Abstract
The activation mechanism of copper sulfate (CuSO4) for sphalerite surfaces depressed with zinc sulfate (ZnSO4) and their interactions were investigated through microflotation experiments, zeta-potential determination, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), xanthate adsorption experiments, time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) and local electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (LEIS). The microflotation experimental results indicated that addition of ZnSO4 decreased sphalerite recovery and that CuSO4 can activate sphalerite depressed with ZnSO4 during flotation. The highest negativity of the zeta potential was achieved after adding xanthate + ZnSO4 + CuSO4, indicating that the addition of copper ions can improve adsorption of the collector on depressed sphalerite surfaces. XPS was used to identify the mechanisms of the interactions of ZnSO4 and CuSO4 with the sphalerite surface. Xanthate adsorption experiments showed that the xanthate adsorption capacity increased greatly after treatment of depressed sphalerite with copper ions. TOF-SIMS indicated that copper ions were adsorbed on the surface of the depressed sphalerite. LEIS analysis showed that, copper ion can replaces zinc ion on mineral surface. These results show a sphalerite surface depressed with ZnSO4 can be activated by copper ions, thereby increasing its hydrophobicity and floatability.
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