MgZn(CoO2)4 crystallizes in the triclinic P1 space group. Mg(1) is bonded in a 6-coordinate geometry to one O(4), one O(7), two equivalent O(1), and two equivalent O(3) atoms. There are four inequivalent Co sites. In the first Co site, Co(1) is bonded to one O(2), one O(7), two equivalent O(4), and two equivalent O(5) atoms to form CoO6 octahedra that share corners with two equivalent Co(3)O6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Co(4)O6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Zn(1)O5 trigonal bipyramids, edges with two equivalent Co(1)O6 octahedra, and  a faceface with one Co(4)O6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 38-61°. In the second Co site, Co(2) is bonded in a distorted rectangular see-saw-like geometry to one O(3), one O(4), one O(6), and one O(8) atom. In the third Co site, Co(3) is bonded to one O(1), one O(6), two equivalent O(2), and two equivalent O(8) atoms to form CoO6 octahedra that share corners with two equivalent Co(1)O6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Zn(1)O5 trigonal bipyramids, edges with two equivalent Co(3)O6 octahedra, and edges with two equivalent Co(4)O6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 49-61°. In the fourth Co site, Co(4) is bonded to one O(7), one O(8), two equivalent O(1), and two equivalent O(5) atoms to form distorted CoO6 octahedra that share corners with two equivalent Co(1)O6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Zn(1)O5 trigonal bipyramids, edges with two equivalent Co(3)O6 octahedra, edges with two equivalent Co(4)O6 octahedra, and  a faceface with one Co(1)O6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 38-43°. Zn(1) is bonded to one O(3), two equivalent O(6), and two equivalent O(7) atoms to form distorted ZnO5 trigonal bipyramids that share corners with two equivalent Co(1)O6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Co(3)O6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Co(4)O6 octahedra, and edges with two equivalent Zn(1)O5 trigonal bipyramids. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 43-71°. There are eight inequivalent O sites. In the first O site, O(1) is bonded in a 5-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Mg(1), one Co(3), and two equivalent Co(4) atoms. In the second O site, O(2) is bonded in a trigonal planar geometry to one Co(1) and two equivalent Co(3) atoms. In the third O site, O(3) is bonded in a rectangular see-saw-like geometry to two equivalent Mg(1), one Co(2), and one Zn(1) atom. In the fourth O site, O(4) is bonded in a distorted see-saw-like geometry to one Mg(1), one Co(2), and two equivalent Co(1) atoms. In the fifth O site, O(5) is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Co(1) and two equivalent Co(4) atoms. In the sixth O site, O(6) is bonded to one Co(2), one Co(3), and two equivalent Zn(1) atoms to form distorted OZn2Co2 trigonal pyramids that share corners with two equivalent O(7)MgZn2Co2 trigonal bipyramids,  a cornercorner with one O(8)Co4 trigonal pyramid, corners with two equivalent O(6)Zn2Co2 trigonal pyramids,  an edgeedge with one O(7)MgZn2Co2 trigonal bipyramid, and  an edgeedge with one O(8)Co4 trigonal pyramid. In the seventh O site, O(7) is bonded to one Mg(1), one Co(1), one Co(4), and two equivalent Zn(1) atoms to form distorted OMgZn2Co2 trigonal bipyramids that share corners with two equivalent O(7)MgZn2Co2 trigonal bipyramids,  a cornercorner with one O(8)Co4 trigonal pyramid, corners with two equivalent O(6)Zn2Co2 trigonal pyramids, and  an edgeedge with one O(6)Zn2Co2 trigonal pyramid. In the eighth O site, O(8) is bonded to one Co(2), one Co(4), and two equivalent Co(3) atoms to form OCo4 trigonal pyramids that share  a cornercorner with one O(7)MgZn2Co2 trigonal bipyramid,  a cornercorner with one O(6)Zn2Co2 trigonal pyramid, corners with two equivalent O(8)Co4 trigonal pyramids, and  an edgeedge with one O(6)Zn2Co2 trigonal pyramid.
