Retraction: Tuning the chemistry of graphene oxides by a sonochemical approach: application of adsorption properties

Retraction of ‘Tuning the chemistry of graphene oxides by a sonochemical approach: application of adsorption properties’ by Yubing Sun et al., RSC Adv., 2015, 5, 24886–24892, DOI: 10.1039/C5RA02021B.

The Royal Society of Chemistry, with the agreement of the named authors, hereby wholly retracts this RSC Advances article due to concerns with the reliability of the data in the published article.The TEM image in Fig. 1B duplicates data published in another publication by Pan et al., but presented as different materials.¹The AFM images in Fig. 1C and D illustrate duplication of data, given that these experiments were reported under different reaction conditions.The EXAFS spectra in Fig. 4 duplicate data in another publication, but reported as different materials.²Given the number and significance of the concerns about the validity of the data, the findings presented in this paper are no longer reliable.Signed: Yubing Sun, Shubin Yang, Congcong Ding and Wencai ChengDate: 27^th March 2020Zhongxiu Jin was contacted but did not respond.Retraction endorsed by Laura Fisher, Executive Editor, RSC Advances     

Retraction: Graphene oxide/DNA-decorated electrode for the fabrication of microRNA biosensor

Retraction of ‘Graphene oxide/DNA-decorated electrode for the fabrication of microRNA biosensor’ by Erlin Sun et al., RSC Adv., 2015, 5, 69334–69338, DOI: 10.1039/C5RA12373A.

We, the named authors, hereby wholly retract this RSC Advances article due to a lack of reproducibility in the results of the paper. We have been unable to replicate the results of miRNA detection, shown in Fig. 8, and as a result, the conclusions of this paper are not supported.Signed: Erlin Sun, Lining Wang, Xiaodong Zhou, Chengquan Ma, Yan Sun, Mingde Lei, Bingxin Lu and Ruifa HanDate: 14^th July 2020Retraction endorsed by Laura Fisher, Executive Editor, RSC Advances     

Retraction: Simultaneous sorption and reduction of U(vi) on magnetite–reduced graphene oxide composites investigated by macroscopic,spectroscopic and modeling techniques

Retraction of ‘Simultaneous sorption and reduction of U(vi) on magnetite–reduced graphene oxide composites investigated by macroscopic, spectroscopic and modeling techniques’ by Wencai Cheng et al., RSC Adv., 2015, 5, 59677–59685, DOI: 10.1039/C5RA10451C.

The Royal Society of Chemistry, with the agreement of the authors, hereby wholly retracts this RSC Advances article due to concerns with the reliability of the data in the published article.The SEM image in Fig. 1C duplicates data published in another publication, but reported as different materials.¹There are unexpected similarities in the XPS spectra presented for M1–rGO and M5–rGO in Fig. 2A.Repeating fragments can be observed in the baseline of the XRD spectrum for GO presented in Fig. 2B, which indicate that it has been manipulated. In addition, the XRD spectrum for M5–rGO in Fig. 2B duplicates data published in ref. 1 and 2, but they have been reported as different materials.Given the number and significance of the concerns about the validity of the data, the findings presented in this paper are no longer reliable.Signed: Wencai Cheng, Zhongxiu Jin, Congcong Ding and Maolin WangDate: 27^th March 2020Retraction endorsed by Laura Fisher, Executive Editor, RSC Advances     

Retraction: Anti-cancer activity of hierarchical ZSM-5 zeolites synthesized from rice-based waste materials

Retraction of ‘Anti-cancer activity of hierarchical ZSM-5 zeolites synthesized from rice-based waste materials’ by S. K. Jesudoss et al., RSC Adv., 2018, 8, 481–490, https://doi.org/10.1039/C7RA11763A.

The Royal Society of Chemistry, with the agreement of the authors, hereby wholly retracts this RSC Advances article due to concerns with the reliability of the data.In Fig. 2 the data for (a), (b) and (c) contains sections of identical noise.In Fig. 7 there are several instances of overlapping images. Fig. 7a and e are identical, Fig. 7b and f have partial overlap, and Fig. 7c and d have partial overlap.Given the significance of these concerns, the findings presented in this paper are no longer reliable.Signed: S. K. Jesudoss, J. Judith Vijaya, K. Kaviyarasu, L. John Kennedy, R. Jothi Ramalingam, Hamad A. Al-LohedanDate: 18^th August 2022.Retraction endorsed by Laura Fisher, Executive Editor, RSC Advances.     

