Image Integrity and Methodology Review of "peri-Fused polyaromatic molecular contacts for perovskite solar cells" (Nature, 2024)

Academic fraud report · Geng Detector

Summary

This integrity review examines the Nature 2024 paper (DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07712-6) by Ke Zhao, Qingqing Liu, Libing Yao, Rui Wang, and Jingjing Xue on peri-fused polyaromatic molecular contacts for perovskite solar cells. The overall verdict is "Questionable." The report flags a single substantive textual issue: in the Photovoltaic performances section (page 305), the open-circuit voltage (VOC) of a 1-cm² reference device is reported as 1.04 eV instead of the conventional unit V (volts), an unusual error for a top-tier journal. Statistical and timeline analyses show no anomalies: the reported champion PCE of 26.1% is consistent with the mean of 25.4 ± 0.9%, and the maximum aging duration of 3,300 hours fits comfortably within the 6.5-month window between submission (29 November 2023) and acceptance (12 June 2024). No image reuse or fabrication could be assessed because only text-level descriptions were available. Confidence in the textual finding is high; image-level and pixel-level judgments are explicitly limited.

Verdict

🟡 Questionable — One confirmed textual/unit irregularity; image-level integrity could not be assessed due to lack of raw figures.

Key findings

Unit error in VOC reporting (page 305): The open-circuit voltage for a 2PACz-based 1-cm² device is written as "1.04 eV" rather than the standard unit "V" (volts). eV is not the conventional unit for VOC in perovskite solar cell literature.
No statistical red flags: Mean PCE of Py3-based devices (25.4 ± 0.9%) is consistent with the champion value (26.1%); difference (~0.7%) is within expected scatter for n ≈ 5–10 devices.
Timeline is internally consistent: Received 29 Nov 2023, Accepted 12 Jun 2024 (~6.5 months). Long-term aging points of 3,300 h (~137 days) and 3,000 h (~125 days) are feasible within the revision period.
Image-level review not possible: c-AFM images (Fig. 1a), NMR spectra (Fig. 1c/1d), J–V curves (Fig. 4a), and any XRD/Raman figures could not be retrieved at pixel resolution; reuse, splicing, or baseline anomalies cannot be ruled out or confirmed.

Evidence highlights

Quoted text: *"…outperforming the 2PACz-based device (a PCE of 19.6% with a VOC of 1.04 eV, a JSC of 24.8 mA cm−2 and a fill factor of 75.9%)."*
Reported Py3 champion PCE: 26.1%; mean PCE: 25.4 ± 0.9%; reference 2PACz PCE: 19.6%; reference VOC: 1.04 (unit flagged).
Stability claims: T90 ≥ 10,000 h; longest tested aging point 3,300 h.
Submission timeline: Received 29 Nov 2023 → Accepted 12 Jun 2024.
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07712-6; journal: Nature, Vol. 632.

Notes

The VOC unit issue may be a transcription/PDF-extraction artifact rather than an authorial mistake, but its presence in the published version indicates lapsed proofreading.
Image integrity (XRD patterns, Raman baselines, AFM topography, NMR peak duplication) remains unverified; a follow-up request for raw high-resolution figures is recommended.
Authors should be contacted to clarify whether "1.04 eV" should read "1.04 V" and to provide raw stability log files.
This report is AI-assisted and intended for academic discussion; final determinations of misconduct require institutional investigation.