Open Access Article
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Retraction: Hollow amorphous NaFePO4 nanospheres as a high-capacity and high-rate cathode for sodium-ion batteries
Dong Ge
Tong
*
Mineral Resources Chemistry Key Laboratory of Sichuan Higher Education Institutions, College of Materials and Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China. E-mail: tongdongge@163.com; Fax: +86 28 8407 9074
First published on 28th August 2019
Abstract
Retraction of ‘Hollow amorphous NaFePO4 nanospheres as a high-capacity and high-rate cathode for sodium-ion batteries’ by Chun Li et al., J. Mater. Chem. A, 2015, 3, 8265–8271.
The Royal Society of Chemistry hereby wholly retracts this Journal of Materials Chemistry A article, with the agreement of the authors, due to concerns with the reliability of the electron microscope (EM) and XRD images in the published article.
The STEM images in Fig. 1a, S1, S6a, S9a–d and S14a, b contain repetitions of distinct shapes or patterns within the images.
There are discrepancies in the background of Fig. S3 suggesting that the STEM image may have been altered inappropriately.
Repeating patterns can be observed in the baselines of the XRD spectra in Fig 2a, S10d and S15a.
The authors informed us that the characterisation was completed by a third party company and they used the images “without any editing or modification”. The authors repeated the experiments and requested to provide replacement data for Fig. 1a, 2a, S1, S3, S6a, S9a–d, S10d, S14a, b and S15a. The new figures were reviewed by an independent expert. The authors believe that the scientific content and conclusions of the related studies presented by the pictures in the published paper can be reproduced. However, the independent expert still questions the reliability of the published images. The authors informed us that due to a flooding accident in the laboratory, the original data of the published EM images were destroyed. In addition, the third party company only saved the test data for one month. Due to the large number of images, it is not possible to replace the published images with the new figures. To avoid the possibility of publishing unreliable EM images, the authors agree to retract this paper to protect the rigor of the scientific record.
This retraction supersedes the information provided in the expression of concern related to this article.
Signed: Dr Dong Ge Tong (on behalf of the authors).
Date: 1st August 2019.
Retraction endorsed by Sam Keltie, Executive Editor, Journal of Materials Chemistry A.
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