Electrical relaxation from hydrated surface layers in alkali silicate glasses

Complex impedance plots for a 25 Na₂O?75 SiO₂ glass exposed to the ambient atmosphere indicate the presence of a relaxation at frequencies well below those for the electrical relaxation of the bulk material, but above the frequencies where electrode polarization takes place. This low frequency relaxation is shown to occur in a high resistivity surface layer having a thickness a few times 0.1 μm and formed by the action of atmospheric water vapor. The rate of growth of the surface layer could be monitored by means of the impedance measurements and was found to decrease with the duration of exposure of the glass to the laboratory atmosphere. Complex impedance plots for a chemically durable lithium aluminosilicate glass indicate that the hydrated surface layer thickness is much smaller than in the 25 Na₂O?75 SiO₂ glass.