Around 84% of copper is produced from chalcopyrite through pyrometallurgical routes. However, iron is usually separated from copper matter and ends up in slags that produce secondary waste and wastes resources. Herein, molten salt is employed as a medium to separate chalcopyrite-derived copper-iron oxides. First, chalcopyrite was roasted to generate copper-iron oxide in the air. Then copper-iron oxide was thermo-decomposed into Cu2O and Fe3O4 in molten CaCl2-LiCl where Cu2O dispersed inside molten salt and Fe3O4 stayed at the bottom of molten salt. The mixture of Cu2O and Fe3O4 can be separated by magnetic separation. The molten salt served as the template to reduce the particle size of Cu2O below 500 nm, rendering Cu2O as a promising Li-ion battery anode that delivered a specific capacity of 242.2 mAh g(-1) with a capacity retention rate of 86% after 300 cycles. Besides, both Cu2O and Fe3O4 can be employed as raw materials to produce copper and iron, as well as be used as energy storage materials, photocatalyst, sensor, etc.
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