Preparation and characterization of colloidal copper xanthate nanoparticles

Despite the important role of metal xanthates in a number of industrial processes and emerging applications, no attempts have been made to prepare the metal xanthate nanoparticles and to study colloidal solutions of insoluble heavy metal xanthates. Here, we examined the formation of colloidal copper xanthate particles during the reactions of aqueous solutions of cupric sulfate and various potassium xanthates, which occur in flotation and water treatment slurries and can be used to manufacture nanoparticles for materials science (e.g., as precursors for copper sulfide nanoparticles and biomedicine). The products were characterized using UV-vis absorption, dynamic light scattering, zeta potential measurements, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electron diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XANES). Colloidal copper xanthates with compositions of ROCSSCu (R = ethyl, isopropyl, butyl, isobutyl, and amyl groups), disordered structures and average diameters of 20-80 nm easily formed and aggregated and were stable for at least several hours, especially if excessive xanthate was used. The hydrodynamic diameters of the nanoparticles were smaller at lower temperatures. Dixanthogens, which were produced in the reactions along with ROCSSCu, seemed to promote nanoparticle aggregation and precipitated with the copper xanthate, affecting their thermal decomposition. The TEM micrographs and S K- and Cu K-edge XANES spectra revealed core/shell particle morphologies, likely with Cu(I) bonded to four S atoms in the core and reduced copper coordination in the shell.