The extraction of critical metal ions, particularly lanthanides and actinides, is a topic of considerable importance given their applications in energy production, recycling, and nuclear waste ...

An illustration shows a variety of bacterial shapes in a petri dish consuming various lanthanide metals. Credit: Yang H. Ku/C&EN/Shutterstock You can smell the Solfatara volcanic crater long before ...

Rare earth elements are essential for modern technology, but their similar chemistry makes separation difficult and expensive ...