The kinetic processes at the solid–liquid interface are a significant scope of study in physical chemistry, chemical engineering, and environmental sciences. A deeper understanding of the nanoscale processes at the barite–water interface is particularly critical due to the potential use of barite in nuclear waste repositories. Barite can incorporate radioactive isotopes of Ra and Sr and also serve as an efficient neutron-shielding material. Additionally, barite is now commonly used as a weighting agent in drilling fluids in the oil and gas industry.

We employed Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations to investigate barite dissolution under far-from-equilibrium conditions at nano- to micrometre scales. Previously (Kurganskaya et al., 2022; Trofimov et al., 2025) we described the macroscopic features and behaviour of the barite–water system. As the next step, we collected the statistical data on the key reactions governing barite dissolution. We found that the reaction kinetics cannot be captured in terms of the single rate-limiting kinks. Instead, the dominant role is played by the self-reproducing functional groups of the kink sites. These groups react slowly and thereby control the overall dissolution kinetics.

To obtain more information on the system of study, we analysed the fast reactions occurring at the kink sites, which contribute most to the material flux. Interestingly, these sites also tend to form self-reproducing functional groups. We observed that their detachment dynamics are non-linear at the beginning of etch pit formation and become linear after some time (specific to each kink site or kink site group).

This demonstrated that the processes at mineral–water interfaces can be more complex than previously thought.

Kurganskaya, I., Trofimov, N., Luttge, A., 2022. Minerals

Trofimov, N., Luttge, A., Kurganskaya, I., 2025. ACS Omega