Ho4Zn5Ge6 crystallizes in the orthorhombic Cmc2_1 space group. There are four inequivalent Ho sites. In the first Ho site, Ho(1) is bonded in a 10-coordinate geometry to one Zn(4), two equivalent Zn(3), one Ge(6), two equivalent Ge(2), two equivalent Ge(4), and two equivalent Ge(5) atoms. In the second Ho site, Ho(2) is bonded to one Ge(1), one Ge(6), two equivalent Ge(2), and two equivalent Ge(3) atoms to form distorted HoGe6 octahedra that share  a cornercorner with one Ho(3)Ge6 octahedra,  a cornercorner with one Zn(2)Ge4 tetrahedra, edges with two equivalent Ho(2)Ge6 octahedra, edges with two equivalent Ho(3)Ge6 octahedra, and edges with two equivalent Zn(2)Ge4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 43°. In the third Ho site, Ho(3) is bonded to one Ge(3), one Ge(6), two equivalent Ge(1), and two equivalent Ge(4) atoms to form distorted HoGe6 octahedra that share  a cornercorner with one Ho(2)Ge6 octahedra,  a cornercorner with one Zn(2)Ge4 tetrahedra, edges with two equivalent Ho(2)Ge6 octahedra, edges with two equivalent Ho(3)Ge6 octahedra, and edges with two equivalent Zn(2)Ge4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 43°. In the fourth Ho site, Ho(4) is bonded in a 11-coordinate geometry to one Zn(4), two equivalent Zn(1), two equivalent Zn(5), two equivalent Ge(2), two equivalent Ge(4), and two equivalent Ge(5) atoms. There are five inequivalent Zn sites. In the first Zn site, Zn(1) is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Ho(4), one Ge(2), one Ge(5), and two equivalent Ge(1) atoms. In the second Zn site, Zn(2) is bonded to one Ge(1), one Ge(3), and two equivalent Ge(6) atoms to form distorted ZnGe4 tetrahedra that share  a cornercorner with one Ho(2)Ge6 octahedra,  a cornercorner with one Ho(3)Ge6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Zn(2)Ge4 tetrahedra, edges with two equivalent Ho(2)Ge6 octahedra, and edges with two equivalent Ho(3)Ge6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 12-14°. In the third Zn site, Zn(3) is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Ho(1), one Ge(4), one Ge(5), and two equivalent Ge(3) atoms. In the fourth Zn site, Zn(4) is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to one Ho(1), one Ho(4), one Ge(1), one Ge(3), and two equivalent Ge(5) atoms. In the fifth Zn site, Zn(5) is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Ho(4), one Ge(4), one Ge(5), and two equivalent Ge(6) atoms. There are six inequivalent Ge sites. In the first Ge site, Ge(1) is bonded to one Ho(2), two equivalent Ho(3), one Zn(2), one Zn(4), and two equivalent Zn(1) atoms to form distorted edge-sharing GeHo3Zn4 pentagonal bipyramids. In the second Ge site, Ge(2) is bonded in a 8-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Ho(1), two equivalent Ho(2), two equivalent Ho(4), one Zn(1), and one Ge(4) atom. In the third Ge site, Ge(3) is bonded to one Ho(3), two equivalent Ho(2), one Zn(2), one Zn(4), and two equivalent Zn(3) atoms to form distorted edge-sharing GeHo3Zn4 pentagonal bipyramids. In the fourth Ge site, Ge(4) is bonded in a 9-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Ho(1), two equivalent Ho(3), two equivalent Ho(4), one Zn(3), one Zn(5), and one Ge(2) atom. In the fifth Ge site, Ge(5) is bonded in a 9-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Ho(1), two equivalent Ho(4), one Zn(1), one Zn(3), one Zn(5), and two equivalent Zn(4) atoms. In the sixth Ge site, Ge(6) is bonded in a 7-coordinate geometry to one Ho(1), one Ho(2), one Ho(3), two equivalent Zn(2), and two equivalent Zn(5) atoms.
