BaHo2ZnO5 crystallizes in the orthorhombic Pnma space group. Ba(1) is bonded in a 11-coordinate geometry to three equivalent O(1), four equivalent O(2), and four equivalent O(3) atoms. There are two inequivalent Ho sites. In the first Ho site, Ho(1) is bonded to one O(1), two equivalent O(2), and four equivalent O(3) atoms to form distorted HoO7 pentagonal bipyramids that share corners with five equivalent Zn(1)O5 trigonal bipyramids, edges with two equivalent Ho(1)O7 pentagonal bipyramids, and  an edgeedge with one Zn(1)O5 trigonal bipyramid. In the second Ho site, Ho(2) is bonded in a 7-coordinate geometry to one O(1), two equivalent O(3), and four equivalent O(2) atoms. Zn(1) is bonded to one O(1), two equivalent O(2), and two equivalent O(3) atoms to form distorted ZnO5 trigonal bipyramids that share corners with five equivalent Ho(1)O7 pentagonal bipyramids and  an edgeedge with one Ho(1)O7 pentagonal bipyramid. There are three inequivalent O sites. In the first O site, O(1) is bonded to three equivalent Ba(1), one Ho(1), one Ho(2), and one Zn(1) atom to form distorted OBa3Ho2Zn octahedra that share corners with two equivalent O(1)Ba3Ho2Zn octahedra, corners with eight equivalent O(2)Ba2Ho3Zn octahedra, edges with two equivalent O(1)Ba3Ho2Zn octahedra, and faces with four equivalent O(2)Ba2Ho3Zn octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 1-63°. In the second O site, O(2) is bonded to two equivalent Ba(1), one Ho(1), two equivalent Ho(2), and one Zn(1) atom to form distorted OBa2Ho3Zn octahedra that share corners with four equivalent O(2)Ba2Ho3Zn octahedra, corners with four equivalent O(1)Ba3Ho2Zn octahedra, edges with two equivalent O(2)Ba2Ho3Zn octahedra, faces with two equivalent O(2)Ba2Ho3Zn octahedra, and faces with two equivalent O(1)Ba3Ho2Zn octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 26-77°. In the third O site, O(3) is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Ba(1), one Ho(2), two equivalent Ho(1), and one Zn(1) atom.
BaHo2ZnO5 crystallizes in the orthorhombic Pnma space group. Ba(1) is bonded in a 11-coordinate geometry to three equivalent O(1), four equivalent O(2), and four equivalent O(3) atoms. There is one shorter (2.74 Å) and two longer (2.87 Å) Ba(1)-O(1) bond lengths. There are two shorter (2.90 Å) and two longer (3.02 Å) Ba(1)-O(2) bond lengths. There are two shorter (3.13 Å) and two longer (3.32 Å) Ba(1)-O(3) bond lengths. There are two inequivalent Ho sites. In the first Ho site, Ho(1) is bonded to one O(1), two equivalent O(2), and four equivalent O(3) atoms to form distorted HoO7 pentagonal bipyramids that share corners with five equivalent Zn(1)O5 trigonal bipyramids, edges with two equivalent Ho(1)O7 pentagonal bipyramids, and  an edgeedge with one Zn(1)O5 trigonal bipyramid. The Ho(1)-O(1) bond length is 2.33 Å. Both Ho(1)-O(2) bond lengths are 2.37 Å. There are two shorter (2.30 Å) and two longer (2.36 Å) Ho(1)-O(3) bond lengths. In the second Ho site, Ho(2) is bonded in a 7-coordinate geometry to one O(1), two equivalent O(3), and four equivalent O(2) atoms. The Ho(2)-O(1) bond length is 2.39 Å. Both Ho(2)-O(3) bond lengths are 2.30 Å. There are two shorter (2.35 Å) and two longer (2.38 Å) Ho(2)-O(2) bond lengths. Zn(1) is bonded to one O(1), two equivalent O(2), and two equivalent O(3) atoms to form distorted ZnO5 trigonal bipyramids that share corners with five equivalent Ho(1)O7 pentagonal bipyramids and  an edgeedge with one Ho(1)O7 pentagonal bipyramid. The Zn(1)-O(1) bond length is 2.00 Å. Both Zn(1)-O(2) bond lengths are 2.15 Å. Both Zn(1)-O(3) bond lengths are 2.05 Å. There are three inequivalent O sites. In the first O site, O(1) is bonded to three equivalent Ba(1), one Ho(1), one Ho(2), and one Zn(1) atom to form distorted OBa3Ho2Zn octahedra that share corners with two equivalent O(1)Ba3Ho2Zn octahedra, corners with eight equivalent O(2)Ba2Ho3Zn octahedra, edges with two equivalent O(1)Ba3Ho2Zn octahedra, and faces with four equivalent O(2)Ba2Ho3Zn octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 1-63°. In the second O site, O(2) is bonded to two equivalent Ba(1), one Ho(1), two equivalent Ho(2), and one Zn(1) atom to form distorted OBa2Ho3Zn octahedra that share corners with four equivalent O(2)Ba2Ho3Zn octahedra, corners with four equivalent O(1)Ba3Ho2Zn octahedra, edges with two equivalent O(2)Ba2Ho3Zn octahedra, faces with two equivalent O(2)Ba2Ho3Zn octahedra, and faces with two equivalent O(1)Ba3Ho2Zn octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 26-77°. In the third O site, O(3) is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Ba(1), one Ho(2), two equivalent Ho(1), and one Zn(1) atom.