Retraction notice to “Ethylenediamine-functionalized ZIF-8 for modification of chitosan-based membrane adsorbents: Batch adsorption and molecular dynamic simulation”, Chemical Engineering Research and Design, Volume 175, November 2021, Pages 131–145 (Chemical Engineering Research and Design (2021) 175 (131–145), (S0263876221003531), (10.1016/j.cherd.2021.08.033))

Please see Elsevier's Policy on Article Correction, Retraction and Removal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies-and-standards/article-withdrawal). The journal was informed of the possibility of multiple signs of data manipulation. Specifically, the XRD patterns of ZIF-8 and EDA/ZIF-8 in Fig. 1(c) are identical down to the backtracking artifact at low angle, but the ZIF-8 trace appears to have been simply stretched vertically. Moreover, the background noise in XRD is stochastic in nature, so it is impossible for two measurements to yield an identical background. Additionally, in Fig. 3(d) there are gaps in the FTIR traces and the line width varies, suggesting some graphical modification of the plot. Indeed, upon closer inspection it is clear that the top trace has been copied over the lower plot, as the remains of the original tick lines are visible. Similarly, Fig. 3(c) has been composed of two low-resolution slices of XRD pattern images with their axes not fully aligned. In addition to the image manipulation concerns, the authors also misidentified the SEM equipment employed, stating that a ZEISS EVO instrument was used, while the presented images have a metadata bar of an MIRA3 TESCAN microscope. Such misidentification has been linked previously in the community to the unethical activity of so-called “paper mills”. Following COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines, the journal investigated the above concerns by consulting with two independent experts. Those experts agreed that there was sufficient evidence of image manipulation and concluded that the data had either been fabricated or adjusted from previous publications to appear as new data. The conclusion reached by the Editor-in-Chief is that this article represents a serious misuse of the academic publishing system and should be retracted from the scientific record. The scientific community takes a very strong view on such matters, and apologies are offered to readers of the journal that the issues related to this article were not detected during the submission and peer review process.