Surface chemistry and reactivity of critical minerals

Critical minerals underpin the rapid development of new energy and advanced manufacturing sectors. Mineral separation, metallurgical purification, and secondary battery recycling are all fundamentally governed by surface and interfacial chemical behaviors. Variable crystal cleavage, lattice defects, and surface reconstruction generated from diverse mechanical and chemical treatments reshape interfacial microstructures, alter surface reactivity, and regulate interfacial adsorption, phase transformation, and mineral reaction processes. Similarly, the regeneration of spent lithium iron phosphate (LFP) materials is intrinsically an interfacial structure evolution and reactivity modulation process, which determines the efficiency and quality of resource recycling.

Despite growing advances in mineral processing and battery material regeneration, the quantitative correlation between microscopic interfacial structural features and macroscopic reaction performance remains insufficiently understood. The ambiguous structure–reactivity relationship has become a core barrier restricting the clean, efficient, and high-value utilization of critical minerals and secondary energy materials. This Research Topic targets fundamental interfacial chemistry mechanisms of critical minerals and recycled functional materials. It aims to clarify how interfacial structural evolution dominates ion and additive adsorption, interfacial reactions, and material performance variation during mineral processing and LFP recycling. Integrating in-situ characterization and computational simulations, this topic intends to establish universal interfacial regulation principles to support high-efficiency mineral extraction, purification, and cyclic resource utilization.

This topic welcomes Original Research, Mini-Review, and full Review articles focused on interfacial chemistry in mineral and battery resource regeneration. Specific themes include interfacial structure evolution, fresh surface formation, surface reactivity modulation, solid-liquid interfacial adsorption, and structure-dependent reaction behaviors of critical minerals. It also covers interfacial regulation mechanisms during spent LFP recycling. Manuscripts concentrating on intrinsic interfacial chemical mechanisms are prioritized. Pure empirical studies without in-depth mechanism exploration are not encouraged.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• Mini Review
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• Mini Review
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review

Keywords: Critical mineral, surface reactivity, LFP, recycling, separation, first principle calculations

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.