MgZn(CoO2)4 crystallizes in the triclinic P1 space group. Mg(1) is bonded in a 6-coordinate geometry to one O(4), one O(7), two equivalent O(1), and two equivalent O(3) atoms. The Mg(1)-O(4) bond length is 2.10 Å. The Mg(1)-O(7) bond length is 2.27 Å. There is one shorter (2.02 Å) and one longer (2.47 Å) Mg(1)-O(1) bond length. There is one shorter (1.98 Å) and one longer (2.01 Å) Mg(1)-O(3) bond length. There are four inequivalent Co sites. In the first Co site, Co(1) is bonded to one O(2), one O(7), two equivalent O(4), and two equivalent O(5) atoms to form CoO6 octahedra that share corners with two equivalent Co(3)O6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Co(4)O6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Zn(1)O5 trigonal bipyramids, edges with two equivalent Co(1)O6 octahedra, and  a faceface with one Co(4)O6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 38-61°. The Co(1)-O(2) bond length is 1.99 Å. The Co(1)-O(7) bond length is 2.12 Å. There is one shorter (1.94 Å) and one longer (2.13 Å) Co(1)-O(4) bond length. There is one shorter (2.00 Å) and one longer (2.10 Å) Co(1)-O(5) bond length. In the second Co site, Co(2) is bonded in a distorted rectangular see-saw-like geometry to one O(3), one O(4), one O(6), and one O(8) atom. The Co(2)-O(3) bond length is 1.94 Å. The Co(2)-O(4) bond length is 2.00 Å. The Co(2)-O(6) bond length is 2.04 Å. The Co(2)-O(8) bond length is 1.98 Å. In the third Co site, Co(3) is bonded to one O(1), one O(6), two equivalent O(2), and two equivalent O(8) atoms to form CoO6 octahedra that share corners with two equivalent Co(1)O6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Zn(1)O5 trigonal bipyramids, edges with two equivalent Co(3)O6 octahedra, and edges with two equivalent Co(4)O6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 49-61°. The Co(3)-O(1) bond length is 1.87 Å. The Co(3)-O(6) bond length is 1.88 Å. There is one shorter (1.81 Å) and one longer (1.97 Å) Co(3)-O(2) bond length. There is one shorter (1.98 Å) and one longer (2.02 Å) Co(3)-O(8) bond length. In the fourth Co site, Co(4) is bonded to one O(7), one O(8), two equivalent O(1), and two equivalent O(5) atoms to form distorted CoO6 octahedra that share corners with two equivalent Co(1)O6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Zn(1)O5 trigonal bipyramids, edges with two equivalent Co(3)O6 octahedra, edges with two equivalent Co(4)O6 octahedra, and  a faceface with one Co(1)O6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 38-43°. The Co(4)-O(7) bond length is 1.91 Å. The Co(4)-O(8) bond length is 1.95 Å. There is one shorter (1.92 Å) and one longer (2.12 Å) Co(4)-O(1) bond length. There is one shorter (1.83 Å) and one longer (2.36 Å) Co(4)-O(5) bond length. Zn(1) is bonded to one O(3), two equivalent O(6), and two equivalent O(7) atoms to form distorted ZnO5 trigonal bipyramids that share corners with two equivalent Co(1)O6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Co(3)O6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Co(4)O6 octahedra, and edges with two equivalent Zn(1)O5 trigonal bipyramids. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 43-71°. The Zn(1)-O(3) bond length is 2.06 Å. There is one shorter (2.06 Å) and one longer (2.11 Å) Zn(1)-O(6) bond length. There is one shorter (2.12 Å) and one longer (2.14 Å) Zn(1)-O(7) bond length. There are eight inequivalent O sites. In the first O site, O(1) is bonded in a 5-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Mg(1), one Co(3), and two equivalent Co(4) atoms. In the second O site, O(2) is bonded in a trigonal planar geometry to one Co(1) and two equivalent Co(3) atoms. In the third O site, O(3) is bonded in a rectangular see-saw-like geometry to two equivalent Mg(1), one Co(2), and one Zn(1) atom. In the fourth O site, O(4) is bonded in a distorted see-saw-like geometry to one Mg(1), one Co(2), and two equivalent Co(1) atoms. In the fifth O site, O(5) is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Co(1) and two equivalent Co(4) atoms. In the sixth O site, O(6) is bonded to one Co(2), one Co(3), and two equivalent Zn(1) atoms to form distorted OZn2Co2 trigonal pyramids that share corners with two equivalent O(7)MgZn2Co2 trigonal bipyramids,  a cornercorner with one O(8)Co4 trigonal pyramid, corners with two equivalent O(6)Zn2Co2 trigonal pyramids,  an edgeedge with one O(7)MgZn2Co2 trigonal bipyramid, and  an edgeedge with one O(8)Co4 trigonal pyramid. In the seventh O site, O(7) is bonded to one Mg(1), one Co(1), one Co(4), and two equivalent Zn(1) atoms to form distorted OMgZn2Co2 trigonal bipyramids that share corners with two equivalent O(7)MgZn2Co2 trigonal bipyramids,  a cornercorner with one O(8)Co4 trigonal pyramid, corners with two equivalent O(6)Zn2Co2 trigonal pyramids, and  an edgeedge with one O(6)Zn2Co2 trigonal pyramid. In the eighth O site, O(8) is bonded to one Co(2), one Co(4), and two equivalent Co(3) atoms to form OCo4 trigonal pyramids that share  a cornercorner with one O(7)MgZn2Co2 trigonal bipyramid,  a cornercorner with one O(6)Zn2Co2 trigonal pyramid, corners with two equivalent O(8)Co4 trigonal pyramids, and  an edgeedge with one O(6)Zn2Co2 trigonal pyramid.