chemistry preprint sources compared

Server	Disciplines	Operator	Free access?
ChemRxiv	Chemistry, chemical engineering, materials	ACS, RSC, GDCh, CSJ	Yes — always
arXiv (chem-ph)	Chemical physics, physical chemistry	Cornell	Yes — always
bioRxiv	Biochemistry, chemical biology overlap	Cold Spring Harbor	Yes — always
RSC Open Access	RSC journal articles	Royal Society of Chemistry	Open access titles only
ACS Open Access	ACS journal articles	American Chemical Society	Open access titles only

How to download and convert a ChemRxiv preprint to EPUB

Go to chemrxiv.org and search by topic, author, or keyword
On the preprint page, click 'Download' or 'PDF' to download the manuscript
Go to toolkit.bot/pdf2epub and upload the PDF
Download the EPUB — section headings (Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, References) become a navigable TOC
Send to Kindle by email or transfer to Kobo by USB

Frequently asked questions

What is ChemRxiv?: ChemRxiv (chemrxiv.org) is the preprint server for chemistry and related disciplines, operated by the American Chemical Society (ACS), Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), German Chemical Society (GDCh), and Chemical Society of Japan (CSJ). It hosts preprints — non-peer-reviewed manuscripts posted before or alongside journal submission — in organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, materials science, chemical engineering, biochemistry, computational chemistry, and related fields. All preprints are freely available without subscription.
How do I download a ChemRxiv preprint PDF?: Go to chemrxiv.org and search by author, title, or keyword. On a preprint's page, click the 'Download' button or 'PDF' link to download the full manuscript. ChemRxiv preprints are always freely available — no account or subscription required. Some preprints include supporting information as a separate PDF or ZIP file; the main manuscript PDF is the one to convert.
Do chemistry preprints convert well to EPUB?: It depends on the content. The text sections (introduction, methods, results, discussion) convert well for most chemistry papers. Chemical structures and reaction schemes are rendered as images in the PDF and preserved as images in the EPUB. Equations (in papers that use mathematical notation) also appear as images. If a paper is heavily structure- or equation-dominated, EPUB conversion is most useful for the text sections; for primarily image-based content, the original PDF may be more useful.
How does ChemRxiv compare to other chemistry preprint sources?: ChemRxiv is the primary chemistry preprint server, equivalent to arXiv for physics/CS or bioRxiv for biology. For published journal articles, the main free sources are: PubMed Central (for NIH-funded chemistry/biochemistry research), open-access ACS journals, RSC Gold open-access papers, and author self-archived versions on ResearchGate or academia.edu. ChemRxiv preprints are typically posted 1–6 months before the peer-reviewed version appears.
Should I cite the ChemRxiv preprint or wait for the peer-reviewed version?: For rigorous academic work, cite the peer-reviewed published version when available. ChemRxiv preprints are appropriate to cite when: the peer-reviewed version is not yet available, you're referencing a specific result that may have changed in the final version (note this), or in fields where preprint citation is standard (increasingly common in chemistry). Check whether the preprint has a 'Published version' link on ChemRxiv, which will give you the DOI for the final paper.