JP2002131985A - Toner, method for producing the same, and image forming method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toner which suppresses the emission of a foul odor in heat fixation, causes no problem on the foul odor, is excellent in fixability and has a small particle diameter as an electrostatic latent image developing toner produced by a so-called polymerization method, and to provide a method for producing the toner and an image forming method using the toner. SOLUTION: In the method for producing toner with a process in which a radical polymerizable monomer mixture containing a colorant and a chain transfer agent is suspension-polymerized in at least an aqueous medium and filtration and washing are carried out, vegetable essential oil selected from among eugenol, cinnamaldehyde, p-cymene, benzaldehyde, benzyl acetate and benzyl benzoate is incorporated into the monomer composition.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toner for developing an electrostatic latent image used in a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile, and the like, a method of manufacturing the same, and an image forming method using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, an electrostatic latent image developing method represented by an electrophotographic method is widely used in an image forming method of a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile or the like.

[0003] The reason for this is that it is a highly complete method for stably obtaining a high-speed and high-quality image, but some problems still remain. One of them is that it is necessary to control the molecular weight distribution of the toner resin from the viewpoint of stabilizing the fixing property of the toner. For example, in order to suppress high-temperature offset, it is necessary to improve the elastic modulus at high temperature, and it is preferable to increase the high molecular weight component. on the other hand,
In order to improve the adhesiveness to an image forming support such as paper, it is preferable to increase the low molecular weight component. In order to satisfy such contradictory functions, it is necessary to increase the molecular weight distribution of the resin.

On the other hand, it is desired that the toner for developing an electrostatic latent image is reduced in particle size from the viewpoint of high image quality, and the particle size is made uniform. In recent years, polymerization toners have been actively developed as a method for producing such small particle size toners. The polymerized toner is prepared by associating or salting out / fusing resin particles and colorant particles to prepare an irregular shaped toner, or by dispersing a radical polymerizable monomer and a colorant, There is a method in which droplets are dispersed in a medium or the like so as to have a desired toner particle diameter, and suspension polymerization is performed.

In any case, as described above, it is necessary to adjust the molecular weight distribution in order to improve fixability. When a chain transfer agent is used to control the molecular weight distribution to reduce the molecular weight, mercaptans, particularly dodecyl mercaptan, are used as a suitable chain transfer agent. However, this material has a peculiar odor, and there is a problem that the chain transfer agent remaining at the time of heat fixing volatilizes and odor is generated.

As a countermeasure against this odor, the addition of a so-called fragrance is a generally conceivable general method. However, since this fragrance generates a specific odor separately, it is possible to effectively prevent the mercaptan odor. On the contrary, it may have a bad smell, and cannot be used for all things. Further, some of them are decomposed by heat, some are decomposed at the time of heat fixing, and some are decomposed at the time of being added to the toner, so that all of them cannot be used.

[0007]

The problem of the odor is particularly problematic in a so-called pulverizing method in which a block-like material obtained by melting and kneading a resin after synthesis and a colorant and then cooling is reground and produced. Had not been. However, the present inventors have found that the above-mentioned polymerization method toner, which produces a toner having a small particle diameter, emerges as a problem at the time of image formation.

An object of the present invention is to provide a toner for developing an electrostatic latent image produced by a so-called polymerization method, which suppresses generation of odor during thermal fixing, does not cause odor problems, and has excellent fixability. Another object of the present invention is to provide a toner having a small particle diameter, a method for producing the same, and an image forming method using the same.

[0009]

The object of the present invention can be achieved by adopting one of the following constitutions.

[1] A method for producing a toner comprising the steps of subjecting a radically polymerizable monomer composition containing a colorant and a chain transfer agent to suspension polymerization in at least an aqueous medium, followed by filtration and washing. A method for producing a toner, comprising adding a plant essential oil selected from eugenol, cinnamaldehyde, p-cymene, benzaldehyde, benzyl acetate and benzyl benzoate to the monomer composition.

[2] A resin particle obtained by subjecting a radical polymerizable monomer composition containing at least a chain transfer agent to emulsion polymerization or miniemulsion polymerization using a water-soluble polymerization initiator in an aqueous medium is used to form an aqueous medium. A toner selected from eugenol, cinnamaldehyde, p-cymene, benzaldehyde, benzyl acetate and benzyl benzoate in the monomer composition. A method for producing a toner, comprising an essential oil.

[3] Resin particles obtained by emulsion polymerization or miniemulsion polymerization of a radical polymerizable monomer composition having at least a chain transfer agent in an aqueous medium using a water-soluble polymerization initiator, and at least a colorant And fusing the composition with a toner containing the compound in an aqueous medium, followed by filtration and washing, wherein the composition for the toner contains eugenol, cinnamaldehyde, p-
A method for producing a toner, comprising a vegetable essential oil selected from cymene, benzaldehyde, benzyl acetate and benzyl benzoate.

[4] A toner obtained by subjecting a radical polymerizable monomer composition containing a colorant and a chain transfer agent to suspension polymerization in at least an aqueous medium, and then filtering and washing the monomer composition. A toner comprising a vegetable essential oil selected from eugenol, cinnamaldehyde, p-cymene, benzaldehyde, benzyl acetate and benzyl benzoate.

