ACS Citation Generator

Generate accurate citations in three simple steps:

Enter source details. Create properly formatted ACS (American Chemical Society) citations from DOI lookup or manual entry. Supports journals, books, websites, and patents. Fill in the author(s), title, publication date, publisher, URL, or other relevant fields. The tool adapts its input fields based on the source type you select (book, journal article, website, etc.).

Select your citation style. Choose from major citation formats including APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE, and more. Each style has specific formatting rules — our tool handles all the details automatically.

Copy your citation. The formatted citation appears instantly. Copy it with one click and paste it directly into your paper, bibliography, or works cited page. The citation is guaranteed to follow the selected style guide's rules.

Features:

• DOI auto-lookup via CrossRef API — no manual typing
• 4 source types: journal, book, website, patent
• Correct ACS author formatting (Family, I.)
• Save multiple citations to a numbered reference list
• Copy or download references as plain text
• Real-time citation preview with proper italics and bold

Different disciplines use different citation styles. Here's what you need to know:

APA (7th edition): Used in psychology, education, and social sciences. Uses author-date in-text citations and a "References" page. Format: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work. Publisher.

MLA (9th edition): Used in humanities, literature, and liberal arts. Uses author-page in-text citations and a "Works Cited" page. Format: Author. "Title of Source." Container, Other contributors, Version, Number, Publisher, Date, Location.

Chicago/Turabian: Used in history, arts, and some social sciences. Offers two systems: notes-bibliography (footnotes) and author-date. Common in academic publishing and professional writing.

Harvard: Popular in UK, Australian, and some European universities. Similar to APA with author-date format but with some formatting differences in punctuation and capitalization.

IEEE: Used in engineering, computer science, and technical fields. Uses numbered references in brackets [1] rather than author names in text.

Ace your citations with these expert tips:

• Cite as you write — Don't save citations for the end. Add them as you reference each source. This prevents you from forgetting sources and makes the final bibliography much easier to compile.
• Be consistent — Use one citation style throughout your entire document. Mixing styles is a common mistake that can cost you marks or credibility.
• Include all required fields — Missing information (like a publisher or access date for websites) can invalidate a citation. Fill in every field our tool provides for the most complete citation possible.
• Verify generated citations — While our tool is highly accurate, always give each citation a final check against your style guide. Your professor or journal may have specific requirements that differ slightly from standard formatting.
• Keep a master bibliography — Maintain a running list of all sources you've ever cited. This saves time when you reference the same sources in future papers.