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.

A method for producing a barium titanate-based powder, the method including: step a of spraying a raw material including a barium titanate-based compound into a high-temperature field heated to a temperature equal to or higher than a melting point of the compound to form barium titanate-based particles; step b of washing a powder including the barium titanate-based particles formed in step a, or calcining a powder including the barium titanate-based particles formed in step a and then washing the calcined powder; and step c of calcining the washed powder obtained through step b.

A composite material comprising an amorphous, porous material with nanocrystalline material in its pores has been found to be a UV absorber. The porous material is a matrix of pores that act as a scaffold for the nanocrystalline material. The particles of the nanocrystalline material are isolated, which mean that they do not connect to each other. In some embodiments, the nanocrystalline material is completely inside the pores of the porous material. In some embodiments, the nanocrystalline material may stick out of some or all of the pores of the porous material. In some embodiments, the nanocrystalline material is a cerium oxide material. In some embodiments, the nanocrystallite ranges in size from 2 to about 100 nm on its longest axis, with an aspect ratio from about 1 to about 1.5.

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.

A dielectric composition is a barium titanate-based dielectric composition and includes a barium titanate particle including a major axis, a minor axis disposed on the same plane as the major axis, and a vertical axis perpendicular to both the major axis and the minor axis, and a ratio of a length of the major axis to a length of the vertical axis is within a range from 1.5:1 to 30:1.

The present invention relates to the dielectric composition including barium titanate, strontium titanate, titanium oxide and bismuth oxide. In case when the content of barium titanate, converted to BaTiO.sub.3, is a mol %, the content of strontium titanate, converted to SrTiO.sub.3, is b mol %, the content of titanium oxide and bismuth oxide, converted to Bi.sub.2Ti.sub.3O.sub.9, is c mol %, and a+b+c=100, a, b and c are values within a scope surrounded by the following four points, i.e. point A, point B, point C and point D in a three-dimensional phase diagram. Point A: (a, b, c)=(52.1, 40.0, 7.9); point B: (a, b, c)=(86.5, 5.6, 7.9); point C: (a, b, c)=(91.0, 5.6, 3.4); point D: (a, b, c)=(56.6, 40.0, 3.4).

A dielectric powder includes a core-shell structure including a core region formed in an inner portion thereof and a shell region covering the core region. The core region includes barium titanate (BaTiO.sub.3) doped with a metal oxide, and the shell region is formed of a ferroelectric material.

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.

A multilayer ceramic capacitor includes: a ceramic body including dielectric layers and first and second internal electrodes disposed to face each other with respective dielectric layers interposed therebetween; and first and second external electrodes disposed on an external surface of the ceramic body, wherein the dielectric layer contains a barium titanate-based powder particle having a core-shell structure including a core and a shell around the core, the shell having a structure in which titanium is partially substituted with an element having the same oxidation number as that of the titanium in the barium titanate-based powder particle and having an ionic radius different from that of the titanium in the barium titanate-based powder particle, and the shell covers at least 30% of a surface of the core.

A multilayer ceramic capacitor includes a ceramic body including dielectric layers and first and second internal electrodes disposed to face each other with respective dielectric layers interposed therebetween; and first and second external electrodes disposed on outer surfaces of the ceramic body, wherein the dielectric layer contains zirconium (Zr), a Zr content is 2Zr/(Ba+Ca+Ti+Zr) based on an atomic ratio, a first crystal grain is composed of a core part having a Zr content of 3.0 at % or less and a shell part having a Zr content of 4.0 to 15.0 at %, and a number fraction of the first crystal grain to all crystal grains in the dielectric layer is 4% or more.