Nanobubbles heterogeneous nucleation induced by temperature rise and its influence on minerals flotation

•Nanobubbles will nucleate on the hydrophobized muscovite surfaces during temperature rise.•Temperature-rise-induced nanobubbles heterogeneous nucleation facilitates the fine particles’ aggregation.•Imposing temperature rise during the pulp conditioning may improve the flotation of minerals. The application of nanobubbles (NBs) in mineral flotation has been widely explored in the last decade, while much few researches have been done on revealing the heterogeneous nucleation of NBs on mineral particles. In this study, the heterogeneous nucleation of NBs induced by temperature rise on dodecylamine-modified muscovite surfaces and its influences on the associated minerals flotation were investigated. Results of special topography and force curve of NBs suggest that NBs can hardly nucleate on the hydrophilic muscovite surface, while they can appear on the hydrophobized mineral surfaces. Furthermore, NBs nucleation on the hydrophobized muscovite surfaces enhances the attraction between mineral particles, resulting in more significant particles aggregation and better flotation performances. The selective nucleation of NBs on more hydrophobic surfaces also contributes to higher separation efficiency, based on the flotation index of actual muscovite ores.