A thin film structure including a dielectric material layer and an electronic device to which the thin film structure is applied are provided. The dielectric material layer includes a compound expressed by ABO.sub.3, wherein at least one of A and B in ABO.sub.3 is substituted and doped with another atom having a larger atom radius, and ABO.sub.3 becomes A.sub.1-xA.sub.xB.sub.1-yB.sub.yO.sub.3 (where x>=0, y>=0, at least one of x and y?0, a dopant A has an atom radius greater than A and/or a dopant B has an atom radius greater than B) through substitution and doping. A dielectric material property of the dielectric material layer varies according to a type of a substituted and doped dopant and a substitution doping concentration.

Disclosed herein are methods for preparing a titanate compound powder comprising titanate compound particles having a controlled particle size and/or particle size distribution. The methods include mixing at least one first inorganic compound chosen from sources of a first metal or metal oxide, at least one second inorganic compound chosen from sources of titania, and at least one binder to form a mixture; calcining the mixture to form a polycrystalline material comprising a plurality of titanate compound grains and a plurality of microcracks; and breaking the polycrystalline material along at least a portion of the microcracks. Also disclosed are titanate compound powders having a controlled particle size distribution, ceramic batch compositions comprising the powders, and ceramic articles prepared from the batch compositions.

A high-purity barium titanate powder according to the present invention has a Cl.sup. concentration of 20 ppm or less, an electric conductivity of extracted water of 70 S/cm or less, and an average particle diameter of 1 m to 30 m.

A toner is provided, which contains a toner particle and a metal titanate particle, wherein, in a number-based particle size distribution of the metal titanate particle on the surface of the toner particle, when D10, D50 and D90 denote the particle diameter at which the cumulative value from the small particle diameter side reaches 10% by number, 50% by number and 90% by number, respectively, the D50 is at least 10 nm and not more than 90 nm, and the particle size distribution index A, which is represented by D90/D10, is at least 2.00 and not more than 10.00, and the value of storage elastic modulus G at 40 C. in viscoelasticity measurements of the toner is at least 1.010.sup.7 Pa and not more than 1.010.sup.10 Pa.

The invention concerns a method for converting a feedstock selected from sugars or sugar alcohols, alone or in a mixture, into mono- or polyoxygenated compounds, wherein the feedstock is contacted with at least one heterogeneous catalyst comprising a support selected from perovskites of formula ABO.sub.3, in which A is selected from the elements Mg, Ca, Sr and Ba and B is selected from the elements Fe, Mn, Ti and Zr, and the oxides of elements selected from lanthanum, neodymium, yttrium and cerium, alone or in a mixture, which oxides can be doped with at least one element selected from alkali metals, alkaline earths and rare earths, in a reducing atmosphere, at a temperature of 100 C. to 300 C. and at a pressure of 0.1 MPa to 50 MPa.

According to one embodiment, an active material including a composite oxide is provided. The composite oxide has a monoclinic crystal structure and is represented by the general formula Li.sub.wM1.sub.2xTi.sub.8yM2.sub.zO.sub.17+, wherein: M1 is at least one selected from the group consisting of Cs, K, and Na; M2 is at least one selected from the group consisting of Zr, Sn, V, Nb, Ta, Mo, W, Fe, Co, Mn, and Al; 0w10; 0<x<2; 0<y<8; 0<z<8; and 0.50.5.

A method of forming composition-modified barium titanate ceramic particulate includes mixing a plurality of precursor materials and a precipitant solution to form an aqueous suspension. The plurality of precursors include barium nitrate, titanium chelate, and a metal or oxometal chelate. The precipitant solution includes tetraalkylammonium hydroxide and tetraalkylammonium oxalate. The method further includes treating the aqueous suspension at a temperature of at least 150 C. and a pressure of at least 200 psi, and separating particulate from the aqueous suspension after treating.

A multilayer ceramic electronic component includes: a body part including dielectric layers and internal electrodes disposed to face each other with respective dielectric layers interposed therebetween; and external electrodes disposed on an outer surface of the body part and electrically connected to the internal electrodes. The dielectric layer includes grains including: a semiconductive or conductive grain core region containing a base material represented by ABO.sub.3, where A is at least one of Ba, Sr, and Ca, and B is at least one of Ti, Zr, and Hf, and a doping material including a rare earth element; and an insulating grain shell region enclosing the grain core region.

A passive temperature-sensing apparatus, which includes a capacitive sensing element that includes a capacitive sensing composition that includes a ferroelectric ceramic material that exhibits a measurable electrical Curie temperature that is below 30 degrees C. The capacitive sensing composition exhibits a negative slope of capacitance versus temperature over the temperature range of from 30 degrees C. to 150 degrees C.

Ceramic powder includes: barium titanate as a main component, wherein: a donor element having a larger valence than Ti is solid-solved in the barium titanate; an acceptor element having a smaller valence than Ti and larger ion radius than Ti and the donor element is solid-solved in the barium titanate, a solid solution amount of the donor element with respect to the barium titanate is 0.05 mol or more and 0.3 mol or less; a solid solution amount of the accepter element with respect to the barium titanate is 0.02 mol or more and 0.2 mol or less; and relationships y0.0003x+1.0106, y0.0002x+1.0114, 4x25 and y1.0099 are satisfied when a specific surface area of the ceramic powder is x and an axial ratio c/a of the ceramic powder is y.