Mechanism‐Driven Purification of High‐Purity Quartz: Impurity Speciation, Surface Chemistry, and Advanced Beneficiation Technologies

ABSTRACT

High‐purity quartz (HPQ) is essential for semiconductor manufacturing, photovoltaics, optical systems, and other advanced technologies, where even trace impurities can compromise material performance. Despite extensive research on quartz beneficiation, the mechanisms governing impurity removal, interfacial reactions, and purification efficiency remain poorly understood. This review establishes a mechanism‐driven framework linking geological provenance, impurity speciation, surface chemistry, and purification performance. Impurities are classified as surface‐bound species, mineral inclusions, and lattice‐substituted elements, each posing distinct removal challenges, affecting optical transparency, electronic defects, and thermal stability. Emphasizes silanol groups, surface charge, adsorption, and interfacial reactions that govern flotation selectivity and leaching kinetics. Conventional beneficiation and advanced pretreatments, including ultrasonic activation, thermal roasting, and microwave‐assisted processing, are critically evaluated for their roles in liberating impurities, modifying defects, and enhancing reactivity. Emerging strategies, particularly chlorination roasting and hybrid acid‐thermal treatments, are assessed for removing refractory impurities, along with their environmental impacts and industrial scalability. Key research gaps include limited atomistic validation, inadequate thermodynamic‐kinetic modeling, and challenges in scaling laboratory advances to industrial applications. Finally, this review identifies research priorities for developing efficient, sustainable, and scalable purification strategies that link atomic‐scale mechanisms to process engineering, thereby accelerating the production of ultra‐high‐purity quartz for next‐generation technologies.