LiZn(CoO2)4 crystallizes in the triclinic P1 space group. Li(1) is bonded to one O(2), two equivalent O(5), and two equivalent O(6) atoms to form distorted LiO5 square pyramids that share corners with two equivalent Co(1)O6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Co(4)O6 octahedra, edges with two equivalent Co(3)O6 octahedra, edges with two equivalent Li(1)O5 square pyramids, and  a faceface with one Co(1)O6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 39-60°. 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 Li(1)O5 square pyramids, corners with two equivalent Co(2)O4 tetrahedra, edges with two equivalent Co(1)O6 octahedra, edges with two equivalent Co(4)O6 octahedra, and  a faceface with one Li(1)O5 square pyramid. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 50°. In the second Co site, Co(2) is bonded to one O(4), one O(8), and two equivalent O(3) atoms to form CoO4 tetrahedra 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 corners with two equivalent Co(2)O4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 45-61°. 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 Co(4)O6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Co(2)O4 tetrahedra, edges with two equivalent Co(3)O6 octahedra, and edges with two equivalent Li(1)O5 square pyramids. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 50-52°. In the fourth Co site, Co(4) is bonded to one O(3), one O(5), two equivalent O(1), and two equivalent O(7) atoms to form distorted CoO6 octahedra that share corners with two equivalent Co(3)O6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Li(1)O5 square pyramids, corners with two equivalent Co(2)O4 tetrahedra, edges with two equivalent Co(1)O6 octahedra, and edges with two equivalent Co(4)O6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 52°. Zn(1) is bonded in a 5-coordinate geometry to one O(4), two equivalent O(6), and two equivalent O(7) atoms. There are eight inequivalent O sites. In the first O site, O(1) is bonded in a trigonal planar geometry to one Co(3) and two equivalent Co(4) atoms. In the second O site, O(2) is bonded to one Li(1), one Co(1), and two equivalent Co(3) atoms to form OLiCo3 trigonal pyramids that share  a cornercorner with one O(7)Zn2Co3 square pyramid, corners with two equivalent O(2)LiCo3 trigonal pyramids, corners with two equivalent O(4)ZnCo3 trigonal pyramids, and edges with two equivalent O(6)Li2Zn2Co trigonal bipyramids. In the third O site, O(3) is bonded in a distorted trigonal planar geometry to one Co(4) and two equivalent Co(2) atoms. In the fourth O site, O(4) is bonded to one Co(2), two equivalent Co(1), and one Zn(1) atom to form OZnCo3 trigonal pyramids that share corners with two equivalent O(6)Li2Zn2Co trigonal bipyramids, corners with two equivalent O(2)LiCo3 trigonal pyramids, corners with two equivalent O(4)ZnCo3 trigonal pyramids, and edges with two equivalent O(7)Zn2Co3 square pyramids. In the fifth O site, O(5) is bonded in a 5-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Li(1), one Co(4), and two equivalent Co(1) atoms. In the sixth O site, O(6) is bonded to two equivalent Li(1), one Co(3), and two equivalent Zn(1) atoms to form distorted OLi2Zn2Co trigonal bipyramids that share corners with two equivalent O(7)Zn2Co3 square pyramids, corners with two equivalent O(4)ZnCo3 trigonal pyramids,  an edgeedge with one O(7)Zn2Co3 square pyramid, edges with two equivalent O(6)Li2Zn2Co trigonal bipyramids, and edges with two equivalent O(2)LiCo3 trigonal pyramids. In the seventh O site, O(7) is bonded to one Co(1), two equivalent Co(4), and two equivalent Zn(1) atoms to form OZn2Co3 square pyramids that share corners with two equivalent O(6)Li2Zn2Co trigonal bipyramids,  a cornercorner with one O(2)LiCo3 trigonal pyramid, edges with two equivalent O(7)Zn2Co3 square pyramids,  an edgeedge with one O(6)Li2Zn2Co trigonal bipyramid, and edges with two equivalent O(4)ZnCo3 trigonal pyramids. In the eighth O site, O(8) is bonded in a distorted trigonal planar geometry to one Co(2) and two equivalent Co(3) atoms.
