High quality silver-iron titanate nanoparticles are synthesized using an ilmenite source. The silver-iron titanate nanoparticles were characterized using various analytical techniques. As compared to prior art methods, the disclosed methods provide for the simple, cost-effective synthesis of relatively high-quality silver-iron titanate nanoparticles. The silver-iron titanate nanoparticles can be used in a variety of important agricultural, industrial, and hygienic uses, including in the important area of plant tissue culture explant sterilization.

Methods of making dispersion-hardened platinum compositions include A) producing a melt having at least 70 wt. % platinum, up to 29.95 wt. % of one or more of rhodium, gold, iridium and palladium, between 0.05 wt. % and 1 wt. % of oxidizable non-precious metals in the form of zirconium, yttrium and scandium, and, as the remainder, platinum including impurities, wherein the ratio of zirconium to yttrium in the melt is in a range of from 5.9:1 to 4.3:1 and the ratio of zirconium to scandium in the melt is at least 17.5:1, B) hardening the melt to form a solid body, C) processing the solid body to form a volume body, and D) oxidizing the non-precious metals contained in the volume body by a heat treatment in an oxidizing medium over a time period of at least 48 hours at a temperature of at least 750 C.

A conductive paste defining inner electrodes of a multilayer ceramic capacitor manufactured through a firing step, includes a conductive metal powder, a ceramic powder, an organic solvent, and an organic binder. At least a portion of the ceramic powder is a powder of at least one oxide of ABO.sub.3 type with a specified ionic radius in which a ratio of a six-coordinate ionic radius of an A-site element in ABO.sub.3 to a six-coordinate ionic radius of a metal element in the conductive metal powder is about 0.97 or greater and about 1.04 or less. Preferably, when the conductive metal powder includes nickel, the at least one oxide of ABO.sub.3 type with the specified ionic radius is at least one of NiTiO.sub.3, MgTiO.sub.3, or MnTiO.sub.3.

The use of Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) and Molecular Layer Deposition (MLD) applied to powders and intermediates of the MLCC fabrication process can provide significant advantages. Coating metal particles within a defined range of ALD cycles is shown to provide enhanced oxidation resistance. Surprisingly, a very thin ALD layer was found to substantially increase sintering temperature.

Undercooled liquid metallic core-shell particles, whose core is stable against solidification at ambient conditions, i.e. under near ambient temperature and pressure conditions, are used to join or repair metallic non-particulate components. The undercooled-shell particles in the form of nano-size or micro-size particles comprise an undercooled stable liquid metallic core encapsulated inside an outer shell, which can comprise an oxide or other stabilizer shell typically formed in-situ on the undercooled liquid metallic core. The shell is ruptured to release the liquid phase core material to join or repair a component(s).

A conductive paste defining inner electrodes of a multilayer ceramic capacitor manufactured through a firing step, includes a conductive metal powder, a ceramic powder, an organic solvent, and an organic binder. At least a portion of the ceramic powder is a powder of at least one oxide of ABO.sub.3 type with a specified ionic radius in which a ratio of a six-coordinate ionic radius of an A-site element in ABO.sub.3 to a six-coordinate ionic radius of a metal element in the conductive metal powder is about 0.97 or greater and about 1.04 or less. Preferably, when the conductive metal powder includes nickel, the at least one oxide of ABO.sub.3 type with the specified ionic radius is at least one of NiTiO.sub.3, MgTiO.sub.3, or MnTiO.sub.3.