Ca3ZnGe5O14 is Esseneite-like structured and crystallizes in the monoclinic C2 space group. There are two inequivalent Ca sites. In the first Ca site, Ca(1) is bonded in a 8-coordinate geometry to two equivalent O(2), two equivalent O(3), two equivalent O(5), and two equivalent O(6) atoms. In the second Ca site, Ca(2) is bonded in a 8-coordinate geometry to one O(1), one O(2), one O(3), one O(4), two equivalent O(5), and two equivalent O(7) atoms. Zn(1) is bonded to two equivalent O(1), two equivalent O(4), and two equivalent O(6) atoms to form ZnO6 octahedra that share corners with four equivalent Ge(1)O4 tetrahedra and corners with two equivalent Ge(3)O4 trigonal pyramids. There are three inequivalent Ge sites. In the first Ge site, Ge(1) is bonded to one O(1), one O(2), one O(6), and one O(7) atom to form distorted GeO4 tetrahedra that share corners with two equivalent Zn(1)O6 octahedra and corners with two equivalent Ge(2)O4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 66-68°. In the second Ge site, Ge(2) is bonded to one O(2), one O(3), one O(5), and one O(7) atom to form corner-sharing GeO4 tetrahedra. In the third Ge site, Ge(3) is bonded to two equivalent O(3) and two equivalent O(4) atoms to form distorted GeO4 trigonal pyramids that share corners with two equivalent Zn(1)O6 octahedra and corners with two equivalent Ge(2)O4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 68°. There are seven inequivalent O sites. In the first O site, O(1) is bonded in a 3-coordinate geometry to one Ca(2), one Zn(1), and one Ge(1) atom. In the second O site, O(2) is bonded in a 3-coordinate geometry to one Ca(1), one Ca(2), one Ge(1), and one Ge(2) atom. In the third O site, O(3) is bonded in a 3-coordinate geometry to one Ca(1), one Ca(2), one Ge(2), and one Ge(3) atom. In the fourth O site, O(4) is bonded in a 3-coordinate geometry to one Ca(2), one Zn(1), and one Ge(3) atom. In the fifth O site, O(5) is bonded to one Ca(1), two equivalent Ca(2), and one Ge(2) atom to form distorted corner-sharing OCa3Ge tetrahedra. In the sixth O site, O(6) is bonded in a 3-coordinate geometry to one Ca(1), one Zn(1), and one Ge(1) atom. In the seventh O site, O(7) is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Ca(2), one Ge(1), and one Ge(2) atom.
Ca3ZnGe5O14 is Esseneite-like structured and crystallizes in the monoclinic C2 space group. There are two inequivalent Ca sites. In the first Ca site, Ca(1) is bonded in a 8-coordinate geometry to two equivalent O(2), two equivalent O(3), two equivalent O(5), and two equivalent O(6) atoms. Both Ca(1)-O(2) bond lengths are 2.96 Å. Both Ca(1)-O(3) bond lengths are 2.46 Å. Both Ca(1)-O(5) bond lengths are 2.64 Å. Both Ca(1)-O(6) bond lengths are 2.32 Å. In the second Ca site, Ca(2) is bonded in a 8-coordinate geometry to one O(1), one O(2), one O(3), one O(4), two equivalent O(5), and two equivalent O(7) atoms. The Ca(2)-O(1) bond length is 2.34 Å. The Ca(2)-O(2) bond length is 2.47 Å. The Ca(2)-O(3) bond length is 2.91 Å. The Ca(2)-O(4) bond length is 2.32 Å. There is one shorter (2.60 Å) and one longer (2.63 Å) Ca(2)-O(5) bond length. There is one shorter (2.47 Å) and one longer (2.87 Å) Ca(2)-O(7) bond length. Zn(1) is bonded to two equivalent O(1), two equivalent O(4), and two equivalent O(6) atoms to form ZnO6 octahedra that share corners with four equivalent Ge(1)O4 tetrahedra and corners with two equivalent Ge(3)O4 trigonal pyramids. Both Zn(1)-O(1) bond lengths are 2.14 Å. Both Zn(1)-O(4) bond lengths are 2.11 Å. Both Zn(1)-O(6) bond lengths are 2.11 Å. There are three inequivalent Ge sites. In the first Ge site, Ge(1) is bonded to one O(1), one O(2), one O(6), and one O(7) atom to form distorted GeO4 tetrahedra that share corners with two equivalent Zn(1)O6 octahedra and corners with two equivalent Ge(2)O4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 66-68°. The Ge(1)-O(1) bond length is 1.75 Å. The Ge(1)-O(2) bond length is 1.85 Å. The Ge(1)-O(6) bond length is 1.74 Å. The Ge(1)-O(7) bond length is 1.85 Å. In the second Ge site, Ge(2) is bonded to one O(2), one O(3), one O(5), and one O(7) atom to form corner-sharing GeO4 tetrahedra. The Ge(2)-O(2) bond length is 1.80 Å. The Ge(2)-O(3) bond length is 1.80 Å. The Ge(2)-O(5) bond length is 1.72 Å. The Ge(2)-O(7) bond length is 1.81 Å. In the third Ge site, Ge(3) is bonded to two equivalent O(3) and two equivalent O(4) atoms to form distorted GeO4 trigonal pyramids that share corners with two equivalent Zn(1)O6 octahedra and corners with two equivalent Ge(2)O4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 68°. Both Ge(3)-O(3) bond lengths are 1.87 Å. Both Ge(3)-O(4) bond lengths are 1.75 Å. There are seven inequivalent O sites. In the first O site, O(1) is bonded in a 3-coordinate geometry to one Ca(2), one Zn(1), and one Ge(1) atom. In the second O site, O(2) is bonded in a 3-coordinate geometry to one Ca(1), one Ca(2), one Ge(1), and one Ge(2) atom. In the third O site, O(3) is bonded in a 3-coordinate geometry to one Ca(1), one Ca(2), one Ge(2), and one Ge(3) atom. In the fourth O site, O(4) is bonded in a 3-coordinate geometry to one Ca(2), one Zn(1), and one Ge(3) atom. In the fifth O site, O(5) is bonded to one Ca(1), two equivalent Ca(2), and one Ge(2) atom to form distorted corner-sharing OCa3Ge tetrahedra. In the sixth O site, O(6) is bonded in a 3-coordinate geometry to one Ca(1), one Zn(1), and one Ge(1) atom. In the seventh O site, O(7) is bonded in a 4-coordinate geometry to two equivalent Ca(2), one Ge(1), and one Ge(2) atom.