The synthesis of two zinc-bearing uranium oxide hydrate (UOH) materials has been achieved, and their crystal structures, obtained via single-crystal X-ray diffraction using synchrotron radiation, and additional structural and spectroscopic properties are reported herein. Although both structures incorporate Zn 2+ cations, the two differ significantly. The compound Zn 2 (OH) 2 (H 2 O) 5 [(UO 2 ) 10 UO 14 (H 2 O) 3 ] (UOHF-Zn), forming a framework-type structure in the P1̅ space group, was composed of β-U 3 O 8 layers pillared by uranyl polyhedra, with the Zn 2+ cations incorporated within the framework channels. In contrast, the compound Cs 2 Zn(Hcrystallized in the Cmc2 1 space group with a schoepite-like uranyl oxide hydroxide layered topology and both Zn 2+ and Cs + cations making up the interlayer species. The apparent driving force for the differences in the structures was the change from KOH to CsOH during synthesis, with the smaller K + ions excluded in lieu of a higher proportion of Zn 2+ (U/Zn ratio of 5.5:1) in UOHF-Zn, whereas in UOH-Zn, the larger Cs + ions were preferentially incorporated at the expense of fewer Zn 2+ cations (U/Cs/Zn ratio of 8:2:1). Highlighted in this work is the effect of the chemical species and, in particular, their ionic radius on UOH formation, further improving the understanding of UO 2 alteration in the setting of deep geological repositories.