Electrostatic Toner with Dye-Antioxidant Core-Shell Particles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional electrostatic charge image developing toners face challenges in achieving sufficient transparency, chromaticness, heat resistance, and light fastness, particularly when using organic pigments or dyes, as they often result in reduced image quality and stability due to issues like coagulation, sublimation, and uneven charging characteristics.
Innovation Solution
The development of an electrostatic charge image developing toner with colorant particles dispersed in a binder resin, where the colorant particles consist of a dye and an antioxidant, with a specific weight ratio and particle diameter distribution, and a core-shell structure to enhance stability and interaction, preventing dye degradation and improving charging properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If organic pigment is used as colorant in toner, then heat resistance and light fastness are improved, but transparency and chromaticness are reduced due to coagulated particle dispersion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the colorant into primary particles with diameters of 0.01-1 μm that are dispersed in the binder resin, rather than using coagulated secondary particles. This segmentation of colorant particles reduces opacifying power while maintaining heat resistance and light fastness properties of organic pigments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the particle size parameter of the colorant from coagulated secondary particles to primary particles with controlled diameters (0.01-1 μm). This parameter change optimizes both transparency and the protective properties of the organic pigment.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If dye is used as colorant in toner, then transparency and chromaticness are improved, but heat resistance and light fastness are reduced due to decomposition and sublimation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the advantages of both pigment and dye by using organic pigment particles with controlled primary particle sizes. This combination approach provides the transparency and chromaticness of dyes while maintaining the heat resistance and light fastness of pigments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state and particle size parameters of the colorant to achieve optimal performance. By controlling particle diameter to 0.01-1 μm, the toner achieves both transparency and thermal stability.
3Ease of manufacture
If pigment is dispersed in binder resin, then color reproduction is achieved, but charging characteristic uniformity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by ensuring uniform dispersion of colorant particles throughout the binder resin matrix. The controlled primary particle size (0.01-1 μm) ensures consistent local properties that lead to uniform charging characteristics while maintaining good color reproduction.
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
This approach results in toners with improved transparency, chromaticness, and image stability, maintaining high image quality over time with excellent light fastness and heat resistance, while preventing dye sublimation and uneven charging.
Implementation Method 1
the colorant particles comprise a dye and an antioxidant
Implementation Method 2
charged toner
Implementation Method 3
The image is then fixed by heat, pressure or solvent vapor in the fixing process
Data Source
AI summary
An object is to provide an electrostatic charge image developing toner and an image forming method using the same capable of maintaining image properties for a long duration, which exhibit not only sufficient transparency and chromaticness, accompanied with high color reproduction and excellent charging characteristic, but also excellent heat resistance, together further with excellent light fastness and sufficient image holding ability. Disclosed is an electrostatic charge image developing toner of the present invention comprising a binder resin for toner particle formation and colorant particles dispersed in the binder resin, wherein the colorant particles comprise a dye and an antioxidant. Further, the electrostatic charge image developing toner wherein a volume-based median particle diameter of the colorant particles is preferably 10-100 nm, and also the dye contained in the colorant particles is preferably an oil-soluble dye or a metal chelate dye.