3-VINYL-1,2,5-THIADIAZOLE-METHACRYLIC ACID COPOLYMERS AS pH CONTROLLED FLOCCULANTS FOR FINELY DIVIDED COPPER MINERALS

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Abstract
Good selective flocculants for chalcocite. which may be transformed into dispersants by a slight change in pH, have been prepared by copolymerization of mixtures of 3-vinyl-1,2,5-thiadiazole and methacrylic acid. Their average osmometric molecular weight is no higher than 200,000 dalton. They are virtually insoluble in water and fairly soluble in 0.1N NaOH; they do not flocculate gangue minerals like quartz and calcite, but tend to act as dispersants for them. I.R. spectra confirm a chemical interaction between thiadiazole units and the particle surface, an interaction that probably takes place through the coordination of nitrogen atoms with surface copper atoms. The formation of the complex, the stability of which depends on pH, ensures to a certain extent the interposition of the copolymer between the particle surface and the solvent. Thus the copolymer partly controls the particle-solvent relations and regulates flocculation or dispersion, as the case may be.