AES and EDX surface analysis of weathered float glass exposed in different environmental conditions

Abstract To characterize the influence of environmental conditions on glass weathering, two different float glasses were subjected to a six-month outdoor experiment that took place in Durres (seacoast, Albania), Ilmenau (rural, Germany) and Pristina (urban, Kosovo), three sites with largely different environmental conditions. Atmospheric deposits and meteorological conditions led this study to receive information about different weathering behaviour of two types of float glasses. Typical glass degradation effects and reaction products at the glass surface are shown and the impact of weathering and air quality parameters on the formation of reaction products and degradation is discussed. Surface changes have been localized using optical microscopy. Further investigations for receiving chemical information on the contaminations include Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM/EDX). Surface analyses indicate a high amount of weathering products such as chlorides, sulphates and carbonates followed by severe delamination effects for both types of glass exposed in Durres and Pristina. In contrast to this, low levels of soiling and degradation for the samples exposed in Ilmenau were detected.