Elucidating the interfacial interactions of copper and ammonia with the sulfur passive layer during thiosulfate mediated gold leaching

Mesoscopic Pitting Oscillation-Induced Periodic Anodic Layer Electrodissolution of Au(111)

The electrodissolution of Au(111) in anaerobic cupric/ammonia/thiosulfate solutions, typical of a non-equilibrium dissipative system, was investigated via in situ electrochemical atomic force microscopy. At a specific initial concentration ratio of aqueous ammonia to cupric ions, the pit number and average pit area increase autocatalytically, while the pit depth increases monotonically during dissolution. A further increase in this initial concentration ratio leads to oscillatory dynamics in the pit number and average pit area while the pit depth fluctuates between one and two atoms. Mechanistic analysis indicates that alternation between formation and dissolution of a sulfur film results in periodic pitting, which produces gold dissolution layer by layer. This work presents a new dissolution mode, i.e., periodic layer dissolution generated by oscillatory pitting processes in addition to a pitting mode with a continually increasing depth, and the use of high initial concentration ratios of ammonia to cupric ion to accelerate the elimination of passivating sulfur film for Au dissolution.

Micromechanism Study of Strengthening Effect of Copper on Gold Thiosulfate Leaching

To study the effect of copper on gold thiosulfate leaching, the gold dissolution of three different sample powders (gold, gold/copper, and gold/copper oxide) in a solution of 5 mM Cu²⁺, 0.4 M ammonia, and 0.1 M thiosulfate was studied. Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed no sulfur passivation on the gold surface, and there were more prominent corrosion pits on the gold surfaces of samples that were ground with copper or copper oxide. The Evans diagrams showed that copper and copper oxide can promote both the anode and cathode processes of gold dissolution. Based on first principle simulations, copper and copper oxide exhibited the ability to disrupt the stability of gold surface atoms and cause different degrees of relaxation. Both copper and copper oxide reduce the d-band center of the gold surface atoms and the adsorption between gold and thiosulfate. In addition, the bond length of the S-S bond of thiosulfate adsorbed onto the gold surface was longer when copper or copper oxide were not present. According to the change in the potential surface energy, the energy barriers for gold atom dissolution from gold, gold/copper, and gold/copper oxide surfaces were 1.79, 0.72, and 1.01 eV, respectively.

In situ observation of Pt oxides on the low index planes of Pt using surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy

In situ vibrational spectra of Pt oxides that cannot be measured with IR spectroscopy have been studied on the low index planes of Pt using surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy with bare Au nanoparticles (NPSERS). Two bands appear around 570 and 340 cm^-1 at higher potentials in 0.1 M HClO₄ saturated with Ar, which are assigned to the stretching vibration of Pt-O(H) and the libration vibration of Pt-O, respectively. NPSERS spectra are measured in O₂ saturated solution for the first time. The band intensities of Pt-O(H) and Pt-O in O₂ saturated solution are enhanced significantly compared with those in Ar saturated solution. The onset potentials of Pt-O and Pt-O(H) formation are 1.15 V(RHE) on Pt(100) and 1.2 V(RHE) on Pt(111) and Pt(110). The onset potential of Pt-O and Pt-O(H) and band shape differ from the results obtained using shell isolated surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SHINERS). The Pt-O and Pt-O(H) band intensities are normalized using CO_ad as an internal standard. The Pt-O(H) band intensity depends on surface structures as Pt(110) < Pt(111) ≪ Pt(100), whereas the Pt-O band gives a different intensity order for Pt(111) and Pt(110) as Pt(111) ≤ Pt(110) ≪ Pt(100) in O₂ saturated solution.