MgZn2(CuO2)4 crystallizes in the triclinic P1 space group. Mg(1) is bonded to one O(2), one O(3), one O(4), and one O(7) atom to form distorted MgO4 tetrahedra that share  a cornercorner with one Zn(2)O6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Cu(3)O6 octahedra, and  an edgeedge with one Zn(2)O6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 60-87°. There are four inequivalent Cu sites. In the first Cu site, Cu(1) is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to one O(1), one O(2), one O(4), one O(5), and one O(7) atom. In the second Cu site, Cu(2) is bonded in a rectangular see-saw-like geometry to one O(1), one O(2), one O(7), and one O(8) atom. In the third Cu site, Cu(3) is bonded to one O(1), one O(3), one O(4), one O(5), one O(6), and one O(8) atom to form distorted CuO6 octahedra that share corners with two equivalent Mg(1)O4 tetrahedra and edges with two equivalent Zn(2)O6 octahedra. In the fourth Cu site, Cu(4) is bonded in a rectangular see-saw-like geometry to one O(3), one O(4), one O(5), and one O(6) atom. There are two inequivalent Zn sites. In the first Zn site, Zn(1) is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to one O(5), one O(6), one O(7), and one O(8) atom. In the second Zn site, Zn(2) is bonded to one O(1), one O(2), one O(3), one O(6), one O(7), and one O(8) atom to form distorted ZnO6 octahedra that share  a cornercorner with one Mg(1)O4 tetrahedra, edges with two equivalent Cu(3)O6 octahedra, and  an edgeedge with one Mg(1)O4 tetrahedra. There are eight inequivalent O sites. In the first O site, O(1) is bonded to one Cu(1), one Cu(2), one Cu(3), and one Zn(2) atom to form corner-sharing OZnCu3 trigonal pyramids. In the second O site, O(2) is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to one Mg(1), one Cu(1), one Cu(2), and one Zn(2) atom. In the third O site, O(3) is bonded in a rectangular see-saw-like geometry to one Mg(1), one Cu(3), one Cu(4), and one Zn(2) atom. In the fourth O site, O(4) is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to one Mg(1), one Cu(1), one Cu(3), and one Cu(4) atom. In the fifth O site, O(5) is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to one Cu(1), one Cu(3), one Cu(4), and one Zn(1) atom. In the sixth O site, O(6) is bonded to one Cu(3), one Cu(4), one Zn(1), and one Zn(2) atom to form OZn2Cu2 tetrahedra that share  a cornercorner with one O(8)Zn2Cu2 tetrahedra, corners with two equivalent O(1)ZnCu3 trigonal pyramids, and  an edgeedge with one O(8)Zn2Cu2 tetrahedra. In the seventh O site, O(7) is bonded in a 5-coordinate geometry to one Mg(1), one Cu(1), one Cu(2), one Zn(1), and one Zn(2) atom. In the eighth O site, O(8) is bonded to one Cu(2), one Cu(3), one Zn(1), and one Zn(2) atom to form OZn2Cu2 tetrahedra that share  a cornercorner with one O(6)Zn2Cu2 tetrahedra, corners with three equivalent O(1)ZnCu3 trigonal pyramids, and  an edgeedge with one O(6)Zn2Cu2 tetrahedra.
