(4) We submitted the paper on December 30th, and it quickly went under review. On January 10th, it showed "pending decision." At this time, we could see the reviewers' comments in the MDPI submission system (a total of 2 reviewers, with detailed and professional comments, totaling 20 points. Overall, the evaluations were quite positive). However, the "pending decision" status lasted for a week. When we inquired about it, the editor replied that the content of the paper did not match the journal's theme, and they intended to reject it. 
(5) After four or five days, the paper was still in the "pending decision" status, without any revision suggestions or rejection. So we wrote to urge the editor to make a decision so that we could submit it to another journal. The editor quickly replied with a rejection, and the system showed "rejected." Looking back now, it feels like Membranes is fishing: wanting to ensure the number of submissions while also worrying about others taking advantage. If the external review comments were not ideal, we could fully accept rejection. But if the external review comments were positive, going back to say it doesn't match the journal's theme is a bit unfair. Whether it matches the theme or not should have been decided when we submitted the article title and abstract, or during the editorial technical review stage after submission. This work was done by a graduate student who spent a whole year on experiments, and the writing and revisions were also very hard. In the end, being rejected not because of poor content but because of other unrelated factors feels like being played.

(0) 讚！ | 汪竹青

A very unpleasant submission experience, sharing it for everyone's reference.
(1) In early December, the magazine editor sent an email inviting submissions, stating that our research group has done a lot of work in membrane separation and offering a 100% discount on article processing fees if accepted [submission deadline: December 31, 2024]. One of the master's students I supervise had experimental work on membrane separation that could be finalized by the end of the month, and considering it was free, I replied to the email agreeing to submit.
(2) The editor subsequently replied requesting the submission of the paper title and abstract first. After we submitted as requested, the editor replied saying the content met the journal's requirements, but after discussion, they could only offer a 50% APC discount. Due to limited research group funds, we politely declined to submit.
(3) A week later, the editor replied again, stating that considering the tight budget of the research group, they agreed to offer a 100% discount and hoped we could submit by the end of the month.

(0) 讚！ | 汪竹青

Has anyone recently invested? Is it fast or slow?

(0) 讚！ | shengjing

Before submitting, please contact the guest editors of the special issue to apply for a reduction of 800 Swiss francs in page fees. Very nice.
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/membranes/special_issues/v533d8750l
(The deadline is November 10, 2023. The special issue and regular issues are the same, but they are handled by different editors on the website due to different themes.)

(0) 讚！ | 海角鱼

The research field is inorganic membrane separation.
Received: 14 November 2022
Minor Revisions: 24 November 2022
Revised: 8 December 2022
Accepted: 9 December 2022
Published: 12 December 2022
The speed is very fast.

Before submitting, contact the Guest Editors of the special issue to apply for a 800 francs reduction in page charges, which is very nice.
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/membranes/special_issues/V533D8750L

【Membrane materials and applications are not limited, deadline: 10 November 2023】

(225) 讚！ | 海角鱼

May I ask if there is any room for growth for this publication? Is it worth spending this money?

(10) 讚！ | 小羊加油@

I submitted the manuscript in March and received the reviewer's comments within a week. There was a minor revision and a major revision suggested. I was initially nervous when I saw the suggestions for the major revision because the reviewer had raised several issues. However, I provided detailed responses and explanations to address the reviewer's concerns, so there were no further problems. The journal's review process was fast, and the reviewer's questions were also detailed, so I recommend it to those who wish to publish quickly.

(5) 讚！ | 迈克尔福尔

May I ask where to make the payment after confirming employment? The editor sent an email for confirmation, but I couldn't find where to confirm.

(0) 讚！ | 晴天qingtian

Fast review speed, very easy to accept.

(0) 讚！ | RENE

Did the real-time IF reach 4 this year? The estimated number of articles to be included by the end of this year is 800, and the overall speed is fast.

(3) 讚！ | spoonnn

I don't know what everyone thinks about paying APC, and if they are willing to spend so much money to publish a journal listed in Zone 4 of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

(13) 讚！ | 膜拜之艺

The submission went smoothly. Th two reviewers raised many questions. It was accepted after detailed answers. It is an open-access journal.

(2) 讚！ | queyue