Comment on “Enthalpies of formation of binary Laves phases” [Intermetallics, 10 (2002) 579–595]

In the paper of J.H. Zhu et al. it is concluded that Miedemaʹs approach is capable of predicting enthalpies of formation of transition metal lanthanide Laves phase systems. However, a comparative analysis of these data with experimental data clearly shows that discrepancies of the order of 20–80 kJ/mol are common. As an alternative route, ab initio calculations based on density-functional theory are suggested to provide accurate enthalpies of formation for Laves phases. Further data on enthalpies of formation of some Laves phases are added.