Adsorption and flotation mechanism of a ketoxime-dithiocarbonate surfactant to chalcopyrite

The adsorption mechanism of O-isopropyl-S- [2- (hydroxyimino) propyl] dithiocarbonate ester (IPXPO) to chalcopyrite was investigated by using contact angle, in-situ atomic force microscopy (in-situ AFM), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results of contact angle and in-situ AFM demonstrated that IPXPO adsorbed on chalcopyrite increases surface hydrophobicity and roughness. It was found by CV experiments that a layer passive film was formed. The results of XPS spectra further revealed that the thiol S atom, oxime N atom, and O atom in the IPXPO molecule might react with copper atoms to form Cu-S, Cu-N, and Cu-O bonds, respectively. An artificial mixed minerals flotation test indicated that under the condition of pH=6.79 and IPXPO initial concentration 5×10 −5 mol/L, the flotation recovery of chalcopyrite reached about 90%, while for pyrite only 25%, suggesting that IPXPO is an excellent collector for flotation separation and enrichment of chalcopyrite.