The crystal structure described by Co3(PO4)4 crystallizes in the triclinic P1 space group. There are three inequivalent Co sites. In the first Co site, Co(1) is bonded to one O(1), one O(5), one O(6), one O(7), and one O(8) atom to form distorted CoO5 square pyramids that share  a cornercorner with one P(2)O4 tetrahedra, corners with two equivalent P(1)O4 tetrahedra, and corners with two equivalent P(4)O4 tetrahedra. In the second Co site, Co(2) is bonded to one O(11), one O(12), one O(15), one O(2), and one O(4) atom to form CoO5 trigonal bipyramids that share  a cornercorner with one P(1)O4 tetrahedra,  a cornercorner with one P(3)O4 tetrahedra,  a cornercorner with one P(4)O4 tetrahedra,  an edgeedge with one Co(3)O6 octahedra, and  an edgeedge with one P(3)O4 tetrahedra. In the third Co site, Co(3) is bonded to one O(10), one O(14), one O(15), one O(16), one O(2), and one O(9) atom to form distorted CoO6 octahedra that share  a cornercorner with one P(1)O4 tetrahedra,  a cornercorner with one P(4)O4 tetrahedra, corners with two equivalent P(2)O4 tetrahedra, corners with two equivalent P(3)O4 tetrahedra, and  an edgeedge with one Co(2)O5 trigonal bipyramid. There are four inequivalent P sites. In the first P site, P(1) is bonded to one O(16), one O(4), one O(6), and one O(7) atom to form PO4 tetrahedra that share  a cornercorner with one Co(3)O6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Co(1)O5 square pyramids, and  a cornercorner with one Co(2)O5 trigonal bipyramid. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 40°. In the second P site, P(2) is bonded to one O(1), one O(13), one O(14), and one O(9) atom to form PO4 tetrahedra that share corners with two equivalent Co(3)O6 octahedra and  a cornercorner with one Co(1)O5 square pyramid. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 31-45°. In the third P site, P(3) is bonded to one O(12), one O(15), one O(2), and one O(3) atom to form PO4 tetrahedra that share corners with two equivalent Co(3)O6 octahedra,  a cornercorner with one Co(2)O5 trigonal bipyramid, and  an edgeedge with one Co(2)O5 trigonal bipyramid. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 33-56°. In the fourth P site, P(4) is bonded to one O(10), one O(11), one O(5), and one O(8) atom to form PO4 tetrahedra that share  a cornercorner with one Co(3)O6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Co(1)O5 square pyramids, and  a cornercorner with one Co(2)O5 trigonal bipyramid. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 41°. There are sixteen inequivalent O sites. In the first O site, O(1) is bonded in a distorted bent 150 degrees geometry to one Co(1) and one P(2) atom. In the second O site, O(2) is bonded in a distorted T-shaped geometry to one Co(2), one Co(3), and one P(3) atom. In the third O site, O(3) is bonded in a single-bond geometry to one P(3) atom. In the fourth O site, O(4) is bonded in a bent 120 degrees geometry to one Co(2) and one P(1) atom. In the fifth O site, O(5) is bonded in a bent 150 degrees geometry to one Co(1) and one P(4) atom. In the sixth O site, O(6) is bonded in a bent 150 degrees geometry to one Co(1) and one P(1) atom. In the seventh O site, O(7) is bonded in a distorted bent 150 degrees geometry to one Co(1) and one P(1) atom. In the eighth O site, O(8) is bonded in a bent 150 degrees geometry to one Co(1) and one P(4) atom. In the ninth O site, O(9) is bonded in a bent 150 degrees geometry to one Co(3) and one P(2) atom. In the tenth O site, O(10) is bonded in a bent 150 degrees geometry to one Co(3) and one P(4) atom. In the eleventh O site, O(11) is bonded in a bent 150 degrees geometry to one Co(2) and one P(4) atom. In the twelfth O site, O(12) is bonded in a distorted water-like geometry to one Co(2) and one P(3) atom. In the thirteenth O site, O(13) is bonded in a single-bond geometry to one P(2) atom. In the fourteenth O site, O(14) is bonded in a distorted bent 150 degrees geometry to one Co(3) and one P(2) atom. In the fifteenth O site, O(15) is bonded in a 3-coordinate geometry to one Co(2), one Co(3), and one P(3) atom. In the sixteenth O site, O(16) is bonded in a bent 150 degrees geometry to one Co(3) and one P(1) atom. is represented by the CIF file [CIF]
