Investigation on the correlation between ferrous ion and the floatability of pyrite with different oxidation degrees

This work aims to establish the quantitative relationship between the surface oxidation state of pyrite and flotation performance. In this paper, an efficient method was proposed to prepare pyrite with different oxidation degrees. Flotation tests show that the floatability of pyrite decreased with prolonging the oxidation time. Tof-SIMS results reveal that the main component on the oxidized pyrite surface is Fe hydroxides or oxides. XPS analysis confirms that Fe(OH) 2 and FeOOH are the main formula of Fe species, and the ratio of Fe 2+ /Total Fe agrees well with the floatability of pyrite with different oxidation degrees, which can be taken as an index to develop the flotation performance of pyrite. DFT simulation calculation further demonstrates the reliability of Fe(OH) 2 as the active site. This study provides essential surface chemistry evidence for correlating the surface species with the floatability of pyrite with different oxidation states through quantitative analysis of various intermediate products.