Measurement of ion concentration profiles in surface layers of leached (“swollen”) glass electrode membranes by means of luminescence excited by ion sputtering

A new method is described of measuring concentration profiles of luminous ions in glass surface layers. The method is applied to so-called “swollen surface layers” of lithium ion containing electrode membrane glass after treatment (“swelling”) in solutions of different pH containing various alkali metal ions. Thickness (up to 300 Å) and lithium concentration profile of the layers are a function of pH and Li⁺-concentration of the solutions. The results are discussed in terms of ion-exchange equilibria. The layers are defined as “leached layers”.