A small non-toxic compound dithiothreitol (DTT) was introduced as an environmental-friendly chalcopyrite depressant in Cu-Mo flotation separation. The separation performances were studied via flotation tests. The adsorption mechanism was explored by contact angle, Zeta potential and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements. The flotation results manifested that DTT exhibited strong depression ability on chalcopyrite, but barely influenced the floatability of molybdenite. The contact angle and Zeta potential measurements indicated that DTT mainly adsorbed on chalcopyrite and rendered its surface hydrophilic, while it hardly adsorbed on molybdenite. XPS analysis confirmed that DTT might complex with Cu atoms on chalcopyrite surfaces via the thiol groups. This study demonstrated that DTT was a promising alternative for Na₂S in Cu-Mo separation, which was more effective and environmentally compatible.

在铜钼浮选分离中引入了一种小型无毒化合物二硫苏糖醇（DTT）作为环保黄铜矿抑制剂。通过浮选试验研究了分离性能。通过接触角，Zeta电位和X射线光电子能谱（XPS）测量来探讨吸附机理。浮选结果表明DTT对黄铜矿具有很强的抑制能力，而对辉钼矿的漂浮性几乎没有影响。接触角和Zeta电位测量结果表明，DTT主要吸附在黄铜矿上并使其表面具有亲水性，而几乎不吸附在辉钼矿上。XPS分析证实DTT可能通过硫醇基团与黄铜矿表面的Cu原子络合。这项研究表明DTT是Na的有前途的替代品Cu-Mo分离中使用₂ S，更有效且与环境相容。