Retraction: Metal-free [2+2+1] cycloaddition polymerization of alkynes,nitriles, and oxygen atoms to functional polyoxazoles

Retraction of ‘Metal-free [2+2+1] cycloaddition polymerization of alkynes, nitriles, and oxygen atoms to functional polyoxazoles’ by Lichao Dong et al., RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 24368–24373, DOI: 10.1039/D0RA04249H.

We, the named authors, hereby wholly retract this RSC Advances article as there is insufficient data to support the structure of the final polymer product, and therefore, the conclusions are not fully supported. In Fig. 1 the peaks of the ¹H-NMR spectrum are stacked together and therefore the spectrum cannot be used as proof of the polymer structure. In Fig. 2, the ¹³C-NMR spectrum, the peaks on the benzene ring cannot correspond to before and after polymerization. Therefore, further research and characterization work is needed to determine the structure of the resulting polymer.The corresponding authors regret this oversight and apologise for any inconvenience to readers. Signed: Lichao Dong, Tian Lan, Yin Liang, Shifeng Guo and Hao ZhangDate: 18 April 2021 Retraction endorsed by Laura Fisher, Executive Editor, RSC Advances     

Retraction: Radio frequency triggered curcumin delivery from thermo and pH responsive nanoparticles containing gold nanoparticles and its in vivo localization studies in an orthotopic breast tumor model

Retraction of ‘Radio frequency triggered curcumin delivery from thermo and pH responsive nanoparticles containing gold nanoparticles and its in vivo localization studies in an orthotopic breast tumor model’ by N. Sanoj Rejinold et al., RSC Adv., 2014, 4, 39408–39427, DOI: 10.1039/C4RA05727A.

We, the named authors, hereby wholly retract this RSC Advances article due to duplication of images in Fig. 9–12, 15, 18 and 19, which affect the reliability of the data and the overall conclusions presented in the published article.Signed: N. Sanoj Rejinold, Reju George Thomas, Muthunarayanan Muthiah, K. P. Chennazhi, In-Kyu Park, K. Manzoor and R. Jayakumar, 24th July 2020.Yong Yeon Jeong was contacted but did not respond.Retraction endorsed by Laura Fisher, Executive Editor, RSC Advances.     

Retraction: Self-association of L-periaxin occurs via its acidic domain and NLS2/NLS3, and affects its trafficking in RSC96 cells

Retraction of ‘Self-association of L-periaxin occurs via its acidic domain and NLS2/NLS3, and affects its trafficking in RSC96 cells’ by Yenan Yang et al., RSC Adv., 2017, 7, 44112–44123, DOI: 10.1039/C7RA06853K

The Royal Society of Chemistry, with the agreement of the authors, hereby wholly retracts this RSC Advances article due to concerns with the reliability of the data in the published article. The authors confirmed that the western blot images in Fig. 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7 had been inappropriately manipulated. Given the significance of the concerns about the validity of the data, the findings presented in this paper are no longer reliable.Signed: Yenan Yang, Min Liang and Yawei ShiDate: 8^th April 2021Retraction endorsed by Laura Fisher, Executive Editor, RSC Advances     

Retraction: Organometallic Ag nanostructures prepared using Hypericum perforatum extract are highly effective against multidrug-resistant bacteria

Retraction of ‘Organometallic Ag nanostructures prepared using Hypericum perforatum extract are highly effective against multidrug-resistant bacteria’ by Qaisar Maqbool et al., RSC Adv., 2018, 8, 30562–30572.

We, the named authors, wholly retract this RSC Advances article.The authors have repeated the FTIR and TGA analyses of the nanoparticles synthesised using H. perforatum, and also obtained the original data files from the facility that carried out the initial analyses. The authors have compared the new results and the original data files with the data in the published article. They found that the graphs presented in Fig. 7a and b in the article did not correspond to neither the original data nor the new analysis. They also found that the same TGA graph (Fig. 7b) was used in previous articles by the first author but representing a different material.^1,2The Institute of Plant Genetics of the Polish Academy of Sciences have confirmed to the Royal Society of Chemistry that graphs presented in Fig. 7 of this RSC Advances article were manipulated.The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused to readers.Signed: Dariusz Kruszka, Piotr Kachlicki and Gregory FranklinDate: 5^th April 2019Qaisar Maqbool opposes this retraction.Retraction endorsed by Andrew Shore, Executive Editor, RSC Advances     

Retraction: Monodispersed palladium–cobalt alloy nanoparticles assembled on poly(N-vinyl-pyrrolidone) (PVP) as a highly effective catalyst for dimethylamine borane (DMAB) dehydrocoupling

Retraction of ‘Monodispersed palladium–cobalt alloy nanoparticles assembled on poly(N-vinyl-pyrrolidone) (PVP) as a highly effective catalyst for dimethylamine borane (DMAB) dehydrocoupling’ by Betül Çelik et al., RSC Adv., 2016, 6, 24097–24102, DOI: 10.1039/c6ra00536e.

