Toner Fine Particle Segmentation for Charge and Transfer Balance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing toners face challenges in maintaining transferability and charge rising performance, especially under varying humidity conditions, and suffer from member contamination due to weak bonding between fine particles and the shell layer.
Innovation Solution
A toner with a toner base particle and fine particles on its surface, where the fine particles are coated with a condensate of organosilicon compounds represented by specific formulas, enhancing the toner's wettability and charge diffusion properties, thereby improving transferability and reducing contamination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an organosilicon polymer is used on the toner surface to maintain transferability, then transferability is improved, but charge rising performance deteriorates due to inability to diffuse charges
Solution Approach 1:
The fine particles are segmented into a core portion and a shell portion with distinct functions. The core provides charge diffusion capability while the shell provides hydrophobicity and transferability, resolving the contradiction between charge rising performance and transferability maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The fine particles are constructed as composite structures combining different materials: a core made of inorganic particles (silica, titania, alumina) for charge diffusion, and a shell made of organosilicon polymer for hydrophobicity and transferability. This composite structure allows both charge diffusion and transferability improvement simultaneously.
2Reliability
If organic fine particles are adhered to the toner core and coated with melamine or urea resin to suppress detachment, then detachment is suppressed, but flowability deteriorates requiring additional titanium oxide or silica particles
Solution Approach 1:
The surface properties of the core fine particles are modified by coating with organosilicon polymer, changing the surface energy and hydrophobicity parameters. This allows the fine particles to be firmly attached without requiring additional inorganic particles, maintaining flowability while suppressing detachment.
Solution Approach 2:
The organosilicon polymer shell serves multiple functions simultaneously: it suppresses fine particle detachment, maintains flowability, and provides hydrophobicity for transferability. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate flowability-improving particles.
3Temperature
If a thermosetting shell layer is used to improve low-temperature fixability, then fixing performance is improved, but fine particles detach and contaminate the developing member
Solution Approach 1:
The shell layer is designed with local quality characteristics: the organosilicon polymer provides localized hydrophobicity and adhesion at the fine particle surface, while the overall shell structure maintains flexibility to prevent fracture. This prevents fine particle detachment and developing member contamination while maintaining low-temperature fixability.
4Reliability
If the toner surface has high hydrophobicity to ensure transferability, then transferability is improved, but charge rising performance deteriorates under low-humidity conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The fine particles are segmented into a core portion and a shell portion with distinct functions. The core provides charge diffusion capability while the shell provides hydrophobicity, resolving the contradiction between charge rising performance and transferability maintenance.
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 exhibits improved transferability and charge rising performance while maintaining low hygroscopicity, even under high-humidity conditions, and reduces member contamination by ensuring strong attachment of fine particles to the toner base.
Implementation Method 1
a condensate of at least one organosilicon compound selected from the group consisting of an organosilicon compound represented by Formula (1) below and an organosilicon compound represented by Formula (2) below, the condensate coating the surface of the core fine particle
Implementation Method 2
the condensate coating the surface of the core fine particle
Implementation Method 3
the organosilicon polymer on the toner surface cannot diffuse charges and the charge quantity of the toner exhibits difficulty in saturate
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a toner comprising a toner particle including a toner base particle and fine particles present on a surface of the toner base particle, wherein each of the fine particles includes a core fine particle and a condensate of at least one organosilicon compound selected from the group consisting of organosilicon compounds represented by specific structural formulas, the condensate coating the surface of the core fine particle, and in a wettability test of the toner with respect to a methanol/water mixed solvent, a methanol concentration, when a transmittance of light having a wavelength of 780 nm is 50%, is 5.0 to 20.0% by volume:in above Formulas, each of Ra, Rb and Rc independently represents an alkyl group, an alkenyl group, an acetoxy group, an acyl group, an aryl group, or a methacryloxyalkyl group, R1 to R5 each independently represents a halogen atom or an alkoxy group.