Abstract: An electrophotographic photosensitive member having a surface layer which contains a silicon-containing compound in an amount of less than 0.6% by mass based on the whole solid content in the surface layer, where the silicon-containing compound in the surface layer has a siloxane moiety in an amount of 0.01% by mass or more, based on the whole solid content in the surface layer, and its surface has specific depressions. Also disclosed are a process cartridge and an electrophotographic apparatus which have the electrophotographic photosensitive member.

Abstract: An electrophotographic photosensitive member having excellent electrophotographic properties, a method of manufacturing the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and a process cartridge and an electrophotographic apparatus each having the electrophotographic photosensitive member are provided. The surface layer of the electrophotographic photosensitive member includes a polymer having a specific repeating structural unit and fluorine-atom-containing resin particles. The fluorine-atom-containing particles in the surface layer are dispersed so as to be provided with particle sizes almost up to those of primary particles.

Abstract: A secondary battery capable of obtaining superior cycle characteristics and superior swollenness characteristics is provided. The secondary battery includes a cathode, an anode, and an electrolytic solution. The electrolytic solution is impregnated in a separator provided between the cathode and the anode. An anode active material layer contains a crystalline anode active material having silicon as an element. The anode active material layer has a coating section where the surface of an anode current collector is coated with the anode active material and a non-coating section where the surface of the anode current collector is not coated with the anode active material but is exposed. Thereby, the physical property of the anode active material is hardly deteriorated with age. Further, at the time of charge and discharge, the anode active material layer is hardly expanded and shrunk, and thus the anode current collector is hardly deformed.

Abstract: A secondary battery capable of obtaining superior cycle characteristics and superior swollenness characteristics is provided. The secondary battery includes a cathode and an anode capable of inserting and extracting an electrode reactant; and an electrolyte containing a solvent and an electrolyte salt. The anode has an anode active material layer on an anode current collector. The anode active material layer contains a plurality of crystalline anode active material particles having silicon (Si) as an element. The plurality of anode active material particles contain a spherical particle and a nonspherical particle.

Abstract: A secondary battery capable of improving cycle characteristics, initial charge and discharge characteristics, and swollenness characteristics is provided. The secondary battery includes a cathode, an anode, and an electrolytic solution. The electrolytic solution is impregnated in a separator provided between the cathode and the anode. A cathode active material layer of the cathode contains a lithium-nickel based composite oxide (LiNi1-xMxO2) as a cathode active material capable of inserting and extracting lithium ions. An anode active material layer of the anode contains a material having silicon as an element as an anode active material capable of inserting and extracting lithium ions.

Abstract: A secondary battery capable of improving the cycle characteristics and the initial charge and discharge characteristics is provided. The secondary battery includes a cathode, an anode, and an electrolytic solution. The anode has an anode active material layer on an anode current collector. The anode active material layer contains a crystalline anode active material having silicon as an element, and is linked to the anode current collector.

Abstract: A secondary battery capable of improving the cycle characteristics and the initial charge and discharge characteristics is provided. The secondary battery includes a cathode, an anode, and an electrolytic solution. The anode has an anode active material layer on an anode current collector. The anode active material layer contains a crystalline anode active material having silicon as an element, and is linked to the anode current collector.

Abstract: A secondary battery capable of improving the cycle characteristics and the voltage retention characteristics is provided. The secondary battery includes a cathode, an anode, and an electrolyte. The anode includes an anode current collector, an anode active material layer formed on the anode current collector and including an anode active material containing silicon as an element, and a coat formed on the anode active material layer and having an integral structure of three-dimensional network.

Abstract: A method for preparing in high productivity and stably an electrophotographic photosensitive member having depressed portions on its surface, is provided. The method is characterized in that a coating liquid for a surface layer which includes a solvent including a hydrophilic solvent and a hydrophobic solvent and a polymer compound soluble in the hydrophobic solvent is used; the hydrophilic solvent has a boiling point equal to or higher than that of the hydrophobic solvent; the hydrophilic solvent has a dipole moment of 0 or more and less than 2.8, obtained by a structure optimized calculation using a semiempirical molecular orbital calculation; the total mass of the hydrophobic solvent is 50 mass % or more and less than 100 mass % of the total mass of the solvent included in the coating liquid for a surface layer; and after the coating liquid for a surface layer is applied, the depressed portions are formed by condensation on the surface on which the coating liquid for a surface layer is applied.

Abstract: A secondary battery capable of improving the cycle characteristics is provided. The secondary battery includes a cathode, an anode, and an electrolytic solution. The electrolytic solution is impregnated in a separator provided between the cathode and the anode. The anode has an anode structure on an anode current collector. The anode structure has a structure in which a plurality of anode active material particles having silicon are held by a plurality of metal fibers forming a three-dimensional network structure. Due to the plurality of metal fibers, sufficient conductive paths are obtained among the plurality of anode active material particles. Thus, compared to a general anode in which an active material layer is provided on a current collector made of a metal foil or the like, the current collectivity is improved.

Abstract: A secondary battery capable of improving the cycle characteristics and the swollenness characteristics is provided. The secondary battery includes a cathode, an anode, and an electrolytic solution. The anode includes an anode active material layer having a plurality of fine pores on an anode current collector. The anode active material layer contains an anode active material and an anode binder. A change rate of a mercury intrusion into the plurality of fine pores measured by mercury penetration technique is distributed to show a peak in the pore diameter range from 30 nm to 10000 nm, both inclusive.