Ho4Zn5Ge6 crystallizes in the orthorhombic Cmc2_1 space group. There are four inequivalent Ho sites. In the first Ho site, Ho(1) is bonded in a 10-coordinate geometry to one Zn(4), two equivalent Zn(3), one Ge(6), two equivalent Ge(2), two equivalent Ge(4), and two equivalent Ge(5) atoms. The Ho(1)-Zn(4) bond length is 3.16 Å. Both Ho(1)-Zn(3) bond lengths are 3.25 Å. The Ho(1)-Ge(6) bond length is 3.04 Å. Both Ho(1)-Ge(2) bond lengths are 3.03 Å. Both Ho(1)-Ge(4) bond lengths are 3.16 Å. Both Ho(1)-Ge(5) bond lengths are 3.04 Å. In the second Ho site, Ho(2) is bonded to one Ge(1), one Ge(6), two equivalent Ge(2), and two equivalent Ge(3) atoms to form distorted HoGe6 octahedra that share  a cornercorner with one Ho(3)Ge6 octahedra,  a cornercorner with one Zn(2)Ge4 tetrahedra, edges with two equivalent Ho(2)Ge6 octahedra, edges with two equivalent Ho(3)Ge6 octahedra, and edges with two equivalent Zn(2)Ge4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 43°. The Ho(2)-Ge(1) bond length is 2.92 Å. The Ho(2)-Ge(6) bond length is 2.87 Å. Both Ho(2)-Ge(2) bond lengths are 2.94 Å. Both Ho(2)-Ge(3) bond lengths are 2.91 Å. In the third Ho site, Ho(3) is bonded to one Ge(3), one Ge(6), two equivalent Ge(1), and two equivalent Ge(4) atoms to form distorted HoGe6 octahedra that share  a cornercorner with one Ho(2)Ge6 octahedra,  a cornercorner with one Zn(2)Ge4 tetrahedra, edges with two equivalent Ho(2)Ge6 octahedra, edges with two equivalent Ho(3)Ge6 octahedra, and edges with two equivalent Zn(2)Ge4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 43°. The Ho(3)-Ge(3) bond length is 2.97 Å. The Ho(3)-Ge(6) bond length is 3.01 Å. Both Ho(3)-Ge(1) bond lengths are 2.93 Å. Both Ho(3)-Ge(4) bond lengths are 3.01 Å. In the fourth Ho site, Ho(4) is bonded in a 11-coordinate geometry to one Zn(4), two equivalent Zn(1), two equivalent Zn(5), two equivalent Ge(2), two equivalent Ge(4), and two equivalent Ge(5) atoms. The Ho(4)-Zn(4) bond length is 3.04 Å. Both Ho(4)-Zn(1) bond lengths are 3.11 Å. Both Ho(4)-Zn(5) bond lengths are 3.05 Å. Both Ho(4)-Ge(2) bond lengths are 3.11 Å. Both Ho(4)-Ge(4) bond lengths are 3.07 Å. Both Ho(4)-Ge(5) bond lengths are 3.01 Å. There are five inequivalent Zn sites. In the first Zn site, Zn(1) is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Ho(4), one Ge(2), one Ge(5), and two equivalent Ge(1) atoms. The Zn(1)-Ge(2) bond length is 2.59 Å. The Zn(1)-Ge(5) bond length is 2.74 Å. Both Zn(1)-Ge(1) bond lengths are 2.52 Å. In the second Zn site, Zn(2) is bonded to one Ge(1), one Ge(3), and two equivalent Ge(6) atoms to form distorted ZnGe4 tetrahedra that share  a cornercorner with one Ho(2)Ge6 octahedra,  a cornercorner with one Ho(3)Ge6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Zn(2)Ge4 tetrahedra, edges with two equivalent Ho(2)Ge6 octahedra, and edges with two equivalent Ho(3)Ge6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 12-14°. The Zn(2)-Ge(1) bond length is 2.54 Å. The Zn(2)-Ge(3) bond length is 2.57 Å. Both Zn(2)-Ge(6) bond lengths are 2.66 Å. In the third Zn site, Zn(3) is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Ho(1), one Ge(4), one Ge(5), and two equivalent Ge(3) atoms. The Zn(3)-Ge(4) bond length is 2.56 Å. The Zn(3)-Ge(5) bond length is 2.74 Å. Both Zn(3)-Ge(3) bond lengths are 2.52 Å. In the fourth Zn site, Zn(4) is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to one Ho(1), one Ho(4), one Ge(1), one Ge(3), and two equivalent Ge(5) atoms. The Zn(4)-Ge(1) bond length is 2.55 Å. The Zn(4)-Ge(3) bond length is 2.54 Å. Both Zn(4)-Ge(5) bond lengths are 2.63 Å. In the fifth Zn site, Zn(5) is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Ho(4), one Ge(4), one Ge(5), and two equivalent Ge(6) atoms. The Zn(5)-Ge(4) bond length is 2.59 Å. The Zn(5)-Ge(5) bond length is 2.62 Å. Both Zn(5)-Ge(6) bond lengths are 2.51 Å. There are six inequivalent Ge sites. In the first Ge site, Ge(1) is bonded to one Ho(2), two equivalent Ho(3), one Zn(2), one Zn(4), and two equivalent Zn(1) atoms to form distorted edge-sharing GeHo3Zn4 pentagonal bipyramids. In the second Ge site, Ge(2) is bonded in a 8-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Ho(1), two equivalent Ho(2), two equivalent Ho(4), one Zn(1), and one Ge(4) atom. The Ge(2)-Ge(4) bond length is 2.55 Å. In the third Ge site, Ge(3) is bonded to one Ho(3), two equivalent Ho(2), one Zn(2), one Zn(4), and two equivalent Zn(3) atoms to form distorted edge-sharing GeHo3Zn4 pentagonal bipyramids. In the fourth Ge site, Ge(4) is bonded in a 9-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Ho(1), two equivalent Ho(3), two equivalent Ho(4), one Zn(3), one Zn(5), and one Ge(2) atom. In the fifth Ge site, Ge(5) is bonded in a 9-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Ho(1), two equivalent Ho(4), one Zn(1), one Zn(3), one Zn(5), and two equivalent Zn(4) atoms. In the sixth Ge site, Ge(6) is bonded in a 7-coordinate geometry to one Ho(1), one Ho(2), one Ho(3), two equivalent Zn(2), and two equivalent Zn(5) atoms.