MgZn2(CuO2)4 crystallizes in the triclinic P1 space group. Mg(1) is bonded to one O(2), one O(3), one O(4), and one O(7) atom to form distorted MgO4 tetrahedra that share  a cornercorner with one Zn(2)O6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Cu(3)O6 octahedra, and  an edgeedge with one Zn(2)O6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 60-87°. The Mg(1)-O(2) bond length is 1.97 Å. The Mg(1)-O(3) bond length is 1.98 Å. The Mg(1)-O(4) bond length is 1.99 Å. The Mg(1)-O(7) bond length is 2.01 Å. There are four inequivalent Cu sites. In the first Cu site, Cu(1) is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to one O(1), one O(2), one O(4), one O(5), and one O(7) atom. The Cu(1)-O(1) bond length is 2.06 Å. The Cu(1)-O(2) bond length is 2.13 Å. The Cu(1)-O(4) bond length is 1.88 Å. The Cu(1)-O(5) bond length is 1.92 Å. The Cu(1)-O(7) bond length is 2.53 Å. In the second Cu site, Cu(2) is bonded in a rectangular see-saw-like geometry to one O(1), one O(2), one O(7), and one O(8) atom. The Cu(2)-O(1) bond length is 1.92 Å. The Cu(2)-O(2) bond length is 1.91 Å. The Cu(2)-O(7) bond length is 1.91 Å. The Cu(2)-O(8) bond length is 1.95 Å. In the third Cu site, Cu(3) is bonded to one O(1), one O(3), one O(4), one O(5), one O(6), and one O(8) atom to form distorted CuO6 octahedra that share corners with two equivalent Mg(1)O4 tetrahedra and edges with two equivalent Zn(2)O6 octahedra. The Cu(3)-O(1) bond length is 1.91 Å. The Cu(3)-O(3) bond length is 1.87 Å. The Cu(3)-O(4) bond length is 2.46 Å. The Cu(3)-O(5) bond length is 2.51 Å. The Cu(3)-O(6) bond length is 1.90 Å. The Cu(3)-O(8) bond length is 1.98 Å. In the fourth Cu site, Cu(4) is bonded in a rectangular see-saw-like geometry to one O(3), one O(4), one O(5), and one O(6) atom. The Cu(4)-O(3) bond length is 1.87 Å. The Cu(4)-O(4) bond length is 1.90 Å. The Cu(4)-O(5) bond length is 1.89 Å. The Cu(4)-O(6) bond length is 1.90 Å. There are two inequivalent Zn sites. In the first Zn site, Zn(1) is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to one O(5), one O(6), one O(7), and one O(8) atom. The Zn(1)-O(5) bond length is 2.16 Å. The Zn(1)-O(6) bond length is 2.01 Å. The Zn(1)-O(7) bond length is 2.04 Å. The Zn(1)-O(8) bond length is 2.00 Å. In the second Zn site, Zn(2) is bonded to one O(1), one O(2), one O(3), one O(6), one O(7), and one O(8) atom to form distorted ZnO6 octahedra that share  a cornercorner with one Mg(1)O4 tetrahedra, edges with two equivalent Cu(3)O6 octahedra, and  an edgeedge with one Mg(1)O4 tetrahedra. The Zn(2)-O(1) bond length is 2.12 Å. The Zn(2)-O(2) bond length is 2.03 Å. The Zn(2)-O(3) bond length is 2.23 Å. The Zn(2)-O(6) bond length is 2.15 Å. The Zn(2)-O(7) bond length is 2.27 Å. The Zn(2)-O(8) bond length is 2.08 Å. There are eight inequivalent O sites. In the first O site, O(1) is bonded to one Cu(1), one Cu(2), one Cu(3), and one Zn(2) atom to form corner-sharing OZnCu3 trigonal pyramids. In the second O site, O(2) is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to one Mg(1), one Cu(1), one Cu(2), and one Zn(2) atom. In the third O site, O(3) is bonded in a rectangular see-saw-like geometry to one Mg(1), one Cu(3), one Cu(4), and one Zn(2) atom. In the fourth O site, O(4) is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to one Mg(1), one Cu(1), one Cu(3), and one Cu(4) atom. In the fifth O site, O(5) is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to one Cu(1), one Cu(3), one Cu(4), and one Zn(1) atom. In the sixth O site, O(6) is bonded to one Cu(3), one Cu(4), one Zn(1), and one Zn(2) atom to form OZn2Cu2 tetrahedra that share  a cornercorner with one O(8)Zn2Cu2 tetrahedra, corners with two equivalent O(1)ZnCu3 trigonal pyramids, and  an edgeedge with one O(8)Zn2Cu2 tetrahedra. In the seventh O site, O(7) is bonded in a 5-coordinate geometry to one Mg(1), one Cu(1), one Cu(2), one Zn(1), and one Zn(2) atom. In the eighth O site, O(8) is bonded to one Cu(2), one Cu(3), one Zn(1), and one Zn(2) atom to form OZn2Cu2 tetrahedra that share  a cornercorner with one O(6)Zn2Cu2 tetrahedra, corners with three equivalent O(1)ZnCu3 trigonal pyramids, and  an edgeedge with one O(6)Zn2Cu2 tetrahedra.