Abstract: An electrophotographic photosensitive member having excellent electrophotographic properties, a method of manufacturing the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and a process cartridge and an electrophotographic apparatus each having the electrophotographic photosensitive member are provided. The surface layer of the electrophotographic photosensitive member includes a polymer having a specific repeating structural unit and fluorine-atom-containing resin particles. The fluorine-atom-containing particles in the surface layer are dispersed so as to be provided with particle sizes almost up to those of primary particles.

Abstract: An electrophotographic photosensitive member having excellent electrophotographic properties, a method of manufacturing the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and a process cartridge and an electrophotographic apparatus each having the electrophotographic photosensitive member are provided. The surface layer of the electrophotographic photosensitive member includes a polymer having a specific repeating structural unit and fluorine-atom-containing resin particles. The fluorine-atom-containing particles in the surface layer are dispersed so as to be provided with particle sizes almost up to those of primary particles.

Abstract: A battery capable of improving the cycle characteristics is provided. The battery includes a cathode, an anode, and an electrolytic solution. The anode has an anode active material layer that contains an anode active material containing silicon on an anode current collector, and intensity ratio I1/I2 between peak intensity I1 originated in (220) crystalline plane of silicon obtained by X-ray diffraction and peak intensity I2 originated in (111) crystalline plane of silicon obtained by X-ray diffraction is 0.05 or more.

Abstract: A method for preparing in high productivity and stably an electrophotographic photosensitive member having depressed portions on its surface, is provided. The method is characterized in that a coating liquid for a surface layer which includes a solvent including a hydrophilic solvent and a hydrophobic solvent and a polymer compound soluble in the hydrophobic solvent is used; the hydrophilic solvent has a boiling point equal to or higher than that of the hydrophobic solvent; the hydrophilic solvent has a dipole moment of 0 or more and less than 2.8, obtained by a structure optimized calculation using a semiempirical molecular orbital calculation; the total mass of the hydrophobic solvent is 50 mass % or more and less than 100 mass % of the total mass of the solvent included in the coating liquid for a surface layer; and after the coating liquid for a surface layer is applied, the depressed portions are formed by condensation on the surface on which the coating liquid for a surface layer is applied.

Abstract: An electrophotographic photosensitive member having excellent electrophotographic properties, a method of manufacturing the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and a process cartridge and an electrophotographic apparatus each having the electrophotographic photosensitive member are provided. The surface layer of the electrophotographic photosensitive member includes a polymer having a specific repeating structural unit and fluorine-atom-containing resin particles. The fluorine-atom-containing particles in the surface layer are dispersed so as to be provided with particle sizes almost up to those of primary particles.

Abstract: A method of production of a multilayer ceramic electronic device having internal electrode layers and dielectric layers having thicknesses of less than 2 ?m, having a step of firing a stack formed using a dielectric layer paste including a dielectric paste dielectric material and an internal electrode layer paste including a sintering inhibiting dielectric material, the dielectric paste dielectric material including a main ingredient material and sub ingredient material, the sintering inhibiting dielectric material in the internal electrode paste including at least a sintering inhibiting main ingredient material, the sintering inhibiting main ingredient material being substantially the same in composition as the main ingredient material included in the dielectric paste dielectric material and having a lattice constant over 3.991 ? and less than 4.064 ?.

Abstract: There is provided a multilayer ceramic capacitor 1, having an internal electrode layer 3 and an interlayer dielectric layer 2 having a thickness of 3.5 ?m or less, wherein the interlayer dielectric layer 2 is composed of contact dielectric particles 2a contacting said internal electrode layer and noncontact dielectric particles 2b not contacting said internal electrode layer; and when assuming that an average particle diameter of the contact dielectric particles 2a is D50e and an average particle diameter of the noncontact dielectric particles 2b is D50d, D50e<0.450 ?m and (D50e/D50d)=1.20 to 3.00 (note that 1.20 and 3.00 are excluded) are satisfied, wherein an improvement of a bias characteristic at 85° C. can be expected even when the interlayer dielectric layer 2 is made thin.

Abstract: A multilayer ceramic capacitor having an internal electrode layer and a dielectric layer having a thickness of less than 2 ?m is provided, wherein the dielectric layer contains a plurality of dielectric particles, and when it is assumed that standard deviation of a particle distribution of the entire dielectric particles in the dielectric layer is ? (no unit), an average particle diameter of the entire dielectric particles in the dielectric layer is D50 (unit: ?m), and a rate that dielectric particles (coarse particles) having an average particle diameter of 2.25 times of the D50 exist in the entire dielectric particles is p (unit: %), the ? and p satisfy ?<0.130 and p<12%; by which a TC bias characteristic can be expected to be improved while maintaining various electric characteristics, particularly a sufficient permittivity, even when the interlayer dielectric layer is made thin.

Abstract: A multilayer ceramic capacitor 1 having internal electrode layers 3, internal dielectric layers 2 having the thickness of less than 2 ?m, and external dielectric layers 20 wherein; the internal dielectric layers 2 and the external dielectric layers 20 include a plural number of dielectric particles 2a, 20a, and when y1 is ratio(D50a/D50b) of D50a and D50b where D50a is an average particle size of dielectric particles 2a included in the internal dielectric layers 2 and D50b is an average particle size of dielectric particles 20a included in the external dielectric layer 20 and located at least 5 ?m away from an internal electrode layer 3a, arranged outermost part of all the internal electrode layers, to the stacked direction, and x is thickness of the internal dielectric layer 2, y1 and x satisfy the following equations, y1??0.75x+2.275 and y1??0.75x+1.675.