Laves phases: superstructures induced by coloring and distortions

Abstract

The structural chemistry of Laves phases, especially with respect to their superstructures induced by coloring and distortions is discussed. Starting from the three classical Laves phases MgCu2, MgZn2 and MgNi2, the more complex Komura phases are derived. Different possibilities of their description are summarized. In the second part, the superstructures are discussed based on their respective prototypes. The crystal chemical relationships are illustrated based on group-subgroup descriptions using the Bärnighausen formalism.