METHOD OF PRODUCING ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHIC PHOTOSENSITIVE MEMBER

• US 20130244172A1
• Filed: 11/10/2011
• Published: 09/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Sekido, Kunihiko, Maruyama, Akihiro, Sekiya, Michiyo
• Granted Patent: US 8,927,184 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 430/127
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/00 Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern G03G16/00, G03G17/00 take precedence ; xerographic printers for data processors per se G06K15/14
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 5/0525 Coating methods
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 5/0535 Polyolefins; Polystyrenes; Waxes
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 5/0546 Polymers comprising at least one carboxyl radical, e.g. polyacrylic acid, polycrotonic acid, polymaleic acid; Derivatives thereof, e.g. their esters, salts, anhydrides, nitriles, amides
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 5/0589 Macromolecular compounds characterised by specific side-chain substituents or end groups
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 5/0596 Macromolecular compounds characterised by their physical properties
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 5/06 characterised by the photoconductive material being organic

Abstract

The present invention provides a method of producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member using a dispersion solution that shows high liquid stability in long-period storage and hardly causes aggregation of charge-transporting pigment particles during drying a coating. The method of producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member having a charge-transporting layer comprises a step of forming a coating film by applying a dispersion solution comprising polyolefin polymer particles and charge-transporting pigment particles as dispersoids and comprising a dispersion medium, and then forming the charge-transporting layer by heating the coating film and melting the polyolefin polymer particles, wherein the particles consisting of the polyolefin polymer particles and the charge-transporting pigment particles in the dispersion solution have a number average particle diameter of 50 nm or more and 300 nm or less and a degree of dispersion (standard deviation/number average particle diameter) of 1.0 or less.

Claims

1. A method of producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member comprising a charge-transporting layer, the method comprising a step of forming a coating film by applying a dispersion solution comprising polyolefin polymer particles and charge-transporting pigment particles as dispersoids and comprising a dispersion medium, and then forming the charge-transporting layer by heating the coating film and melting the polyolefin polymer particles,

wherein,

the particles consisting of the polyolefin polymer particles and the charge-transporting pigment particles in the dispersion solution have a number average particle diameter of 50 nm or more and 300 nm or less and a degree of dispersion (standard deviation/number average particle diameter) of 1.0 or less.

2. The method of producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 1,

wherein the dispersion solution comprises water and alcohol as the dispersion media, and

the amount of the water in the dispersion solution is 50 mass % or more based on the total mass of the water and the alcohol in the dispersion solution.

3. The method of producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 1,

wherein the total amount of the polyolefin polymer particles and the charge-transporting pigment particles in the dispersion solution is 7 mass % or more and 20 mass % or less based on the total mass of the dispersion solution.

4. The method of producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 1,

wherein the charge-transporting pigment particles have alkyl groups.

5. The method of producing an electrophotographic photosensitive member according to claim 1,

wherein the polyolefin polymer particles have the following (A1), (A2), and (A3) in a mass ratio satisfying the following expression:

0.01≦

(A2)/{(A1)+(A2)+(A3)}×

100≦

30, and

55/45≦

(A1)/(A3)≦

99/1,

(A1) is a repeating structural unit represented by the following Formula (121);