Xanthate salts are produced by the treatment of an alcohol, alkali, and carbon disulfide. The process is called xanthation. In chemical terminology, the alkali reacts with the alcohol to produce an alkoxide, which is the nucleophile that adds to the electrophilic carbon center in CS2.
What are Xanthates for?
Xanthates are used in the mining industry as flotation collectors of gold, silver, lead, copper or nickel ores. The flotation circuit produces air bubbles covered in concentrated metal ore, which are recovered as concentrate.
What are xanthate esters?
The methyl xanthate ester is presented as a versatile protective group for alcohols. Hydroxyl groups can easily be transformed into methyl xanthate esters by several methods and are commonly used as an auxiliary in the Barton-McCombie reaction.
