Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 February 2011
Reactions which create and destroy Si-O-Si, Si-O-B, and B-O-B bonds occur in leached layers on borosilicate glasses during glass dissolution. Solid state NMR, Raman, and TEM techniques have been used to determine the distribution of species formed in leached layers as a function of solution pH and the mechanisms of glass-water reactions. The chemical principles which govern the reactivity of silicate and borate bonds in leached layers appear to be similar to those which govern the formation of silicate and borate gels via sol-gel techniques.