Core-Shell Resin Toner for Fixability and Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing toners face a trade-off between low temperature fixability and heat resistant storage stability, with materials having low melting points improving fixability but compromising storage stability.
Innovation Solution
A toner composition featuring toner base particles with a binder resin, colorant, and wax, coated with resin particles having a core-shell structure where the shell's glass transition temperature is higher than the core's, optimizing storage elastic modulus ranges to balance fixability and stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a material having a low melting point is used for the toner, then low temperature fixability is improved, but heat resistant storage stability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The toner uses a composite resin particle structure with a core-shell configuration. The core contains resin with lower glass transition temperature (TgB) for low-temperature fixability, while the shell contains resin with higher glass transition temperature (TgA) for heat-resistant storage stability. This composite structure allows simultaneous achievement of both low temperature fixability and heat resistant storage stability by combining materials with different thermal properties in a single particle.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the resin particle have different glass transition temperatures tailored to specific functions. The core region (TgB) is designed for low-temperature fixability, while the shell region (TgA) is designed for heat-resistant storage stability. This local differentiation of material properties resolves the contradiction by assigning different thermal characteristics to different parts of the same particle.
2Reliability
If resin particles are deposited on the surface of toner particles, then heat resistant storage stability is improved, but low temperature fixability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of simply depositing resin on toner surfaces, the invention creates composite resin particles with a core-shell structure where the core (TgB) and shell (TgA) have different glass transition temperatures. This allows the particle to exhibit both low-temperature flexibility (from core) and high-temperature stability (from shell), resolving the contradiction between storage stability and fixability.
Solution Approach 2:
The core-shell structure embeds the low-Tg resin core within the high-Tg resin shell, creating a nested configuration where the inner core provides low-temperature fixability while the outer shell provides heat-resistant storage stability. This nesting approach allows both contradictory requirements to be satisfied simultaneously within a single integrated particle.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The toner achieves both low temperature fixability and heat resistant storage stability, while reducing contamination risks to cleaning members and photoconductors, maintaining excellent cleaning performance.
Implementation Method 1
a glass transition temperature TgA of the shell is higher than a glass transition temperature TgB of the core
Implementation Method 2
a storage elastic modulus G′1 of the toner at 70° C. during heating is 1.0×105 Pa or greater but 1.0×106 Pa or less, and a storage elastic modulus G′2 of the toner at 100° C. during heating is 1.0×104 Pa or greater but 5.0×104 Pa or less
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a toner including toner base particles and resin particles. Each toner base particle includes a binder resin, a colorant, and wax. Each resin particle e has a core-shell structure including a core and a shell, where a glass transition temperature TgA of the shell is higher than a glass transition temperature TgB of the core. A surface of each toner base particle is covered with the resin particles. A storage elastic modulus G′1 of the toner at 70° C. during heating is 1.0×105 Pa or greater but 1.0×103 Pa or less, and a storage elastic modulus G′2 of the toner at 100° C. during heating is 1.0×104 Pa or greater but 5.0×104 Pa or less, as the toner is measured by a rheometer.