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: 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: 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: Trop2 promotes proliferation,invasion and EMT of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells through the NF-κB pathway

Retraction of ‘Trop2 promotes proliferation, invasion and EMT of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells through the NF-κB pathway’ by Nan Cheng et al., RSC Adv., 2017, 7, 53087–53096, DOI: 10.1039/c7ra09915k.

The authors hereby wholly retract this RSC Advances article due to concerns with the reliability of the data. The authors have attempted to replicate the experiments described in the article but were unable to achieve the same results.Given the lack of reliable raw data, the authors can no longer guarantee that the findings presented in this paper are accurate.Signed: Junpeng LuoDate: 24^th February 2022Retraction endorsed by Laura Fisher, Executive Editor, RSC Advances     

Expression of concern: One-pot sol–gel synthesis of reduced graphene oxide uniformly decorated zinc oxide nanoparticles in starch environment for highly efficient photodegradation of methylene blue

Expression of concern for ‘One-pot sol–gel synthesis of reduced graphene oxide uniformly decorated zinc oxide nanoparticles in starch environment for highly efficient photodegradation of methylene blue’ by Majid Azarang et al., RSC Adv., 2015, 5, 21888–21896.

The following article ‘One-pot sol–gel synthesis of reduced graphene oxide uniformly decorated zinc oxide nanoparticles in starch environment for highly efficient photodegradation of methylene blue’ by Majid Azarang*^ab, Ahmad Shuhaimi^a, Ramin Yousefi^c and Siamak Pilban Jahromi^a has been published in RSC Advances. RSC Advances is publishing this expression of concern in order to alert our readers to the fact that we are presently unable to confirm the accuracy of the data reported in Fig. 2(a, b) and 5 of this RSC Advances paper.We have contacted the University of Malaya to request an investigation into the validity of the published figures. We understand that an investigative process is on-going at the University of Malaya, and this notice will be updated when a final outcome is reached.Andrew Shore2nd March 2018Executive 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: Synthesis of deuterated isopentyl pyrophosphates for chemo-enzymatic labelling methods: GC-EI-MS based 1,2-hydride shift in epicedrol biosynthesis

Retraction of ‘Synthesis of deuterated isopentyl pyrophosphates for chemo-enzymatic labelling methods: GC-EI-MS based 1,2-hydride shift in epicedrol biosynthesis’ by Madhukar S. Said et al., RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 28258–28261.

We, the named authors, hereby wholly retract this RSC Advances article because the enzymes GPP and FPP synthase used in the paper were genetically engineered by another colleague and used without permission. In addition, the synthesis of phospholipids as described in the paper was done according to unpublished PhD thesis work and we did not have permission to publish it.Signed: Madhukar S. Said, Govinda R. Navale, Jayant M. Gajbhiye and Sandip S. ShindeDate: 8^th January 2020Retraction endorsed by Laura Fisher, Managing 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: 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: Enhanced adsorption of ionizable aromatic compounds on humic acid-coated carbonaceous adsorbents

Retraction of ‘Enhanced adsorption of ionizable aromatic compounds on humic acid-coated carbonaceous adsorbents’ by Yubing Sun et al., RSC Adv., 2012, 2, 10359–10364, DOI: 10.1039/C2RA21713A.

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.Repeating fragments can be observed in the XRD spectrum for GONs in Fig. 1C, which indicates that it has been manipulated. In addition, there are unexpected similarities in the baseline of the XRD data presented for MWCNTs and AC (Fig. 1C) in the 32.5–40° and 45–57.5° regions.Given the significance of the concern about the validity of the data, the findings presented in this paper are no longer reliable.Signed: Yubing Sun, Dadong Shao, Guixia Zhao, Shubin Yang and Xiangke WangDate: 27^th March 2020Changlun Chen, Jiaxing Li and Xiaoli Tan were contacted but did not respond.Retraction endorsed by Laura Fisher, 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     

Retraction: Computational fluid dynamics modeling of the millisecond methane steam reforming in microchannel reactors for hydrogen production

Retraction of ‘Computational fluid dynamics modeling of the millisecond methane steam reforming in microchannel reactors for hydrogen production’ by Junjie Chen et al., RSC Adv., 2018, 8, 25183–25200, DOI: 10.1039/C8RA04440F.

The authors have retracted this RSC Advances article in its entirety because there is considerable overlap with respect to the data presented in the previous article ‘Millisecond methane steam reforming for hydrogen production: a computational fluid dynamics study’ (Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 2018, 43, 12948–12969, DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2018.05.039) by the same authors. This means that the RSC Advances article is redundant. Despite low levels of textual overlap, much of the data is essentially the same as or very similar to that previously reported. The model was improved, but the degree of improvement is relatively low. There were some new findings presented, but the contribution is relatively small. Furthermore, the previous article was not cited in the RSC Advances article.As much of the data are available in the previous article, the authors are retracting this RSC Advances article. All authors agree to this retraction.Signed: Junjie Chen, Xuhui Gao, Longfei Yan, and Deguang XuDate: 18th March 2021     

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: 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: 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: 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: 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     

Correction: A review on fluorescent inorganic nanoparticles for optical sensing applications

Correction for ‘A review on fluorescent inorganic nanoparticles for optical sensing applications’ by Sing Muk Ng et al., RSC Adv., 2016, 6, 21624–21661.

This correction is being published to alert readers that Fig. 9, 19 and 21 have been reproduced from a Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical article, which has now been retracted. The article was cited as ref. 16 in this RSC Advances paper. The retraction notice of the Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical article,¹ states that “this article reports a TEM image of the MAA capped CdS QDs (Fig. 2) which shows clear signs of manipulation (copy-pasting of the particles)”. Fig. 2 of the Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical article was reproduced in this RSC Advances article as Fig. 9.The Royal Society of Chemistry apologises for these errors and any consequent inconvenience to authors and readers.     

Retraction: Boric acid in magnetized water: clean and powerful media for synthesis of 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-ones

Retraction of ‘Boric acid in magnetized water: clean and powerful media for synthesis of 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-ones’ by Vahid Khakyzadeh et al., RSC Adv., 2021, 11, 22751–22755. DOI: 10.1039/D1RA03769B

We, the named authors, hereby wholly retract this RSC Advances article. Although we maintain that the results obtained in distilled water are accurate, and believe that further experiments will confirm our conclusions, following discussions between the authors and the Royal Society of Chemistry, we have determined that the evidence presented regarding magnetised water in this paper is insufficient to support the conclusions and needs further investigation. We are therefore retracting the paper to maintain the validity of the scientific record. The Royal Society of Chemistry apologises for the fact that these concerns were not identified during the peer review process.Signed: Vahid Khakyzadeh*^,a, Ahmad Reza Moosavi-Zare^b, Sahra Sheikhaleslami^a, Amir Ehsani^a, Salbin Sediqi^a, Mohammad Rezaei-Gohar^b and Zahra Jalilian^cDate: 27^th August 2021.Retraction endorsed by Laura Fisher, Executive Editor, RSC Advances, 27^th, August 2021.