X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy Study of Surface-Modified Silicate Glass

Abstract

Using characteristics of valence electron and core level X-ray photoelectron spectra at binding energies in the range from 0 to ~1000 eV, we have determined the quantitative elemental composition of the surface of silicate glass samples containing Si, Al, Na, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, S, O, and C, whose surface was modified in different ways. We have identified the oxidation states of the ions in the glasses, which, as expected, correspond to Si⁴⁺, Al³⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺, and Mg²⁺. It has been shown that chemical modification of the glass surface produces the largest changes for potassium and sodium: their concentration considerably decreases in comparison with that in the starting glass.