Hydrophobic gangue minerals such as talc, graphite and mica cause selectivity problems during flotation separation because they can be floated together with valuable minerals. This issue becomes increasingly prominent as the higher quality resources are depleted quickly. Here, we demonstrate a promising and green approach which involves simple and oxidative modifications of starch structure features to inhibit graphite floatability. The primary focus was on comprehensively interrogating how systematically developed oxidized starch derivatives differentially and uniquely modify graphite surface hydrophobicity. Adsorption tests, AFM imaging and topographical characterisation were conducted and correlated with flotation responses in the absence (baseline case) and presence of the starch derivatives. At a low concentration (10 mg/L), the starch derivatives exhibited relatively similar surface adsorption in contrast to profound dissimilar flotation outcomes. However, attention to AFM morphological visualizations and resolving the adsorbed structural distributions at the nanoscale level revealed compelling evidence of disparate appearances on graphite surface. The oxidation-induced preferential conformations of starch structure features were judged as the overarching factors conferring surface hydrophobicity reductions, which is important if graphite flotation inhibition is to be successful.

疏水性脉石矿物，例如滑石，石墨和云母，在浮选过程中会引起选择性问题，因为它们可以与有价值的矿物一起漂浮。随着高质量资源的快速耗尽，这个问题变得越来越突出。在这里，我们展示了一种有前途的绿色方法，该方法涉及淀粉结构特征的简单氧化修饰以抑制石墨的漂浮性。主要重点是全面询问如何系统地开发差异化的氧化淀粉衍生物，并独特地改变石墨表面的疏水性。进行了吸附测试，AFM成像和形貌表征，并与淀粉衍生物不存在（基准情况）和存在下的浮选响应相关联。在低浓度（10 mg / L）下，与大量不同的浮选结果相反，淀粉衍生物显示出相对相似的表面吸附。但是，对原子力显微镜形态学可视化的关注以及在纳米级解析吸附结构分布揭示了令人信服的证据，即石墨表面上的外观完全不同。氧化诱导的淀粉结构特征的优先构象被认为是赋予表面疏水性降低的首要因素，这对于成功抑制石墨浮选很重要。对AFM形态学可视化的关注以及在纳米级解析吸附结构分布揭示了令人信服的证据，即石墨表面上出现了完全不同的外观。氧化诱导的淀粉结构特征的优先构象被认为是赋予表面疏水性降低的主要因素，这对于成功抑制石墨浮选很重要。对AFM形态学可视化的关注以及在纳米级解析吸附结构的分布揭示了令人信服的证据，即石墨表面上的外观完全不同。氧化诱导的淀粉结构特征的优先构象被认为是赋予表面疏水性降低的首要因素，这对于成功抑制石墨浮选很重要。