Selective flotation of ilmenite from diopside using α-Benzoin oxime as a novel collector

This study introduced α-Benzoin oxime (BO) as a novel and efficient collector for the selective flotation of ilmenite from diopside. Micro-flotation experiments demonstrated that BO exhibits superior collection performance compared to benzohydroxamic acid (BHA) under weakly acidic to neutral conditions. At pH 8 and a BO dosage of 5× 10^-4 mol/L, flotation tests on ilmenite-diopside mixed minerals achieved a TiO₂ recovery of 89.90 % with a TiO₂ grade of 47.84 %. Contact angle measurements revealed that BO adsorption notably enhances the hydrophobicity of ilmenite surfaces. Zeta potential and FTIR analyses confirmed the selective adsorption of BO onto ilmenite. Furthermore, XPS and TOF-SIMS results indicated that coordination bonds formed between the C–O and C=N–OH groups in BO and Fe(II) ions on the ilmenite surface may facilitate BO adsorption. These findings provide valuable insights into the interaction mechanism between BO and ilmenite, highlighting its potential as an efficient collector for ilmenite flotation.