DOE OSTI2020
ZnFe2O4 is Spinel-like structured and crystallizes in the monoclinic Cm space group. The structure is three-dimensional. there are fifteen inequivalent Fe3+ sites. In the first Fe3+ site, Fe3+ is bonded to four O2- atoms to form FeO4 tetrahedra that share corners with two equivalent ZnO6 octahedra and corners with ten FeO6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedra tilt angles range from 56–59°. There are a spread of Fe–O bond distances ranging from 1.93–1.97 Å. In the second Fe3+ site, Fe3+ is bonded to six O2- atoms to form FeO6 octahedra that share corners with three FeO4 tetrahedra, corners with three ZnO4 tetrahedra, edges with two equivalent ZnO6 octahedra, and edges with four FeO6 octahedra. There are a spread of Fe–O bond distances ranging from 2.00–2.11 Å. In the third Fe3+ site, Fe3+ is bonded to six O2- atoms to form FeO6 octahedra that share corners with three equivalent FeO4 tetrahedra, corners with three equivalent ZnO4 tetrahedra, an edgeedge with one ZnO6 octahedra, and edges with five FeO6 octahedra. There are a spread of Fe–O bond distances ranging from 2.02–2.10 Å. In the fourth Fe3+ site, Fe3+ is bonded to four O2- atoms to form FeO4 tetrahedra that share corners with three ZnO6 octahedra and corners with nine FeO6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedra tilt angles range from 56–58°. There are a spread of Fe–O bond distances ranging from 1.93–1.99 Å. In the fifth Fe3+ site, Fe3+ is bonded to six O2- atoms to form FeO6 octahedra that share corners with three FeO4 tetrahedra, corners with three ZnO4 tetrahedra, edges with two equivalent ZnO6 octahedra, and edges with four FeO6 octahedra. There are a spread of Fe–O bond distances ranging from 2.00–2.12 Å. In the sixth Fe3+ site, Fe3+ is bonded to six O2- atoms to form FeO6 octahedra that share corners with three equivalent FeO4 tetrahedra, corners with three equivalent ZnO4 tetrahedra, edges with two ZnO6 octahedra, and edges with four FeO6 octahedra. There are a spread of Fe–O bond distances ranging from 2.03–2.08 Å. In the seventh Fe3+ site, Fe3+ is bonded to four O2- atoms to form FeO4 tetrahedra that share corners with three ZnO6 octahedra and corners with nine FeO6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedra tilt angles range from 56–58°. There are a spread of Fe–O bond distances ranging from 1.93–1.99 Å. In the eighth Fe3+ site, Fe3+ is bonded to six O2- atoms to form FeO6 octahedra that share corners with three FeO4 tetrahedra, corners with three ZnO4 tetrahedra, edges with two equivalent ZnO6 octahedra, and edges with four FeO6 octahedra. There are a spread of Fe–O bond distances ranging from 2.00–2.11 Å. In the ninth Fe3+ site, Fe3+ is bonded to six O2- atoms to form FeO6 octahedra that share corners with three equivalent FeO4 tetrahedra, corners with three equivalent ZnO4 tetrahedra, edges with two ZnO6 octahedra, and edges with four FeO6 octahedra. There are a spread of Fe–O bond distances ranging from 2.03–2.08 Å. In the tenth Fe3+ site, Fe3+ is bonded to four O2- atoms to form FeO4 tetrahedra that share corners with three ZnO6 octahedra and corners with nine FeO6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedra tilt angles range from 57–59°. There are a spread of Fe–O bond distances ranging from 1.93–1.98 Å. In the eleventh Fe3+ site, Fe3+ is bonded to six O2- atoms to form FeO6 octahedra that share corners with two equivalent FeO4 tetrahedra, corners with four ZnO4 tetrahedra, edges with two equivalent ZnO6 octahedra, and edges with four FeO6 octahedra. There are a spread of Fe–O bond distances ranging from 2.02–2.11 Å. In the twelfth Fe3+ site, Fe3+ is bonded to six O2- atoms to form FeO6 octahedra that share corners with three equivalent FeO4 tetrahedra, corners with three equivalent ZnO4 tetrahedra, edges with two ZnO6 octahedra, and edges with four FeO6 octahedra. There are a spread of Fe–O bond distances ranging from 2.03–2.09 Å. In the thirteenth