Retraction: Ni/Co/Ti layered double hydroxide for highly efficient photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B and Acid Red G: a comparative study

Abstract

Retraction of ‘Ni/Co/Ti layered double hydroxide for highly efficient photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B and Acid Red G: a comparative study’ by Priyadarshi Roy Chowdhury and Krishna G. Bhattacharyya, Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2017, 16, 835–839.

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The Royal Society of Chemistry hereby wholly retracts this Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences article due to concerns with the reliability of the data in the published article.

There are repeating motifs within the HR-TEM image presented in Fig. 1A indicating that this image has been manipulated.

The TEM images in Fig. 1D and F have been duplicated in another publication, but presented as a different material.¹

The XRD data presented in Fig. S4 has been duplicated in ref. 1, but reported as a different material.

There are unexpected similarities in the baseline of the EDX spectrum in Fig S5B and the EDX spectra in other publications, which have all been reported as different materials.^1–3

There are a number of inconsistencies within the AFM images in Fig. S6A and S6D, which indicate that these images have been manipulated. In addition, many of the same motifs observed in Fig. S6A can be seen in other publications.^1,2

The image in Fig. S6C is unreliable as it has subsequently been reused in unpublished material to represent different materials.

The FTIR spectra in Fig. S18B represent duplication of data, given that the two spectra represent different experimental conditions. Data duplication can also be observed in Fig. S21A and S21B as the red, blue and green spectra are identical but represent different experiments.

Given the number and significance of the concerns about the validity of the data, the findings presented in this paper are no longer reliable.

Priyadarshi Roy Chowdhury and Krishna G. Bhattacharyya were informed about the retraction of the article but did not respond.

Signed: Andrew Shore, Executive Editor, Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences

Date: 12th March 2020

Retraction endorsed by Dario Bassani, co-Editor-in-Chief, Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences

References

1. P. R. Chowdhury and K. G. Bhattacharyya, RSC Adv., 2016, 6, 112016–112034 (Retraction published 19 Feb 2019, RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 5557–5557).
2. P. R. Chowdhury and K. G. Bhattacharyya, RSC Adv., 2015, 5, 92189–92206.
3. P. R. Chowdhury and K. G. Bhattacharyya, Dalton Trans., 2015, 44, 6809–6824.

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