Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 February 2011
Lithium silicate gels of composition 15 mole % lithia - 85 mole % silica were prepared by soaking highly porous silica gels in aqueous LiNO3 or methanolic LiOH solutions. The fracture surfaces of these samples were studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). High resolution XPS core level spectra were collected such that both chemical shift and atomic concentration could be determined. While the average lithium content was slightly higher in LiNO3 gels, only some of the lithium was associated with the silica network. In contrast, most of the lithium in LiOH gels was associated with the network.