A stacked structure includes a first structure formed of a composite sintered body that contains AlN and MgAl.sub.2O.sub.4 as main phases, and a second structure formed of a ceramic sintered body and stacked on and bonded to the first structure. A difference in linear thermal expansion coefficient between the first structure and the second structure is less than or equal to 0.3 ppm/K.

Disclosed is a composition having nanoparticles or particles of a refractory metal, a refractory metal hydride, a refractory metal carbide, a refractory metal nitride, or a refractory metal boride, an organic compound consisting of carbon and hydrogen, and a nitrogenous compound consisting of carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen. The composition, optionally containing the nitrogenous compound, is milled, cured to form a thermoset, compacted into a geometric shape, and heated in a nitrogen atmosphere at a temperature that forms a nanoparticle composition comprising nanoparticles of metal nitride and optionally metal carbide. The nanoparticles have a uniform distribution of the nitride or carbide.

A thermal barrier coating material contains a compound X that is a cation-deficient-type defective perovskite complex oxide. Unit cells of the compound X each include six oxygen atoms and has a structure in which two octahedrons sharing one oxygen atom are aligned. In the compound X, central axes of two octahedrons that belong to adjacent unit cells, respectively, and are adjacent to each other are inclined relative to each other. A plurality of sets of the two octahedrons that belong to the adjacent unit cells, respectively, and are adjacent to each other are arranged to form a periodic structure in which octahedrons having different inclinations are alternately arranged, and the compound X has a boundary surface at which a periodicity of the periodic structure changes, in a crystal structure thereof.

A dielectric ceramic composition includes a main component of a perovskite type compound represented by a general formula of ABO.sub.3, in which A is an element in an A-site, B is an element in a B-site, and O is an oxygen element. A includes Ba. B includes Ti and Zr. A sintered-body lattice volume obtained by X-ray diffraction method is 64.50 Å.sup.3 or above.

A piezoelectric ceramic containing a perovskite-type compound containing at least Pb, Zr, Ti, Mn, and Nb, in which in an X-ray crystal structure analysis chart of the perovskite-type compound, there is no X-ray diffraction peak branching between a (101) plane of a main peak of a PZT tetra phase in a range of 2θ=30.5° to 31.5° and a (110) plane on which an X-ray diffraction peak is in a range of 2θ=30.8° to 31.8°, and a number of X-ray diffraction peaks based on the (101) plane and the (110) plane is one.

Disclosed is a composition having nanoparticles or particles of a refractory metal, a refractory metal hydride, a refractory metal carbide, a refractory metal nitride, or a refractory metal boride, an organic compound consisting of carbon and hydrogen, and a nitrogenous compound consisting of carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen. The composition, optionally containing the nitrogenous compound, is milled, cured to form a thermoset, compacted into a geometric shape, and heated in a nitrogen atmosphere at a temperature that forms a nanoparticle composition comprising nanoparticles of metal nitride and optionally metal carbide. The nanoparticles have a uniform distribution of the nitride or carbide.

Disclosed herein are doped thermoelectric ceramic oxide compositions comprising a calcium cobaltite ceramic. The doped thermoelectric ceramic oxide compositions can have a formula Ca.sub.3-xM.sup.2.sub.xCo.sub.4O.sub.9M.sup.1.sub.y, where M.sup.1 represents a first metal dopant, M.sup.2 represents a second metal dopant, x is a number having a value of from about 0.00 to about 3.00, and y is a number having a value of from about 0.01 to about 0.50. The doped thermoelectric ceramic oxide compositions have an increased energy conversion efficiency as compared to an undoped or conventional thermoelectric ceramic oxide materials. Also disclosed are methods for making the doped thermoelectric ceramic oxide compositions. Products and devices are disclosed comprising the thermoelectric ceramic oxide compositions, e.g., solid-state conversion devices that can utilize heat to generate electricity. This abstract is intended as a scanning tool for purposes of searching in the particular art and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure.

The present invention provides a zirconia pre-sintered body that develops the preferable shade with a short firing time. The present invention relates to a zirconia pre-sintered body comprising zirconia that comprises predominantly monoclinic, and a stabilizer capable of inhibiting a phase transformation of zirconia, the zirconia pre-sintered body satisfying the following conditions: L1, a1, b1, L2, a2, and b2 are confined within predetermined ranges, L1>L2, a1<a2, and b1<b2,
where (L1,a1,b1) represent values of (L*,a*,b*) of the L*a*b* color system after sintering as measured at a first point falling within an interval of a length from one end of the zirconia pre-sintered body to 25% of the entire length of a straight line extending along a first direction from one end to the other end of the zirconia pre-sintered body, and (L2,a2,b2) represent values of (L*,a*,b*) after sintering as measured at a second point falling within an interval of a length from the other end of the zirconia pre-sintered body to 25% of the entire length of the straight line, and the values of (L*,a*,b*) after sintering show unchanging patterns of increase and decrease in a direction from the first point to the second point.

A method is described to make a metal-containing non-amorphous hard-carbon composite material that is synthesized from furan-ring containing compounds. The metals described in the process include lithium and transition metals, including transition metal oxides like lithium titanates. The non-amorphous hard-carbon component of the metal-containing non-amorphous hard-carbon composite material is characterized by a d.sub.002 peakin the X-ray diffraction patternsthat corresponds to an interlayer spacing of >3.6 , along with a prominent D-band peak in the Raman spectra. These metal-containing hard-carbon composites are used for constructing electrodes for Li-ion batteries and Li-ion capacitors.

A particulate material with a composition expressed by Ti.sub.2Al.sub.x(C.sub.(1-y)N.sub.y).sub.z (where x is more than 0.02, y is 0<y<1.0, and z is from 0.8 to 1.20), the particulate material comprising layers including gap layers providing an interlayer distance of from 0.59 nm to 0.70 nm within a crystal lattice; and/or with another composition expressed by Ti.sub.3Al.sub.x(C.sub.(1-y)N.sub.y).sub.z (where x is more than 0.02, y is 0<y<1.0, and z is from 1.80 to 2.60), the particulate material comprising layers including gap layers providing an interlayer distance of from 0.44 nm to 0.55 nm within a crystal lattice.