Chemical durability of alkali-borosilicate glasses studied by analytical SEM, IBA, isotopic-tracing and SIMS

Simple and complex alkali-borosilicate glasses were submitted to aqueous corrosion at room temperature, 60 and 90 °C in solutions with pH ranging between 0 and 12. Analytical scanning electron microscopy (SEM), ion beam analysis (IBA) techniques, isotopic tracing and secondary ion mass-depth profiling (SIMS) have been used to investigate the variations of the surface composition of glass. In acidic medium, the glass surface is generally covered by a thick hydrated silica layer, mobile elements like Li, Na and B and transition elements (Fe, Zr, Mo, etc.) are strongly depleted. Near pH 7, relative enrichments of aluminium, iron and rare earths are shown together with strong Li, Na and B depletions. In basic medium, the glass surface exhibits relative enrichments of the major part of transition metals (from Cr to U) whereas mobile elements seem to be kept close to their nominal concentration level at the glass surface and Si is severely impoverished. Hydrogen incorporated at the glass surface after leaching is much more immobile in neutral and basic media than in acid medium.