MgLu4Ge4 crystallizes in the orthorhombic Pnma space group. Mg(1) is bonded to one Ge(1), two equivalent Ge(2), and two equivalent Ge(3) atoms to form distorted corner-sharing MgGe5 square pyramids. There are two inequivalent Lu sites. In the first Lu site, Lu(1) is bonded in a 6-coordinate geometry to one Ge(3), two equivalent Ge(1), and three equivalent Ge(2) atoms. In the second Lu site, Lu(2) is bonded in a 7-coordinate geometry to one Ge(1), two equivalent Ge(3), and four equivalent Ge(2) atoms. There are three inequivalent Ge sites. In the first Ge site, Ge(3) is bonded in a 9-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Mg(1), two equivalent Lu(1), four equivalent Lu(2), and one Ge(1) atom. In the second Ge site, Ge(1) is bonded in a 8-coordinate geometry to one Mg(1), two equivalent Lu(2), four equivalent Lu(1), and one Ge(3) atom. In the third Ge site, Ge(2) is bonded in a 9-coordinate geometry to one Mg(1), three equivalent Lu(1), four equivalent Lu(2), and one Ge(2) atom.
MgLu4Ge4 crystallizes in the orthorhombic Pnma space group. Mg(1) is bonded to one Ge(1), two equivalent Ge(2), and two equivalent Ge(3) atoms to form distorted corner-sharing MgGe5 square pyramids. The Mg(1)-Ge(1) bond length is 2.69 Å. Both Mg(1)-Ge(2) bond lengths are 3.08 Å. There is one shorter (2.74 Å) and one longer (2.77 Å) Mg(1)-Ge(3) bond length. There are two inequivalent Lu sites. In the first Lu site, Lu(1) is bonded in a 6-coordinate geometry to one Ge(3), two equivalent Ge(1), and three equivalent Ge(2) atoms. The Lu(1)-Ge(3) bond length is 2.98 Å. There is one shorter (2.83 Å) and one longer (2.85 Å) Lu(1)-Ge(1) bond length. There are a spread of Lu(1)-Ge(2) bond distances ranging from 2.76-2.93 Å. In the second Lu site, Lu(2) is bonded in a 7-coordinate geometry to one Ge(1), two equivalent Ge(3), and four equivalent Ge(2) atoms. The Lu(2)-Ge(1) bond length is 3.06 Å. There is one shorter (2.97 Å) and one longer (3.09 Å) Lu(2)-Ge(3) bond length. There are a spread of Lu(2)-Ge(2) bond distances ranging from 2.87-3.16 Å. There are three inequivalent Ge sites. In the first Ge site, Ge(3) is bonded in a 9-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Mg(1), two equivalent Lu(1), four equivalent Lu(2), and one Ge(1) atom. The Ge(3)-Ge(1) bond length is 2.55 Å. In the second Ge site, Ge(1) is bonded in a 8-coordinate geometry to one Mg(1), two equivalent Lu(2), four equivalent Lu(1), and one Ge(3) atom. In the third Ge site, Ge(2) is bonded in a 9-coordinate geometry to one Mg(1), three equivalent Lu(1), four equivalent Lu(2), and one Ge(2) atom. The Ge(2)-Ge(2) bond length is 2.74 Å.