Fe3+ site, Fe3+ is bonded to six O2- atoms to form FeO6 octahedra that share a cornercorner with one FeO4 tetrahedra, corners with five ZnO4 tetrahedra, and edges with six FeO6 octahedra. There are a spread of Fe–O bond distances ranging from 2.03–2.11 Å. In the fourteenth Fe3+ site, Fe3+ is bonded to six O2- atoms to form FeO6 octahedra that share a cornercorner with one FeO4 tetrahedra, corners with five ZnO4 tetrahedra, and edges with six FeO6 octahedra. There are a spread of Fe–O bond distances ranging from 2.02–2.11 Å. In the fifteenth Fe3+ site, Fe3+ is bonded to six O2- atoms to form FeO6 octahedra that share corners with six ZnO4 tetrahedra, an edgeedge with one ZnO6 octahedra, and edges with five FeO6 octahedra. There are a spread of Fe–O bond distances ranging from 2.00–2.11 Å. There are ten inequivalent Zn2+ sites. In the first Zn2+ site, Zn2+ is bonded to four O2- atoms to form ZnO4 tetrahedra that share a cornercorner with one ZnO6 octahedra and corners with eleven FeO6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedra tilt angles range from 56–60°. There are one shorter (1.99 Å) and three longer (2.01 Å) Zn–O bond lengths. In the second Zn2+ site, Zn2+ is bonded to six O2- atoms to form ZnO6 octahedra that share corners with three FeO4 tetrahedra, corners with three ZnO4 tetrahedra, and edges with six FeO6 octahedra. There are a spread of Zn–O bond distances ranging from 2.10–2.15 Å. In the third Zn2+ site, Zn2+ is bonded to four O2- atoms to form ZnO4 tetrahedra that share corners with three ZnO6 octahedra and corners with nine FeO6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedra tilt angles range from 56–59°. There are a spread of Zn–O bond distances ranging from 1.98–2.03 Å. In the fourth Zn2+ site, Zn2+ is bonded to six O2- atoms to form ZnO6 octahedra that share corners with three FeO4 tetrahedra, corners with three ZnO4 tetrahedra, and edges with six FeO6 octahedra. There are a spread of Zn–O bond distances ranging from 2.10–2.14 Å. In the fifth Zn2+ site, Zn2+ is bonded to four O2- atoms to form ZnO4 tetrahedra that share corners with three ZnO6 octahedra and corners with nine FeO6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedra tilt angles range from 57–59°. There are a spread of Zn–O bond distances ranging from 1.98–2.03 Å. In the sixth Zn2+ site, Zn2+ is bonded to six O2- atoms to form ZnO6 octahedra that share corners with three FeO4 tetrahedra, corners with three ZnO4 tetrahedra, and edges with six FeO6 octahedra. There are a spread of Zn–O bond distances ranging from 2.10–2.14 Å. In the seventh Zn2+ site, Zn2+ is bonded to four O2- atoms to form ZnO4 tetrahedra that share corners with three ZnO6 octahedra and corners with nine FeO6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedra tilt angles range from 56–60°. There are a spread of Zn–O bond distances ranging from 1.96–2.03 Å. In the eighth Zn2+ site, Zn2+ is bonded to six O2- atoms to form ZnO6 octahedra that share corners with two equivalent FeO4 tetrahedra, corners with four ZnO4 tetrahedra, and edges with six FeO6 octahedra. There are a spread of Zn–O bond distances ranging from 2.09–2.14 Å. In the ninth Zn2+ site, Zn2+ is bonded to four O2- atoms to form ZnO4 tetrahedra that share a cornercorner with one ZnO6 octahedra and corners with eleven FeO6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedra tilt angles range from 57–62°. There are a spread of Zn–O bond distances ranging from 1.98–2.04 Å. In the tenth Zn2+ site, Zn2+ is bonded to four O2- atoms to form ZnO4 tetrahedra that share corners with two equivalent ZnO6 octahedra and corners with ten FeO6 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedra tilt angles range from 55–61°. There are a spread of Zn–O bond distances ranging from 1.98–2.04 Å. There are thirty inequivalent O2- sites. In the first O2- site, O2- is bonded in a rectangular see-saw-like geometry to three Fe3+ and one Zn2+ atom. In the second