Ionic Liquid Toner Washing for Surfactant Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional washing protocols for toner surfaces using water are inefficient in removing surfactants and ions, leading to suboptimal toner performance and environmental impact, as they often require high water usage and multiple steps, leaving behind pollutants that affect toner properties and consistency.
Innovation Solution
The use of ionic liquids (ILs) as washing aid agents that swell toner particle surfaces, allowing for the effective removal of surface-absorbed and absorbed surfactants and ions, thereby improving toner charging and charge maintenance while reducing environmental impact through lower water usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional water washing protocols are used to remove surfactants and ions from toner surfaces, then washing is performed, but high water usage and multiple washing steps are required while leaving behind bound pollutants that critically impact toner performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical parameter of the washing medium from conventional water to ionic liquid. This parameter change enables the washing process to effectively remove bound pollutants and superficial layer contaminants that water cannot remove, thereby improving toner performance while reducing the number of washing steps required
Solution Approach 2:
The ionic liquid acts as an intermediary substance between the toner particles and the washing process. It selectively interacts with and removes surfactants, ions, and bound pollutants from the toner surface and superficial layers, achieving effective cleaning with reduced water usage and fewer washing steps
2Reliability
If multiple washing steps are used to remove pollutants from toner surfaces, then more thorough cleaning is achieved, but cycle time increases and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Changing the washing medium to ionic liquid fundamentally alters the cleaning mechanism, enabling single-step or reduced-step washing that achieves the same or better pollutant removal effectiveness compared to multiple conventional water washing steps, thereby reducing cycle time and improving productivity
3Ease of manufacture
If surfactants and ions remain on toner particle surfaces, then manufacturing process is simpler, but toner charge capacity and environmental resistance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the washing medium parameter to ionic liquid, which effectively removes surface surfactants and ions in a simplified single-step process. This maintains ease of manufacture while simultaneously improving toner charge capacity and environmental resistance by eliminating the harmful surface contaminants
4Ease of manufacture
If conventional water washing is used, then washing process is simple, but bound pollutants and superficial layer contaminants are not removed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical parameter of the washing medium from water to ionic liquid, which enables the removal of bound pollutants and superficial layer contaminants that water cannot remove. This maintains process simplicity while achieving complete pollutant removal
Solution Approach 2:
The ionic liquid serves as a specialized intermediary that selectively penetrates and removes bound pollutants and contaminants from within the superficial layers of toner particles, achieving complete cleaning without complicating the washing process
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 IL-based washing method enhances triboelectric charge, charge maintenance, and RH sensitivity of toner particles, maintaining or improving Tg, rheology, and MFI, while reducing residual surfactants and ions, thus improving toner performance and consistency without the need for repeated water washes.
Implementation Method 1
ILs as described herein can swell toner particle surfaces so that surface adsorbed and absorbed surfactants and other manufacturing reactants on or in the surface layers, including ions, can be removed more efficaciously
Implementation Method 2
The described process results in toner with, in part, good charging, charge maintenance and RH sensitivity... the processing steps remove surfactants and ions from superficial layers of the toner particles
Data Source
AI summary
A washing process using one or more ionic liquids (ILs) as a washing aid agent for toners, including toners produced using such ILs, such as, low melt toners, is provided. ILs are environmentally sound, green solvents that act to swell toner particle surfaces so that surface absorbed and adsorbed pollutants, such as, surfactants and other manufacturing reactants, can be effectively removed. The resulting toners have good charging, charge maintenance and RH sensitivity.