Lithium-bearing alloys such as Si-Li, Al-Li and Cu-Li are of importance in a variety of technological applications, many of them depending on the fact that the surface composition of these alloys differs significantly from that of the bulk, both at thermal equilibrium and under ion bombardment. During ion sputtering, these materials exhibit a variety of phenomena which affect the surface composition and concentration depth profile in a complex manner. We present here experimental measurements of the surface and near-surface composition profiles of sputtered Cu-Li and Al-Li alloys. The experimental results are interpreted in terms of surface loss and radiation-induced segregation processes. Emphasis is placed on the use of these materials for use as plasma-interactive components in magnetic-confinement fusion applications