The ACS has “strongly encouraged” authors to get an ORCID identifier, but recent communications to librarians indicate that this year ORCID identifiers will become mandatory in order to publish in an ACS journal.
You may have heard me mention ORCID before, as a way to help others find your work. An ORCID ID is like a social security number for authors; it distinguishes you from others with the same or similar names. It is also handy if you have ever changed your name, or expect to change your name in the future. Getting an ORCID identifier is quick and easy; it literally takes only a few minutes. Get yours here: http://orcid.org/
Linking your ORCID identifier to your previous work can be done from Scopus or Web of Science (through your ReasercherID), as well as by exporting BibTex records from your Google Scholar account. For more information about these databases or ORCID, please e-mail me at laura.palumbo@rutgers.edu.