Influences of coordination structures on the electronic properties of Zn ion and the adsorption of O-containing and S-containing molecules

Abstract

Ligands in minerals have an important effect on the chemical properties of metal ions. The electronic properties of Zn ions formed by O and S ligands have been studied using density functional theory (DFT), and the interaction strength between O and S-containing molecules and Zn ions has been analyzed. The results show that the electronic properties of Zn ions may be influenced by the type of ligands, the number of ligands, and the distance between ligands and Zn ions. The adsorption capacity of zinc ions decreased with an the in increase ligand coordination number, but increased with an increase in the distance between the ligand and zinc ion. The adsorption of O- and S-containing molecules on sphalerite smithsonite and hemimorphite was then studied. It was indicated that O-containing molecules had a strong collecting ability for sphalerite, smithsonite and hemimorphite, but the adsorption capacity of S-containing molecules was weaker than that of O-containing molecules. The influence of water molecules on the adsorption behavior of O- and S-containing molecules was studied. The results of the calculations show that the relationship between H2O and O-containing sulfur-containing molecules is competitive adsorption on the surface of sphalerite smithsonite and hemimorphite. Adsorption of water molecules can reduce the adsorption energy of O-containing and S-containing molecules on mineral surfaces.