Talc, a prevalent gangue mineral in sulfide ores, poses a significant challenge in the flotation process due to its good floatability. The application of water glass as a standalone reagent has been found to be less effective in suppressing talc. In this study, we delve into the synergistic inhibitory mechanism of Al3+ in conjunction with water glass on talc through a series of micro-flotation tests, wettability tests, ICP-MS tests and FTIR spectroscopy tests. Our findings demonstrated that the presence of Al3+ significantly enhanced the adsorption capacity of water glass on talc surface. Talc recovery was 23.34 % with the addition of both inhibitors, which was lower than the recovery of 55.82 % with the addition of water glass only. DFT calculation revealed that the adsorption of H4SiO4 and [H3SiO4]− on the talc surface is relatively weak, with adsorption energies of −7.71 kJ/mol and −23.15 kJ/mol. Following the adsorption of Al3+ onto the talc surface, the adsorption energies of H4SiO4 and [H3SiO4]− were further decreased to −78.41 kJ/mol and −119.63 kJ/mol. The presence of Al3+ significantly enhanced the interaction between water glass and the talc surface. This enhancement was attributed to the formation of hydrogen bonds between water glass and the Al3+ water complex–Al(OH)3·H2O, which augmented the interaction with the talc surface.

中文翻译：

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铝离子和水玻璃对滑石浮选凹陷的协同作用机制


滑石矿是硫化矿石中一种普遍存在的脉石矿物，由于其良好的可浮性，在浮选过程中构成了重大挑战。已发现将水玻璃作为独立试剂的应用在抑制滑石粉方面效果较差。本研究通过一系列微浮选试验、润湿性试验、ICP-MS 试验和 FTIR 光谱试验，深入探讨了 Al3+ 与水玻璃对滑石粉的协同抑制机制。我们的研究结果表明，Al3+ 的存在显着增强了水玻璃在滑石表面的吸附能力。添加两种抑制剂的滑石回收率为 23.34%，低于仅添加水玻璃的 55.82% 回收率。DFT 计算表明，H4SiO4 和 [H3SiO4]− 在滑石表面的吸附相对较弱，吸附能分别为 -7.71 kJ/mol 和 -23.15 kJ/mol。Al3+ 吸附到滑石表面后，H4SiO4 和 [H3SiO4]− 的吸附能进一步降低至 −78.41 kJ/mol 和 −119.63 kJ/mol。Al3+ 的存在显着增强了水玻璃与滑石表面之间的相互作用。这种增强归因于水玻璃与 Al3+ 水络合物 – Al（OH）3· 之间氢键的形成H2O 的 2 O 中，它增强了与滑石粉表面的相互作用。