Commentary on 'Combined experiments and atomistic simulations for understanding the effect of ZnO on the sodium silicate and sodium borosilicate glass network'

Recently, Sahu et al. [Combined experiments and atomistic simulations for understanding the effect of ZnO on the sodium silicate and sodium borosilicate glass network, J. of Non-Cryst. Solids 618 (2023) 122,550] published results from a combined experiment and simulation investigation that describes the effect of ZnO on sodium silicate and sodium borosilicate glass networks. Whilst the majority of the investigation remains sound, their conclusions relating to the chemical durability of silicate and borosilicate glasses containing ZnO are in need of clarification. This commentary addresses their conclusions and aligns them alongside the state-of-the-art understanding of the effect of Zn on the chemical durability, where the well-known positive effect of Zn on short-term glass dissolution becomes adverse over the long-term. This is caveated to consider the quantity of ZnO in the glass and on the specific dissolution test conditions.