A chemist at a university in Pakistan found a surprise when he opened an alert from ResearchGate on a newly published paper on a topic related to his own work. When Muhammad Kashif, a chemist at Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, looked at the paper, he noticed "substantial overlap" with an unpublished review article he had submitted to other journals. On closer inspection, he found it was indeed his paper – published by other authors.
The paper, "Bismuth-based nanoparticles and nanocomposites: synthesis and applications", appeared in RSC Advances last December. One of the authors said he uploaded the wrong file by "mistake" when submitting to the journal, and a retraction is in progress.
Kashif said he had hoped to publish his own manuscript in RSC Advances after the copied version was retracted, "as my work had already cleared peer review". But he thinks the journal is taking too long to act. "Given their lack of urgency, I am now pursuing publication in a different journal that prioritizes ethical standards and timely resolutions", he said.
More: https://retractionwatch.com/2025/03/06/peer-reviewer-publishes-mistake-manuscript-rejected/
