The selective flotation separation of galena from sphalerite with a novel collector of 5-amyl-1, 2, 4-triazole-3-thione

In this paper, 5-amyl-1,2,4-triazole-3-thione (ATT) was firstly applied as a collector in flotation separation of galena (PbS) from sphalerite (ZnS). Micro-flotation results demonstrated that ATT selectively floated out galena from its mixture with sphalerite at pH ≤10.5. FTIR (Fourier transform infrared), adsorption capacity and contact angle indicated that to increase the pulp pH from ~6.2 to 10.0 dramatically reduced the adsorption of ATT on sphalerite, while had an insignificant effect on its adsorption towards galena. In situ AFM (atomic force microscopy) recommended a monolayer adsorption of ATT on galena surfaces at pH ~6.2 and 10.0. FTIR and XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) gave out unequivocal evidences that ATT chemisorbed onto galena through combining surface Pb(II) with ATT's exo-S to generate PbS bond, which orientated ATT's amyl group outward for attaching bubbles, thus to realize the hydrophobization flotation of galena particles.