The Royal Society of Chemistry hereby wholly retracts this RSC Advances article due to concerns with the reliability of the data in the published article.The low angle portions of the three XRD spectra in Fig. 2, representing three different materials: Pd@PVP, Co@PVP and Pd–Co@PVP NPs, are the same. The blue spectrum representing Co@PVP also has repeating fragments at higher angles. An expert reviewed the authors’ responses but concluded that they did not satisfactorily address the concerns, and that the replacement data provided by the authors did not fully support the conclusions. Given the significance of the concerns about the validity of the data, the findings presented in this paper are no longer reliable.Fatih Sen, Betül Çelik and Hakan Sert oppose this retraction. Esma Erken, Yunus Yıldız and Yagmur Koskun were contacted but did not respond.Signed: Laura Fisher, Executive Editor, RSC AdvancesDate: 23rd September 2021     

Expression of concern: Self-assembled membrane manufactured by metal–organic framework (UiO-66) coated γ-Al2O3 for cleaning oily seawater

Expression of concern for ‘Self-assembled membrane manufactured by metal–organic framework (UiO-66) coated γ-Al₂O₃ for cleaning oily seawater’ by Cunlong Li et al., RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 10702–10714, DOI: 10.1039/C9RA00521H.

The following article ‘Self-assembled membrane manufactured by metal–organic framework (UiO-66) coated γ-Al₂O₃ for cleaning oily seawater’ has been published in RSC Advances.The XRD data shown in Fig. 6b is the same for the UA composites (shown in green) and UiO-66 particles (shown in red), with the exception of two peaks that are not present in the UiO-66 pattern.In Fig. 7a, the panel for 0.03 MPa is a rotated and processed duplicate of the panel for 0.02 MPa.The authors were contacted for comment and asked to provide raw data but have not responded to these concerns. RSC Advances is publishing this Expression of Concern to alert readers to the concerns raised. An Expression of Concern will continue to be associated with the article until we receive conclusive evidence regarding the reliability of the reported data.Laura Fisher11^th February 2022Executive Editor, RSC Advances     

Retraction: Olefin epoxidation with chiral salen Mn(iii) immobilized on ZnPS-PVPA upon alkyldiamine

Retraction of ‘Olefin epoxidation with chiral salen Mn(iii) immobilized on ZnPS-PVPA upon alkyldiamine’ by J. Huang et al., RSC Adv., 2016, 6, 19507–19514, DOI: 10.1039/C6RA00002A.

The Royal Society of Chemistry, with the agreement of the authors, hereby wholly retracts this RSC Advances article due to extensive overlap with other published articles by these authors, including the text, data and figures published in ref. 1, which was not cited in this article. Although there are sections of original work, there are significant portions of text overlap, particularly in the Results and discussion section. Fig. 1, 3, 4 and 5, Tables 1 and 2 and Schemes 1 and 2 in the RSC Advances article have also been reproduced from ref. 1.Signed: J. Huang, D. W. Qi, J. L. Cai and X. H. ChenDate: 19^th November 2020Retraction endorsed by Laura Fisher, Executive Editor, RSC Advances     

Retraction: Equilibrium and kinetic studies on adsorptive removal of malachite green by the citrate-stabilized magnetite nanoparticles

Retraction of ‘Equilibrium and kinetic studies on adsorptive removal of malachite green by the citrate-stabilized magnetite nanoparticles’ by Rashmi Rani Mishra et al., RSC Adv., 2014, 4, 51787–51793, DOI: 10.1039/C4RA07651F.

The Royal Society of Chemistry hereby wholly retracts this RSC Advances article due to concerns with the reliability of the data in the published article.Repeating fragments can be observed in the XRD spectrum in Fig. 1D, which indicates that it has been manipulated. In addition, there are a number of identical particles replicated within the TEM image that was used in the graphical abstract suggesting that the image has also been manipulated. Given the significance of the concerns about the validity of the data, the findings presented in this paper are no longer reliable.S. Sudheer Khan opposes this retraction. Rashmi Rani Mishra and Preethy Chandran were contacted but did not respond.Signed: Laura Fisher, Executive Editor, RSC AdvancesDate: 28^th July 2020     

Retraction: Functional disruption of staphylococcal accessory regulator A from Staphylococcus aureus by silver ions

Retraction of ‘Functional disruption of staphylococcal accessory regulator A from Staphylococcus aureus by silver ions’ by Xiangwen Liao et al., RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 33221–33226. DOI: 10.1039/D0RA06357F.

