Sulfidization regulation of cuprite by pre-oxidation using sodium hypochlorite as an oxidant

The direct sulfidization of cuprite is inefficient because cuprite is a copper-oxide mineral with a strong surface hydrophilicity.In this study,oxidant was used to modify cuprite surfaces to regulate the sulfidization of cuprite.Microflotation tests showed that the flotation recovery of pre-oxidized cuprite was nearly25% higher than that of direct sulfidization flotation,which indicates that the cuprite surface activity was enhanced after pre-oxidation by Cu(Ⅰ) species(weak affinity with sulfur ions) transformation to Cu(Ⅱ)species(strong affinity with sulfur ions).Zeta potential,scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy,X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry results showed that pre-oxidation improved cuprite sulfidization and promoted the formation of copper-sulfide species on the cuprite surfaces.The mineral surface stability and thus,xanthate species adsorption on the cuprite surfaces were improved.The surface-adsorption measurements and infrared spectroscopy showed that a large amount of xanthate species was adsorbed onto the sulfidized cuprite surfaces after pre-oxidation,which enhanced the cuprite hydrophobicity and improved the cuprite flotation.