DOE OSTI2020
Zr2Si2O5 crystallizes in the tetragonal P4/mmm space group. The structure is three-dimensional. there are two inequivalent Zr sites. In the first Zr site, Zr is bonded in a body-centered cubic geometry to eight equivalent O atoms. All Zr–O bond lengths are 2.43 Å. In the second Zr site, Zr is bonded to twelve O atoms to form distorted ZrO12 cuboctahedra that share corners with four equivalent ZrO12 cuboctahedra, faces with four equivalent ZrO12 cuboctahedra, and faces with eight equivalent SiO5 square pyramids. There are eight shorter (2.48 Å) and four longer (2.75 Å) Zr–O bond lengths. Si is bonded to five O atoms to form distorted SiO5 square pyramids that share corners with five equivalent SiO5 square pyramids and faces with four equivalent ZrO12 cuboctahedra. There is one shorter (1.77 Å) and four longer (1.96 Å) Si–O bond length. There are two inequivalent O sites. In the first O site, O is bonded to four Zr and two equivalent Si atoms to form a mixture of distorted edge, face, and corner-sharing OZr4Si2 octahedra. The corner-sharing octahedra tilt angles range from 0–69°. In the second O site, O is bonded in a linear geometry to four equivalent Zr and two equivalent Si atoms.