We, the named authors, hereby wholly retract this RSC Advances article as there is an error in the data and the conclusions of the paper are not supported.Fig. 3B does not show the titration data of SarA, it is the titration data of a different protein, and therefore we cannot unequivocally conclude that SarA binds Ag⁺via its conserved cysteine residues.The corresponding authors regret this oversight and apologise for any inconvenience to readers.Signed: Xiangwen Liao, Guijuan Jiang, Jing Wang and Jintao WangDate: 17^th February 2021Retraction endorsed by Laura Fisher, Executive Editor, RSC Advances     

Retraction: Synthesis and characterization of Mn/Co/Ti LDH and its utilization as a photocatalyst in visible light assisted degradation of aqueous Rhodamine B

Retraction of ‘Synthesis and characterization of Mn/Co/Ti LDH and its utilization as a photocatalyst in visible light assisted degradation of aqueous Rhodamine B’ by Priyadarshi Roy Chowdhury and Krishna G. Bhattacharyya, RSC Adv., 2016, 6, 112016–112034.

The Royal Society of Chemistry hereby wholly retracts this RSC Advances article following a misconduct investigation carried out by Gauhati University.There are repeating motifs within the AFM image in Fig. 7A. Gauhati University have informed us that they have concluded that the AFM image is devoid of authenticity and has been manipulated or altered by the authors.Signed: Andrew Shore, Executive Editor, RSC AdvancesDate: 4^th February 2019     

Retraction: The influence of gradient and porous configurations on the microwave absorbing performance of multilayered graphene/thermoplastic polyurethane composite foams

Retraction of ‘The influence of gradient and porous configurations on the microwave absorbing performance of multilayered graphene/thermoplastic polyurethane composite foams’ by Chaozhi Wang et al., RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 21859–21872, DOI: 10.1039/C9RA04735B.

We, the named authors, hereby wholly retract this RSC Advances article due to concerns affecting the reliability of the data.Fig. 3d is exactly the same as Fig 3d in our related paper “A versatile strategy for alternately arranging the foam ratio layers of multilayer graphene/thermoplastic polyurethane composite foams towards lightweight and broadband electromagnetic wave absorption” (Chaozhi Wang et al., RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 23843–23855), however, the experimental procedures of these two papers are different, with different foam ratio and graphene content, so the same picture cannot be used to illustrate different samples.In Fig 8, (a)–(d) represent 2–5 layers of TPU/graphene multilayer samples, respectively. However, all the images are taken from a picture of the same electron microscope image under different magnification rates, which cannot prove the microscopic morphology of the samples with different layers. At the same time, the size labeling is incorrect. The magnification ratios of (a)–(d) are different, so the size labeling cannot be all 3 mm.On page 21864 of the article, it states “The graphene, selectively dispersed over the cellular walls by foaming, formed a three-dimensional conductive network structure, as shown in the Fig. 6b”. However, in Fig. 6b, the three-dimensional conductive network structure and graphene’s selective dispersion and alignment in the pore structures cannot be seen very clearly, because it is only a cell structure diagram, and therefore does not prove the existence of a three-dimensional conductive path.As the above data errors and misuse of pictures have greatly influenced the reliability of the conclusions, we are retracting this article to protect the integrity and accuracy of the scientific record.Signed: Chaozhi Wang, Jiang Li and Shaoyun GuoDate: 5^th April 2021Retraction endorsed by Laura Fisher, Executive Editor, RSC Advances     

Retraction: A rapid and novel method for the synthesis of 5-substituted 1H-tetrazole catalyzed by exceptional reusable monodisperse Pt NPs@AC under the microwave irradiation

Retraction for ‘A rapid and novel method for the synthesis of 5-substituted 1H-tetrazole catalyzed by exceptional reusable monodisperse Pt NPs@AC under the microwave irradiation’ by Esma Erken et al., RSC Adv., 2015, 5, 68558–68564, DOI: 10.1039/C5RA11426H.

