Mg2SiO4 is Spinel-like structured and crystallizes in the orthorhombic Pnma space group. There are two inequivalent Mg sites. In the first Mg site, Mg(1) is bonded to two equivalent O(1), two equivalent O(2), and two equivalent O(3) atoms to form MgO6 octahedra that share corners with four equivalent Mg(2)O6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Si(1)O4 tetrahedra, edges with two equivalent Mg(1)O6 octahedra, edges with two equivalent Mg(2)O6 octahedra, and edges with two equivalent Si(1)O4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 56-62°. In the second Mg site, Mg(2) is bonded to one O(2), one O(3), and four equivalent O(1) atoms to form MgO6 octahedra that share corners with four equivalent Mg(1)O6 octahedra, corners with four equivalent Mg(2)O6 octahedra, corners with four equivalent Si(1)O4 tetrahedra, edges with two equivalent Mg(1)O6 octahedra, and  an edgeedge with one Si(1)O4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 51-62°. Si(1) is bonded to one O(2), one O(3), and two equivalent O(1) atoms to form SiO4 tetrahedra that share corners with two equivalent Mg(1)O6 octahedra, corners with four equivalent Mg(2)O6 octahedra,  an edgeedge with one Mg(2)O6 octahedra, and edges with two equivalent Mg(1)O6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 56-61°. There are three inequivalent O sites. In the first O site, O(1) is bonded in a rectangular see-saw-like geometry to one Mg(1), two equivalent Mg(2), and one Si(1) atom. In the second O site, O(2) is bonded in a rectangular see-saw-like geometry to one Mg(2), two equivalent Mg(1), and one Si(1) atom. In the third O site, O(3) is bonded to one Mg(2), two equivalent Mg(1), and one Si(1) atom to form distorted corner-sharing OMg3Si trigonal pyramids.
Mg2SiO4 is Spinel-like structured and crystallizes in the orthorhombic Pnma space group. There are two inequivalent Mg sites. In the first Mg site, Mg(1) is bonded to two equivalent O(1), two equivalent O(2), and two equivalent O(3) atoms to form MgO6 octahedra that share corners with four equivalent Mg(2)O6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Si(1)O4 tetrahedra, edges with two equivalent Mg(1)O6 octahedra, edges with two equivalent Mg(2)O6 octahedra, and edges with two equivalent Si(1)O4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 56-62°. Both Mg(1)-O(1) bond lengths are 2.13 Å. Both Mg(1)-O(2) bond lengths are 2.07 Å. Both Mg(1)-O(3) bond lengths are 2.08 Å. In the second Mg site, Mg(2) is bonded to one O(2), one O(3), and four equivalent O(1) atoms to form MgO6 octahedra that share corners with four equivalent Mg(1)O6 octahedra, corners with four equivalent Mg(2)O6 octahedra, corners with four equivalent Si(1)O4 tetrahedra, edges with two equivalent Mg(1)O6 octahedra, and  an edgeedge with one Si(1)O4 tetrahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 51-62°. The Mg(2)-O(2) bond length is 2.04 Å. The Mg(2)-O(3) bond length is 2.17 Å. There are two shorter (2.06 Å) and two longer (2.21 Å) Mg(2)-O(1) bond lengths. Si(1) is bonded to one O(2), one O(3), and two equivalent O(1) atoms to form SiO4 tetrahedra that share corners with two equivalent Mg(1)O6 octahedra, corners with four equivalent Mg(2)O6 octahedra,  an edgeedge with one Mg(2)O6 octahedra, and edges with two equivalent Mg(1)O6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 56-61°. The Si(1)-O(2) bond length is 1.66 Å. The Si(1)-O(3) bond length is 1.62 Å. Both Si(1)-O(1) bond lengths are 1.64 Å. There are three inequivalent O sites. In the first O site, O(1) is bonded in a rectangular see-saw-like geometry to one Mg(1), two equivalent Mg(2), and one Si(1) atom. In the second O site, O(2) is bonded in a rectangular see-saw-like geometry to one Mg(2), two equivalent Mg(1), and one Si(1) atom. In the third O site, O(3) is bonded to one Mg(2), two equivalent Mg(1), and one Si(1) atom to form distorted corner-sharing OMg3Si trigonal pyramids.