RETRACTED ARTICLE: A terbium(III) organic framework as a fluorescent probe for selectively sensing of organic small molecules and metal ions especially nitrobenzene and Fe³⁺

We, the Editors and Publisher of Journal of Coordination Chemistry, have retracted the following article:

Yu-Yuan Tang, Cui-Juan Wang, Shuang Chen & Hai-Yu Dai. A terbium(III) organic framework as a fluorescent probe for selectively sensing of organic small molecules and metal ions especially nitrobenzene and Fe³⁺. Journal of Coordination Chemistry 70.24 (2017) 3996-4007. DOI:10.1080/00958972.2017.1413490

Since publication it has come to our attention that there are duplications of data for the terbium compound presented in the above 2017 article and the europium compound (compound 1) presented in the following 2018 article.

Yu-Yuan Tang, Shuang Chen, Cui-Juan Wang, Zi-Xin Zhu & Dong-Ning Liu. Four Ln-coordination polymers: synthesis, crystal structure, fluorescent sensing of nitrobenzene and Tb3+, and catalytic properties. Journal of Coordination Chemistry 71.19 (2018) 3207-3221. DOI: 10.1080/00958972.2018.1517257

The cell constants presented in the two papers for the two different compounds are identical, including the esds for the lengths of the axes and the absence of esds on the bond angles. Examination of the submitted CIFs for the two compounds showed identical information plus additional data, including the crystal dimensions. The deposited hkl files for the two different compounds are identical, indicating that the same crystal data was used for the two compounds.

Following COPE guidelines, Taylor & Francis has contacted the authors as well as their affiliated institution with a request for clarification, however the explanation we received has not been satisfactory. As such, we are retracting both papers as it is clear data has been duplicated between the two structures. The authors were informed of this decision and have since agreed to the retraction.

We have been informed in our decision-making by our policy on publishing ethics and integrity and the COPE guidelines on retractions.

The retracted articles will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but they will be digitally watermarked on each page as “Retracted”.