O2- site, O2- is bonded to three Fe3+ and one Zn2+ atom to form a mixture of distorted edge and corner-sharing OZnFe3 trigonal pyramids. In the third O2- site, O2- is bonded to four Fe3+ atoms to form a mixture of distorted edge and corner-sharing OFe4 trigonal pyramids. In the fourth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a rectangular see-saw-like geometry to three Fe3+ and one Zn2+ atom. In the fifth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a distorted rectangular see-saw-like geometry to three Fe3+ and one Zn2+ atom. In the sixth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a rectangular see-saw-like geometry to two Fe3+ and two Zn2+ atoms. In the seventh O2- site, O2- is bonded to three Fe3+ and one Zn2+ atom to form a mixture of distorted edge and corner-sharing OZnFe3 trigonal pyramids. In the eighth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a rectangular see-saw-like geometry to two equivalent Fe3+ and two Zn2+ atoms. In the ninth O2- site, O2- is bonded to four Fe3+ atoms to form a mixture of distorted edge and corner-sharing OFe4 trigonal pyramids. In the tenth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a rectangular see-saw-like geometry to three Fe3+ and one Zn2+ atom. In the eleventh O2- site, O2- is bonded in a distorted rectangular see-saw-like geometry to three Fe3+ and one Zn2+ atom. In the twelfth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a rectangular see-saw-like geometry to two Fe3+ and two Zn2+ atoms. In the thirteenth O2- site, O2- is bonded to three Fe3+ and one Zn2+ atom to form distorted edge-sharing OZnFe3 trigonal pyramids. In the fourteenth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a rectangular see-saw-like geometry to two equivalent Fe3+ and two Zn2+ atoms. In the fifteenth O2- site, O2- is bonded to four Fe3+ atoms to form a mixture of distorted edge and corner-sharing OFe4 trigonal pyramids. In the sixteenth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a rectangular see-saw-like geometry to three Fe3+ and one Zn2+ atom. In the seventeenth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a rectangular see-saw-like geometry to three Fe3+ and one Zn2+ atom. In the eighteenth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a distorted trigonal pyramidal geometry to two equivalent Fe3+ and two Zn2+ atoms. In the nineteenth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a rectangular see-saw-like geometry to two equivalent Fe3+ and two Zn2+ atoms. In the twentieth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a rectangular see-saw-like geometry to two Fe3+ and two Zn2+ atoms. In the twenty-first O2- site, O2- is bonded in a distorted rectangular see-saw-like geometry to four Fe3+ atoms. In the twenty-second O2- site, O2- is bonded in a distorted rectangular see-saw-like geometry to three Fe3+ and one Zn2+ atom. In the twenty-third O2- site, O2- is bonded in a distorted rectangular see-saw-like geometry to three Fe3+ and one Zn2+ atom. In the twenty-fourth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a rectangular see-saw-like geometry to two equivalent Fe3+ and two Zn2+ atoms. In the twenty-fifth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a distorted rectangular see-saw-like geometry to four Fe3+ atoms. In the twenty-sixth O2- site, O2- is bonded in a rectangular see-saw-like geometry to two Fe3+ and two Zn2+ atoms. In the twenty-seventh O2- site, O2- is bonded in a rectangular see-saw-like geometry to three Fe3+ and one Zn2+ atom. In the twenty-eighth O2- site, O2- is bonded to three Fe3+ and one Zn2+ atom to form a mixture of distorted edge and corner-sharing OZnFe3 trigonal pyramids. In the twenty-ninth O2- site, O2- is bonded to three Fe3+ and one Zn2+ atom to form a mixture of distorted edge and corner-sharing OZnFe3 trigonal pyramids. In the thirtieth O2- site, O2- is bonded to three Fe3+ and one Zn2+ atom to form distorted edge-sharing OZnFe3 trigonal pyramids.