Presented herein is the crystal-structure redetermination of Li4ZrF8 from single-crystal X-ray data. Alkali zirconium fluorides are important in nuclear-relevant technologies, and zirconium is commonly employed as an analogue for tetra-valent f-block elements. The previous structure report of this species is based on powder X-ray data [Dugat et al. (1995 ▸). J. Solid State Chem. 120, 187-196] but there has never been a refined structure model from single-crystal data. The octa-fluorido-zirconate moieties are held together by electrostatic attraction to lithium ions without sharing of fluoride sites between zirconium(IV) ions.
Keywords: crystal structure; fluoride; ionic compounds; metal fluoride; redetermination; zirconium.