Flotation separation and recovery of rare earth minerals (REM) have returned to an important position due to the growing strategy demand for rare earth elements (REE). In this paper, a comparative investigation into the floatability of bastnaesite ((Ce,La)FCO₃) was conducted by using three di/trialkyl phosphate collectors, di(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (DEHPA), dibutyl phosphate (DBP) and tributyl phosphate (TBP). The density functional theory (DFT) computation recommends that the chemical activity of the three phosphate collectors is in order of DEHPA ≥ DBP >> TBP, and their hydrophobization as-suggested by the lgP (oil-water partition coefficient) value is in the order of DEHPA > TBP > DBP. The micro-flotation indicates that the preferable pH values for flotation of bastnaesite with the three phosphate collectors are 7.0–8.0, and DEHPA achieves much higher flotation recovery of bastnaesite, followed by DBP, and then TBP, which coincides with their reactivity and hydrophobicity, the two prerequisites for froth flotation. The contact angle, zeta potential, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) deduce that DEHPA likely reacts with the Ce(Ⅲ) atoms of bastnaesite interface through its O atom(s) of the P(=O)–O^– group to generate the Ce–O–P bonds, and its two 2-ethylhexyl groups orient outside for attaching bubbles, resulting in flotation enrichment of bastnaesite. Furthermore, this investigation offers a novel strategy for developing collectors in selective beneficiation of REM.

由于对稀土元素（REE）的战略需求不断增长，稀土矿物（REM）的浮选分离和回收重新回到了重要地位。在本文中，通过使用三种磷酸二/三烷基酯捕收剂，磷酸二（2-乙基己基）酯（DEHPA）、磷酸二丁酯（DBP）和三丁酯，对氟碳铈矿（（Ce，La）FCO ₃）的可浮性进行了比较研究。磷酸盐 (TBP)。密度泛函理论 (DFT) 计算建议三种磷酸盐捕收剂的化学活性顺序为 DEHPA ≥ DBP >> TBP，并且它们的疏水化如 lg P 所建议的（油水分配系数）值的顺序为 DEHPA > TBP > DBP。微浮选表明，三种磷酸盐捕收剂浮选氟碳铈矿的优选 pH 值为 7.0-8.0，DEHPA 实现了更高的氟碳铈矿浮选回收率，其次是 DBP，然后是 TBP，这与它们的反应性和疏水性一致，泡沫浮选的两个先决条件。接触角、zeta 电位、傅里叶变换红外光谱 (FTIR) 和 X 射线光电子能谱 (XPS) 推断 DEHPA 可能通过 P(= O）-O ^-基团产生Ce-O-P键，其两个2-乙基己基向外定向附着气泡，导致氟碳铈矿浮选富集。此外，这项调查提供了一种新的策略，可以在 REM 的选择性选矿中开发收集器。