A particle is provided that includes a first material and a second material, arranged to provide a Fano resonance effect, for example in the visible portion of electromagnetic spectrum. The first and second materials may be substantially clear in the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. The first material may include an inorganic material, such as SiO.sub.2, TiO.sub.2, HfO.sub.2, ZrO.sub.2, diamond, or a combination thereof. The second material may include a polymer. The first material has a first refractive index and the second material has a second refractive index, where the first refractive index and second refractive index have a difference of 0.5 or greater, and 1.0 or less. The first material may form a core and the second material may form a shell surrounding the core. Alternatively, the first and second materials may form a Janus particle, an asymmetric dimer, or an aggregate.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide: a composite pigment, and production method thereof, which can suppress luster of a coating film by modifying an inorganic coloring pigment, and which can be used in various applications such as low-gloss (luster reduction effect) pigments and matte pigments; a paint composition which can achieve both an excellent coating film texture and also the property of having low gloss and luster even when added to a coating film; and a coating film. In this composite pigment, the inorganic coloring pigment is fixed by an inorganic compound, and a plurality of particles of the inorganic coloring pigment are aggregated into granular form through the inorganic compound.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a composite pigment which can be dispersed and made into paint in a manner that saves labor compared with conventional flat emulsion paints, and which can achieve concealing properties and low glossiness (a luster reduction effect) without separately adding a matting agent. This composite pigment contains an inorganic compound and/or an organic compound, and a fixed extender pigment.

The present invention relates to photonic structures and methods of controlling the optical properties and structural stability of photonic structures by using ionic species. The photonic structure is less crystalline when increasing concentrations of the ionic species are used. In certain embodiments, the ionic species is a transition metal salt. The method allows for production of single crystalline, polycrystalline, or glass-like photonic structures. The method allows for control of the optical properties and structural stability of photonic structures. The resulting photonic structures are useful in a wide range of applications, including sensors, photoactive catalysts, light emitters, and random lasing.

The titanium dioxide fine particle-dispersed composite particles (1) of the present invention include silica particles (10) and fine titanium dioxide particles (20). The fine titanium dioxide particles (20) are dispersed inside the silica particles (10). The fine titanium dioxide particles (20) are of the rutile type and have an average primary particle diameter of 2 nm to 8 nm. The titanium dioxide fine particle-dispersed composite particles (1) of the present invention have high transparency to visible light.

A particle is provided that includes a first material and a second material, arranged to provide a Fano resonance effect, for example in the visible portion of electromagnetic spectrum. The first and second materials may be substantially clear in the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. The first material may include an inorganic material, such as SiO.sub.2, TiO.sub.2, HfO.sub.2, ZrO.sub.2, diamond, or a combination thereof. The second material may include a polymer. The first material has a first refractive index and the second material has a second refractive index, where the first refractive index and second refractive index have a difference of 0.5 or greater, and 1.0 or less. The first material may form a core and the second material may form a shell surrounding the core. Alternatively, the first and second materials may form a Janus particle, an asymmetric dimer, or an aggregate.

A method may be used for reducing titanium dioxide in a composition for forming decorative paper for use in laminated products. The method may include providing a pigment composition including titanium dioxide, and combining the pigment composition with a titanium dioxide extender including at least two particulate minerals to form a combined pigment composition. The titanium dioxide extender may include diatomaceous earth and at least one of aluminosilicate and talc. Combining the pigment composition with the titanium dioxide extender may result in reducing the titanium dioxide by at least 10% while substantially maintaining at least one of whiteness, wet whiteness, brightness, wet brightness, opacity, wet opacity, and resin impregnation of the decorative paper produced including the titanium dioxide extender relative to the decorative paper produced with the titanium dioxide but without the titanium dioxide extender.

A set of spherical inorganic particles having the particular property of being spontaneously individualized, both in dry state in the form of a powder and when they are dispersed in a matrix. The method for producing the particles, and the materials produced by including the particles in the matrices are also described.

Amorphous silica-titania composite oxide powder is powder untreated with a surface treatment agent and consisting of amorphous silica-titania composite oxide particles, wherein: a refractive index at a measurement wavelength of 589 nm is not less than 1.46; a volume-based cumulative 50% diameter is 0.1 m to 2.0 m; and a content of particles having a particle size of not less than 5.0 m is not more than 10 ppm, and wherein, in a case where the powder is dried in an atmospheric air at 110 C. for 12 hours, and powder thus dried is stored for 24 hours at a temperature of 25 C. and a relative humidity of 85% so as to absorb moisture, a water absorption rate is not more than 0.8% by mass as calculated from a mass X before moisture absorption and a mass Y after the moisture absorption in accordance with the formula: (YX)/X100.

A set of spherical inorganic particles having the particular property of being spontaneously individualized, both in dry state in the form of a powder and when they are dispersed in a matrix. The method for producing the particles, and the materials produced by including the particles in the matrices are also described.