Zr2Ni7 crystallizes in the monoclinic C2/m space group. Zr(1) is bonded in a 14-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Ni(1), four equivalent Ni(3), and eight equivalent Ni(2) atoms. There are three inequivalent Ni sites. In the first Ni site, Ni(3) is bonded to four equivalent Zr(1), two equivalent Ni(1), two equivalent Ni(3), and four equivalent Ni(2) atoms to form a mixture of edge, corner, and face-sharing NiZr4Ni8 cuboctahedra. In the second Ni site, Ni(1) is bonded to four equivalent Zr(1), four equivalent Ni(2), and four equivalent Ni(3) atoms to form a mixture of edge, corner, and face-sharing NiZr4Ni8 cuboctahedra. In the third Ni site, Ni(2) is bonded in a 12-coordinate geometry to four equivalent Zr(1), one Ni(1), two equivalent Ni(3), and five equivalent Ni(2) atoms.
Zr2Ni7 crystallizes in the monoclinic C2/m space group. Zr(1) is bonded in a 14-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Ni(1), four equivalent Ni(3), and eight equivalent Ni(2) atoms. There is one shorter (2.81 Å) and one longer (2.87 Å) Zr(1)-Ni(1) bond length. There are two shorter (2.85 Å) and two longer (2.87 Å) Zr(1)-Ni(3) bond lengths. There are a spread of Zr(1)-Ni(2) bond distances ranging from 2.69-2.75 Å. There are three inequivalent Ni sites. In the first Ni site, Ni(3) is bonded to four equivalent Zr(1), two equivalent Ni(1), two equivalent Ni(3), and four equivalent Ni(2) atoms to form a mixture of edge, corner, and face-sharing NiZr4Ni8 cuboctahedra. Both Ni(3)-Ni(1) bond lengths are 2.35 Å. Both Ni(3)-Ni(3) bond lengths are 2.32 Å. All Ni(3)-Ni(2) bond lengths are 2.46 Å. In the second Ni site, Ni(1) is bonded to four equivalent Zr(1), four equivalent Ni(2), and four equivalent Ni(3) atoms to form a mixture of edge, corner, and face-sharing NiZr4Ni8 cuboctahedra. All Ni(1)-Ni(2) bond lengths are 2.47 Å. In the third Ni site, Ni(2) is bonded in a 12-coordinate geometry to four equivalent Zr(1), one Ni(1), two equivalent Ni(3), and five equivalent Ni(2) atoms. There are a spread of Ni(2)-Ni(2) bond distances ranging from 2.39-2.72 Å.