摘要
Surface reconstruction, first identified in 1962 through adsorption-induced symmetry changes on metal surfaces, remains a fundamental process governing the stability and functionality of material surfaces. Despite extensive studies of surface reconstructions within various materials, a comprehensive picture across semiconductors, metals, and metal oxides is lacking. This review provides a systematic framework to bridge this gap. Herein, we outline the historical development of the understanding of surface reconstructions. Fundamentally, surface reconstructions occur to form more stable surface structures than native surfaces formed from simply cleaving bulk materials. Notably, three driving forces, namely, dangling bonds, surface polarity, and surface stress, together with eight representative atomic and electronic scale mechanisms that govern surface reconstructions across different materials, are discussed comprehensively. The resulting reconstructions can then be further classified as conservative, if the surface atom number is conserved, or non-conservative, if not. Exposing materials to different environmental conditions, such as temperature, pressure, and the presence of adsorbates, can influence the type of reconstructions that would dominate on their surfaces. This facilitates modulating surface reconstructions to exploit surface morphologies and electronic structures for applications in epitaxial growth of two-dimensional materials and the creation of active catalytic sites. However, challenges remain in characterizing, predicting, and controlling surface reconstruction, particularly under realistic conditions, warranting future developments, including the integration of advanced operando techniques with large-scale computational approaches such as machine-learning force fields. Overall, this review establishes a unified perspective on surface reconstruction across various materials, providing a foundation for rational surface design in emerging technologies.