Muharrem Kaya and İbrahim Esirden hereby wholly retract this RSC Advances article due to concerns with the reliability of the data in the published article.The high-resolution transmission electron micrograph inset in Fig. 2 that represents Md-Pt NPs@AC is the same as Fig. 2c in a Chemistry Select article by Haydar Göksu, Betül Çelik, Yunus Yıldız, Fatih Şen and Benan Kılbaş,¹ which is a high-resolution transmission electron micrograph representing a CoPd NP. Fatih Sen provided replacement data for consideration. However, an expert reviewed the author’s response and concluded that it did not satisfactorily address the concerns, and that the replacement figure did not fully support the conclusions. Given the significance of the concerns about the validity of the data, the findings presented in this paper are no longer reliable.Muharrem Kaya approves the retraction of this article due to concerns with the structural characterisation of the catalyst and therefore the conclusions presented may not be valid. Muharrem Kaya also states that the figures under question are out of their expertise and that they did not contribute to the data collection or processing of these figures. Muharrem Kaya contributed to the evaluation of the catalytic performances of the composite materials only.Fatih Sen opposes this retraction. Esma Erken was contacted but did not respond.Signed: Muharrem Kaya and İbrahim EsirdenDate: 23^rd September 2021Retraction endorsed by Laura Fisher, Executive Editor, RSC Advances     

Retraction: Salvianolic acid B inhibits inflammatory response and cell apoptosis via the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in IL-1β-induced osteoarthritis chondrocytes

Retraction of ‘Salvianolic acid B inhibits inflammatory response and cell apoptosis via the PI3K/Akt signalling pathway in IL-1β-induced osteoarthritis chondrocytes’ by Bin Zhu et al., RSC Adv., 2018, 8, 36422–36429, DOI: 10.1039/C8RA02418A.

The Royal Society of Chemistry hereby wholly retracts this RSC Advances article due to concerns with the reliability of the data.The images in the article were screened by an image integrity expert who confirmed that some of the western blots images in this paper had been duplicated in other articles. There are no common authors between the papers.The Col II band in Fig. 3B of this paper has been duplicated as the p62 band in Fig. 4A of ref. 1.One of the blots in the control band (GAPDH) in Fig. 3D has also been reused as a blot in Fig. 2C of ref. 1 and in Fig. 4A of ref. 2.The authors were asked to provide the raw data for this article but did not respond. Given the significance of the concerns about the validity of the data, and the lack of raw data, the findings presented in this paper are not reliable.The authors have been informed but have not responded to any correspondence regarding the retraction.Signed: Laura Fisher, Executive Editor, RSC AdvancesDate: 7^th January 2021     

Retraction: Fabrication of hollow CoS1.097 prisms toward supercapactior performance

Retraction of ‘Fabrication of hollow CoS_1.097 prisms toward supercapactior performance’ by Ruili Zhang et al., RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 10814–10819.

We, the named authors, hereby wholly retract this RSC Advances article due to extensive overlap with the text, data and figures published in ref. 1, which means that this RSC Advances article is redundant. All the figures and tables in this RSC Advances article have been reproduced from ref. 1.The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience to readers.Signed: Ruili Zhang and Ping Yang.Date: 8^th July 2019.We do not have current contact details for the second author of the article, Yuntao Yang, as he has graduated and therefore has not been able to comment on the retraction.Retraction endorsed by Andrew Shore, Executive Editor, RSC Advances.     

Retraction: Enhanced electrocatalytic activity and durability of highly monodisperse Pt@PPy–PANI nanocomposites as a novel catalyst for the electro-oxidation of methanol

Retraction of ‘Enhanced electrocatalytic activity and durability of highly monodisperse Pt@PPy–PANI nanocomposites as a novel catalyst for the electro-oxidation of methanol’ by Özlem Karatepe et al., RSC Adv., 2016, 6, 50851–50857. DOI: 10.1039/C6RA06210E.

The Royal Society of Chemistry hereby wholly retracts this RSC Advances article due to concerns with the reliability of the data in the published article.The two high resolution transmission electron micrograph insets in Fig. 2 that represent Pt@PPy–PANI NPs polymer composites are identical. In addition, these insets are duplicated and scaled versions of the high-resolution transmission electron micrograph insets in Fig. 1 in an International Journal of Hydrogen Energy article,¹ and in Fig. 2 in a Journal of Cluster Science article,² by the same author group representing different nanoparticles or synthetic methods. Fig. 1 in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy article¹ represents Pt(0)/DPA@GO NPs and Fig. 2 in the Journal of Cluster Science article² represents Pt(0) NPs. The authors claim that this was a mistake and provided replacement data for consideration. However, an expert reviewed the author’s response and concluded that it did not satisfactorily address the concerns, and that the replacement figure did not fully support the conclusions. Given the significance of the concerns about the validity of the data, the findings presented in this paper are no longer reliable.Sinan Eriş and Fatih Sen oppose this retraction. Handan Pamuk, Yunus Yıldız, Özlem Karatepe and Zeynep Dasdelen were contacted but did not respond.Signed: Laura Fisher, Executive Editor, RSC AdvancesDate: 23^rd September 2021