Changes of lead silicate glasses induced by leaching

Abstract The structural differences in the surface region between freshly fractured and leached silicate glasses containing 16.7, 18.8 and 44.4 mol% PbO, respectively, were investigated by photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The optical properties and the thicknesses of leached layers were determined by reflection measurements. The binding energies of the O1s signal components for untreated samples can be ascribed to non-bridging (NBO) and bridging (BO) oxygen and oxygen associated with lead as network former (OPb). The binding energy of OPb was found to be 529.1 ± 0.2 eV. For quantitative conclusions, relative XPS sensitivity factors were determined for oxygen, silicon and lead in these glas…