ToF-SIMS of Polyphosphate Glasses

Phosphate glasses have been investigated in detail, due to their interesting optical properties: low dispersion, high refractive index and high transparency for ultraviolet light. More recently, the low processing temperature of zinc and iron phosphates as well as their chemical durability opened the possibility for new applications, such as immobilization of nuclear wastes and biomechanical properties. Polyphosphate glasses have also been investigated for their anti-wear properties, since almost all common engine oil additives contain phosphorus and are able, under sliding conditions, to react on steel surfaces to form a protective tribofilm mainly constituted of glassy polyphosphates The characterization of the surface chemistry of such glasses turns out to be a key step for understanding their mechanism of action. In this work zinc and iron phosphate glasses of different chain length were synthesized and characterized by means of ToF-SIMS. ToF-SIMS was able to successfully differentiate between the samples of different composition.