data_Co3(PO4)4
_symmetry_space_group_name_H-M   'P 1'
_cell_length_a   5.118
_cell_length_b   7.764
_cell_length_c   7.832
_cell_angle_alpha   85.039
_cell_angle_beta   85.799
_cell_angle_gamma   87.878
_symmetry_Int_Tables_number   1
_cell_volume   309.051
_cell_formula_units_Z   1
loop_
 _symmetry_equiv_pos_site_id
 _symmetry_equiv_pos_as_xyz
  1  'x, y, z'
loop_
 _atom_site_type_symbol
 _atom_site_label
 _atom_site_symmetry_multiplicity
 _atom_site_fract_x
 _atom_site_fract_y
 _atom_site_fract_z
 _atom_site_occupancy
  Co  Co0  1  0.010  0.478  0.471  1.0
  Co  Co1  1  0.603  0.641  0.912  1.0
  Co  Co2  1  0.503  0.030  0.017  1.0
  P  P3  1  0.536  0.685  0.298  1.0
  P  P4  1  0.970  0.187  0.203  1.0
  P  P5  1  0.032  0.815  0.805  1.0
  P  P6  1  0.482  0.322  0.690  1.0
  O  O7  1  0.054  0.360  0.256  1.0
  O  O8  1  0.789  0.854  0.940  1.0
  O  O9  1  0.067  0.947  0.656  1.0
  O  O10  1  0.567  0.570  0.141  1.0
  O  O11  1  0.212  0.324  0.608  1.0
  O  O12  1  0.307  0.627  0.424  1.0
  O  O13  1  0.798  0.664  0.388  1.0
  O  O14  1  0.702  0.352  0.548  1.0
  O  O15  1  0.182  0.126  0.066  1.0
  O  O16  1  0.526  0.142  0.782  1.0
  O  O17  1  0.445  0.465  0.819  1.0
  O  O18  1  0.919  0.636  0.763  1.0
  O  O19  1  0.909  0.046  0.350  1.0
  O  O20  1  0.710  0.197  0.111  1.0
  O  O21  1  0.288  0.792  0.903  1.0
  O  O22  1  0.496  0.877  0.237  1.0
[/CIF]
.
The crystal structure described by Co3(PO4)4 crystallizes in the triclinic P1 space group. There are three inequivalent Co sites. In the first Co site, Co(1) is bonded to one O(1), one O(5), one O(6), one O(7), and one O(8) atom to form distorted CoO5 square pyramids that share  a cornercorner with one P(2)O4 tetrahedra, corners with two equivalent P(1)O4 tetrahedra, and corners with two equivalent P(4)O4 tetrahedra. In the second Co site, Co(2) is bonded to one O(11), one O(12), one O(15), one O(2), and one O(4) atom to form CoO5 trigonal bipyramids that share  a cornercorner with one P(1)O4 tetrahedra,  a cornercorner with one P(3)O4 tetrahedra,  a cornercorner with one P(4)O4 tetrahedra,  an edgeedge with one Co(3)O6 octahedra, and  an edgeedge with one P(3)O4 tetrahedra. In the third Co site, Co(3) is bonded to one O(10), one O(14), one O(15), one O(16), one O(2), and one O(9) atom to form distorted CoO6 octahedra that share  a cornercorner with one P(1)O4 tetrahedra,  a cornercorner with one P(4)O4 tetrahedra, corners with two equivalent P(2)O4 tetrahedra, corners with two equivalent P(3)O4 tetrahedra, and  an edgeedge with one Co(2)O5 trigonal bipyramid. There are four inequivalent P sites. In the first P site, P(1) is bonded to one O(16), one O(4), one O(6), and one O(7) atom to form PO4 tetrahedra that share  a cornercorner with one Co(3)O6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Co(1)O5 square pyramids, and  a cornercorner with one Co(2)O5 trigonal bipyramid. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 40°. In the second P site, P(2) is bonded to one O(1), one O(13), one O(14), and one O(9) atom to form PO4 tetrahedra that share corners with two equivalent Co(3)O6 octahedra and  a cornercorner with one Co(1)O5 square pyramid. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 31-45°. In the third P site, P(3) is bonded to one O(12), one O(15), one O(2), and one O(3) atom to form PO4 tetrahedra that share corners with two equivalent Co(3)O6 octahedra,  a cornercorner with one Co(2)O5 trigonal bipyramid, and  an edgeedge with one Co(2)O5 trigonal bipyramid. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles range from 33-56°. In the fourth P site, P(4) is bonded to one O(10), one O(11), one O(5), and one O(8) atom to form PO4 tetrahedra that share  a cornercorner with one Co(3)O6 octahedra, corners with two equivalent Co(1)O5 square pyramids, and  a cornercorner with one Co(2)O5 trigonal bipyramid. The corner-sharing octahedral tilt angles are 41°. There are sixteen inequivalent O sites. In the first O site, O(1) is bonded in a distorted bent 150 degrees geometry to one Co(1) and one P(2) atom. In the second O site, O(2) is bonded in a distorted T-shaped geometry to one Co(2), one Co(3), and one P(3) atom. In the third O site, O(3) is bonded in a single-bond geometry to one P(3) atom. In the fourth O site, O(4) is bonded in a bent 120 degrees geometry to one Co(2) and one P(1) atom. In the fifth O site, O(5) is bonded in a bent 150 degrees geometry to one Co(1) and one P(4) atom. In the sixth O site, O(6) is bonded in a bent 150 degrees geometry to one Co(1) and one P(1) atom. In the seventh O site, O(7) is bonded in a distorted bent 150 degrees geometry to one Co(1) and one P(1) atom. In the eighth O site, O(8) is bonded in a bent 150 degrees geometry to one Co(1) and one P(4) atom. In the ninth O site, O(9) is bonded in a bent 150 degrees geometry to one Co(3) and one P(2) atom. In the tenth O site, O(10) is bonded in a bent 150 degrees geometry to one Co(3) and one P(4) atom. In the eleventh O site, O(11) is bonded in a bent 150 degrees geometry to one Co(2) and one P(4) atom. In the twelfth O site, O(12) is bonded in a distorted water-like geometry to one Co(2) and one P(3) atom. In the thirteenth O site, O(13) is bonded in a single-bond geometry to one P(2) atom. In the fourteenth O site, O(14) is bonded in a distorted bent 150 degrees geometry to one Co(3) and one P(2) atom. In the fifteenth O site, O(15) is bonded in a 3-coordinate geometry to one Co(2), one Co(3), and one P(3) atom. In the sixteenth O site, O(16) is bonded in a bent 150 degrees geometry to one Co(3) and one P(1) atom. is represented by the CIF file [CIF]
data_Co3(PO4)4
_symmetry_space_group_name_H-M   'P 1'
_cell_length_a   5.118
_cell_length_b   7.764
_cell_length_c   7.832
_cell_angle_alpha   85.039
_cell_angle_beta   85.799
_cell_angle_gamma   87.878
_symmetry_Int_Tables_number   1
_cell_volume   309.051
_cell_formula_units_Z   1
loop_
 _symmetry_equiv_pos_site_id
 _symmetry_equiv_pos_as_xyz
  1  'x, y, z'
loop_
 _atom_site_type_symbol
 _atom_site_label
 _atom_site_symmetry_multiplicity
 _atom_site_fract_x
 _atom_site_fract_y
 _atom_site_fract_z
 _atom_site_occupancy
  Co  Co0  1  0.010  0.478  0.471  1.0
  Co  Co1  1  0.603  0.641  0.912  1.0
  Co  Co2  1  0.503  0.030  0.017  1.0
  P  P3  1  0.536  0.685  0.298  1.0
  P  P4  1  0.970  0.187  0.203  1.0
  P  P5  1  0.032  0.815  0.805  1.0
  P  P6  1  0.482  0.322  0.690  1.0
  O  O7  1  0.054  0.360  0.256  1.0
  O  O8  1  0.789  0.854  0.940  1.0
  O  O9  1  0.067  0.947  0.656  1.0
  O  O10  1  0.567  0.570  0.141  1.0
  O  O11  1  0.212  0.324  0.608  1.0
  O  O12  1  0.307  0.627  0.424  1.0
  O  O13  1  0.798  0.664  0.388  1.0
  O  O14  1  0.702  0.352  0.548  1.0
  O  O15  1  0.182  0.126  0.066  1.0
  O  O16  1  0.526  0.142  0.782  1.0
  O  O17  1  0.445  0.465  0.819  1.0
  O  O18  1  0.919  0.636  0.763  1.0
  O  O19  1  0.909  0.046  0.350  1.0
  O  O20  1  0.710  0.197  0.111  1.0
  O  O21  1  0.288  0.792  0.903  1.0
  O  O22  1  0.496  0.877  0.237  1.0
[/CIF]
.