LiZn(CoO2)4 crystallizes in the triclinic P1 space group. Li(1) is bonded to one O(2), two equivalent O(5), and two equivalent O(6) atoms to form distorted LiO5 square pyramids that share corners with two equivalent Co(1)O6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Co(4)O6 octahedra, edges with two equivalent Co(3)O6 octahedra, edges with two equivalent Li(1)O5 square pyramids, and  a faceface with one Co(1)O6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 39-60°. The Li(1)-O(2) bond length is 2.07 Å. There is one shorter (2.13 Å) and one longer (2.15 Å) Li(1)-O(5) bond length. There is one shorter (2.05 Å) and one longer (2.06 Å) Li(1)-O(6) 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 Li(1)O5 square pyramids, corners with two equivalent Co(2)O4 tetrahedra, edges with two equivalent Co(1)O6 octahedra, edges with two equivalent Co(4)O6 octahedra, and  a faceface with one Li(1)O5 square pyramid. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 50°. The Co(1)-O(2) bond length is 1.83 Å. The Co(1)-O(7) bond length is 1.90 Å. There is one shorter (1.94 Å) and one longer (1.95 Å) Co(1)-O(4) bond length. Both Co(1)-O(5) bond lengths are 1.94 Å. In the second Co site, Co(2) is bonded to one O(4), one O(8), and two equivalent O(3) atoms to form CoO4 tetrahedra 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 corners with two equivalent Co(2)O4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 45-61°. The Co(2)-O(4) bond length is 1.95 Å. The Co(2)-O(8) bond length is 1.80 Å. There is one shorter (1.81 Å) and one longer (1.92 Å) Co(2)-O(3) bond length. 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 Co(4)O6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Co(2)O4 tetrahedra, edges with two equivalent Co(3)O6 octahedra, and edges with two equivalent Li(1)O5 square pyramids. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 50-52°. The Co(3)-O(1) bond length is 1.84 Å. The Co(3)-O(6) bond length is 1.95 Å. Both Co(3)-O(2) bond lengths are 1.94 Å. Both Co(3)-O(8) bond lengths are 2.00 Å. In the fourth Co site, Co(4) is bonded to one O(3), one O(5), two equivalent O(1), and two equivalent O(7) atoms to form distorted CoO6 octahedra that share corners with two equivalent Co(3)O6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Li(1)O5 square pyramids, corners with two equivalent Co(2)O4 tetrahedra, edges with two equivalent Co(1)O6 octahedra, and edges with two equivalent Co(4)O6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 52°. The Co(4)-O(3) bond length is 2.20 Å. The Co(4)-O(5) bond length is 2.07 Å. Both Co(4)-O(1) bond lengths are 1.90 Å. Both Co(4)-O(7) bond lengths are 2.07 Å. Zn(1) is bonded in a 5-coordinate geometry to one O(4), two equivalent O(6), and two equivalent O(7) atoms. The Zn(1)-O(4) bond length is 2.15 Å. There is one shorter (1.99 Å) and one longer (2.00 Å) Zn(1)-O(6) bond length. There is one shorter (2.13 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 trigonal planar geometry to one Co(3) and two equivalent Co(4) atoms. In the second O site, O(2) is bonded to one Li(1), one Co(1), and two equivalent Co(3) atoms to form OLiCo3 trigonal pyramids that share  a cornercorner with one O(7)Zn2Co3 square pyramid, corners with two equivalent O(2)LiCo3 trigonal pyramids, corners with two equivalent O(4)ZnCo3 trigonal pyramids, and edges with two equivalent O(6)Li2Zn2Co trigonal bipyramids. In the third O site, O(3) is bonded in a distorted trigonal planar geometry to one Co(4) and two equivalent Co(2) atoms. In the fourth O site, O(4) is bonded to one Co(2), two equivalent Co(1), and one Zn(1) atom to form OZnCo3 trigonal pyramids that share corners with two equivalent O(6)Li2Zn2Co trigonal bipyramids, corners with two equivalent O(2)LiCo3 trigonal pyramids, corners with two equivalent O(4)ZnCo3 trigonal pyramids, and edges with two equivalent O(7)Zn2Co3 square pyramids. In the fifth O site, O(5) is bonded in a 5-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Li(1), one Co(4), and two equivalent Co(1) atoms. In the sixth O site, O(6) is bonded to two equivalent Li(1), one Co(3), and two equivalent Zn(1) atoms to form distorted OLi2Zn2Co trigonal bipyramids that share corners with two equivalent O(7)Zn2Co3 square pyramids, corners with two equivalent O(4)ZnCo3 trigonal pyramids,  an edgeedge with one O(7)Zn2Co3 square pyramid, edges with two equivalent O(6)Li2Zn2Co trigonal bipyramids, and edges with two equivalent O(2)LiCo3 trigonal pyramids. In the seventh O site, O(7) is bonded to one Co(1), two equivalent Co(4), and two equivalent Zn(1) atoms to form OZn2Co3 square pyramids that share corners with two equivalent O(6)Li2Zn2Co trigonal bipyramids,  a cornercorner with one O(2)LiCo3 trigonal pyramid, edges with two equivalent O(7)Zn2Co3 square pyramids,  an edgeedge with one O(6)Li2Zn2Co trigonal bipyramid, and edges with two equivalent O(4)ZnCo3 trigonal pyramids. In the eighth O site, O(8) is bonded in a distorted trigonal planar geometry to one Co(2) and two equivalent Co(3) atoms.