Research Advances in the Decontamination of Radionuclides from Surfaces and Interfaces

With the large-scale utilization of nuclear energy, the gradual decommissioning of old nuclear facilities, and the increasingly urgent need to cope with radioactive emergencies, the surface and interface pollution of radionuclides on metals, concrete, glass, and human skin has become a key technical challenge throughout nuclear power plants, medical sites, industrial sites, and national defense. Radionuclides exhibit significant heterogeneous forms and complex interfacial interactions, thus contamination often possesses both loose and deep fixed characteristics, which greatly increases the difficulty of efficient decontamination.This paper reviews the fundamental mechanisms and mainstream strategies for radionuclide surface decontamination, including physical, chemical, and combination methods, and summarizes recent advances in functional decontaminants such as aqueous solutions, foams, peelable polymers, self-friable gels, and responsive hydrogels. A comparative analysis is further provided across key performance metrics, including the decontamination factor (defined as the ratio of the initial contamination level to the residual contamination level after treatment) and decontamination efficiency (representing the percentage removal of contaminants), both of which are widely used to evaluate decontamination effectiveness, as well as substrate compatibility, secondary waste generation, and operational feasibility. Collectively, this work provides guidance for technology selection and the rational design of next-generation decontamination materials balancing efficacy, safety, and sustainability.