An in situ ATR-FTIR study of mixed collectors BHA/DDA adsorption in ilmenite-titanaugite flotation system

This paper researched the enhanced flotation separation performance of ilmenite and titanaugite using the mixed collector benzhydroxamic acid/dodecylamine(BHA/DDA). The interface assembly mechanism was mainly investigated through in situ attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared(ATRFTIR) spectroscopy combined with the two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy(2 D-COS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS). It has been found that BHA/DDA mixed collectors successfully separate ilmenite from titanaugite at a molar ratio of 8:1. Zeta potential experiments suggested that, in the presence of mixed collector system, the BHA-DDA complex adsorbed on the ilmenite surface via the chemically adsorbed BHA and the electrostatically adsorbed DDA, however, the complex adsorbed on the surface of titanaugite unstably. According to in situ ATR-FTIR combined with 2 D-COS and XPS results,the interface assembly mechanism of BHA/DDA is summarized as: the function group of BHA molecules first binds to the metal sites on minerals to form bidentate ligand, then DDA co-adsorbed with BHA on the surface of minerals through hydrogen bonding. DDA may change the adsorption modes of some BHA on the ilmenite surface from four-membered ring to five-membered ring, while the modes on the titanaugite surface is true opposite. Finally, recommended adsorption configurations of the BHA/DDA complex on the two mineral surfaces are proposed.