According to one embodiment, a negative electrode active material includes particles and a carbon material. The particles is represented by Li.sub.2+aA.sub.dTi.sub.6bB.sub.bO.sub.14c, where A is at least one element selected from the group consisting of Na, K, Mg, Ca, Ba, and Sr; B is a metal element other than Ti; and a, b, c, and d respectively satisfy 0a5, 0b6, 0c0.6, and 0d3. The carbon material covers at least a part of surfaces of the particles.

Use of a barium titanate based coating liquid composition comprising: (a) a sol-gel source material containing (i) at least a barium component selected from a group consisting of barium alkoxides, hydrolyzates of barium alkoxides and condensates of hydrolyzates of barium alkoxides and (ii) at least a titanium component selected from a group consisting of titanium alkoxides, hydrolyzates of titanium alkoxides and condensates of hydrolyzates of titanium alkoxides; and (b) a -keto ester compound expressed by general formula (1) shown below:

##STR00001## where R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 independently represent respective alkyl groups having not less than 1 and not more than 6 carbon atoms.

Provided is use of an oriented piezoelectric film including of a perovskite-type crystal represented by the following general formula (1): Ba.sub.1-xCa.sub.xTi.sub.1-yZr.sub.yO.sub.3 (0x0.2, 0y0.2) (1). The oriented piezoelectric film is formed on an oriented underlayer oriented in a (111) plane and contains first crystals oriented in the (111) plane with respect to a film surface and randomly oriented second crystal grains. The first crystal grains have an average grain diameter of from 300 nm to 600 nm and the second crystal grains have an average grain diameter of from 50 nm to 200 nm.

A multilayer ceramic capacitor includes: a ceramic body including dielectric layers and first and second internal electrodes disposed to face each other with each of the dielectric layers interposed therebetween; and first and second external electrodes disposed on external surfaces of the ceramic body and electrically connected to the first and second internal electrode, respectively, wherein the dielectric layer includes dielectric grains having a core-shell structure including a core and a shell, and a domain wall is disposed in the shell.

A ceramic component having a ceramic main part containing AxByC1xvTi1y+wO3*(Mn2P2O7)z*Du, in which A is a first dopant selected from a group including neodymium, praseodymium, cerium, and lanthanum, B is a second dopant selected from a group including niobium, tantalum, and vanadium, C is selected from a group including calcium, strontium, and barium, and D includes a metal selected from a group including aluminum, nickel, and iron. x is the proportion of A, y is the proportion of B, v is the proportion of A vacancies, w is the proportion of excess titanium, z is the proportion of Mn2P2O7, u is the proportion of D, and the following applies: 0.0x<0.1, 0.0y<0.1, 0v<1.5*x, 0w<0.05, 0.01z<0.1, 0u<0.05. A method for producing the ceramic component is also disclosed.

Provided are: a pigment through which light in a warm color region can pass preferentially and which has high hiding power and is mainly used in cosmetic applications; a method for producing the pigment; and a method for using the pigment. The pigment comprises particles each containing a calcium-titanium composite oxide as a main component, in which it is confirmed that regions each having a paler color than the color of a region surrounding thereof are scattered in a dot-like form in the particles when the particles of the calcium-titanium composite oxide in the pigment are observed in a transmission electron microscopic image at a magnification of 100,000, and the true density of the pigment is 3500 kg/m.sup.3 to 3790 kg/m.sup.3, inclusive.

In general, according to one embodiment, there is provided an active material. The active material contains a composite oxide having an orthorhombic crystal structure. The composite oxide is represented by a general formula of Li.sub.xM1.sub.1yM2.sub.yTi.sub.6zM3.sub.zO.sub.14+. In the general formula, M1 is at least one selected from the group consisting of Sr, Ba, Ca, and Mg; M2 is at least one selected from the group consisting of Cs, K, and Na; M3 is at least one selected from the group consisting of Al, Fe, Zr, Sn, V, Nb, Ta, and Mo; and x is within a range of 2x6, y is within a range of 0<y<1, z is within a range of 0<z6, and is within a range of 0.50.5.

A multi-layer ceramic capacitor is disclosed. In an embodiment the dielectric composition includes a perovskite crystal structure containing at least Bi, Na, Sr and Ti, wherein the dielectric composition includes a low-Bi phase in which a Bi concentration is no greater than 0.8 times the mean Bi concentration in the dielectric composition as a whole.

Composite ceramic materials are disclosed herein which comprise two or more crystalline phases, wherein a first crystalline phase comprises a first refractory material having a first melting point, and a second crystalline phase comprises a second refractory material having a second melting point which is lower than the first melting point, and the second crystalline phase comprises large domain sizes of the second refractory material. Articles comprising such a composite ceramic material, such as honeycomb bodies, catalytic substrates, and particulate filters, are also disclosed herein, in addition to methods of manufacture thereof.

The present invention is in the field of processes for the production of nanoparticles. It relates to a process for the preparation of nanoparticles comprising heating a water-free solution containing (a) a metal-organic compound containing an alkaline earth metal and a group 4 metal, and (b) a stabilizer to at least 150 C. for at least 30 minutes.