> >that the coordination number is between 3.8 and 4.6 and that the=20
> >first shell radius is between 1.95 and 2.0. The donors are either =
all
> >O, all N, or N and O. The Debye-Waller factors were rather high
> >(0.02) suggesting a heterogeneous coordination environment.
> >Elemental analysis has eliminated all elements except C, H, O, and =
N.
>=20
> >The zinc concentrations are too high for it to be an organic
> compound.
>=20
Regarding the informations above, I would gess it may be some zinc
carbonate, hydroxycarbonate etc. Nitrates are not likely, because they
are easily soluble in water. If the material is not amorphous, simple
X-Ray qualitative phase analysis will probably do the job. If its
amorphous, he may learn something from infrared spectroscopy comparing
spectra from his samples with spectra from zinc minerals like
smithsonite, hydrozincite ...
Thomas K=F6hler