[5] A resin particle obtained by subjecting a radical polymerizable monomer composition having at least a chain transfer agent to emulsion polymerization or miniemulsion polymerization using a water-soluble polymerization initiator in an aqueous medium is mixed with an aqueous medium. In a toner obtained by fusing, followed by filtration and washing, the monomer composition comprising eugenol, cinnamaldehyde, p-cymene,
A toner comprising a vegetable essential oil selected from benzaldehyde, benzyl acetate and benzyl benzoate.

[6] Resin particles obtained by subjecting a radical polymerizable monomer composition having at least a chain transfer agent to emulsion polymerization or miniemulsion polymerization using a water-soluble polymerization initiator in an aqueous medium, and a colorant, etc. Is fused in an aqueous medium, and then filtered and washed. In the toner composition, eugenol, cinnamaldehyde, p-cymene, benzaldehyde, benzyl acetate and benzoic acid are contained in the toner composition. A toner comprising a vegetable essential oil selected from benzyl.

[7] In an image forming method for thermally fixing a toner image on an image support formed using the toner according to [4], [5] or [6], the volume average particle diameter of the toner is An image forming method having a thickness of 3 to 8 μm.

That is, the present inventors have made intensive studies and found that malodor can be eliminated by sensory neutralization of malodor possessed by the chain transfer agent itself. As a particularly important problem, when a strong odor component is used, a bad smell may be caused by a difference in personal preference. In order to solve this problem, various materials have been studied, and the present invention has been completed.

In the present invention, by using a specific material, the odor of the chain transfer agent can be sensorially neutralized,
Further, discomfort can be reduced.

Materials useful in the present invention include eugenol,
Cinnamaldehyde, p-cymene, benzaldehyde,
Benzyl acetate and benzyl benzoate, which are characterized by containing at least one selected from them.

Eugenol includes, for example, Ravensara eugenol (Camphoraceae), padyl eugenol (Lamiaceae), and cloves (Lamiaceae). ), And benzyl benzoate includes Ylang-ylang (Annelidae).

[0021] Plant oils include various plant flowers,
Aroma, volatile oil obtained from leaves, fruits, branches, roots, etc.

The content of the compound of the present invention is preferably 20 ppm or less, and more preferably 1 ppb or less, based on the total weight of the toner.
It is 10 ppm, more preferably 2 ppb to 5 ppm. If it is less than this range, the effect may not be sufficient, and if it is more than this range, there is no difference in the effect, and conversely, the toner performance may be adversely affected.

The content can be measured by a head space gas chromatograph. In the constitution of the invention described above, each of which will be specifically described later, the monomer composition refers to a monomer to which a polymerization reaction is performed or a mixture thereof or a substance to which a solvent or a dispersant is further added. . The toner composition is a substance (colorant, release agent, charge control agent, etc.) necessary for exhibiting the performance as a toner for developing an electrostatic latent image, a mixture thereof, or a solvent or dispersant. Refers to the addition of Furthermore, miniemulsion polymerization is a process in which a substance (for example, a release agent) is mixed with a monomer composition and the monomer is polymerized into resin particles. It refers to a polymerization method for forming resin particles in a form dispersed in fine particles.

[0024]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION As a result of intensive studies, the present inventors have completed the present invention by elucidating the essential difference between the kneading method and the polymerization method.

That is, a so-called pulverized toner is formed into a toner by melt-kneading a resin and a colorant, followed by pulverization and classification. In this step, the resin is heated to a temperature higher than the melting temperature, and at the same time, a large share is applied to a kneading device such as a twin screw extruder. For this reason, since the resin is heated to a temperature higher than the softening point of the resin in this step, the chain transfer agent present in the resin is vaporized by this heat, and can be almost alone in the final toner. Is gone.

On the other hand, a so-called polymerization toner does not go through the above-described melt-kneading step, and when prepared by a radical polymerization method, only heats up to about 100 ° C., which is the boiling point of water at most. . As a result, it was presumed that a trace amount of the chain transfer agent remained and vaporized at the temperature at the time of fixing, causing a problem of odor.

As a countermeasure, it has been found that it is preferable to use a chain transfer agent having low odor as the chain transfer agent itself in the polymerization method toner.

Specific examples thereof include those represented by the following general formula (1) or general formula (2).

General formula (1) HS-R ₁ -COOR ₂ (wherein R ₁ has ₁ to 10 carbon atoms which may have a substituent.
R ₂ represents a hydrocarbon group having 2 to 20 carbon atoms which may have a substituent. Preferred examples of the compound of the general formula (1) include thioglycolic acid esters and 3-mercaptopropionic acid esters. Specifically, thioglycolic acid esters such as ethyl thioglycolate, butyl thioglycolate, and thioglycolic acid t
-Butyl, 2-ethylhexyl thioglycolate, octyl thioglycolate, isooctyl thioglycolate, decyl thioglycolate, dodecyl thioglycolate, thioglycolate of ethylene glycol,
Thioglycolic acid ester of neopentyl glycol,
Thioglycolic acid ester of trimethylolpropane,
Examples of pentaerythritol thioglycolic acid ester and sorbitol thioglycolic acid ester include 3-mercaptopropionic acid esters such as ethyl ester, octyl ester, decyl ester, dodecyl ester, pentaerythritol tetrakis ester, and ethylene glycol. 3-mercaptopropionate, neopentylglycol 3-mercaptopropionate, trimethylolpropane 3-mercaptopropionate, pentaerythritol 3-mercaptopropionate, sorbitol 3-mercaptopropionate Can be.

The general formula (2) HS-R ₃ (wherein, R ₃ is carbon atoms, which may have a substituent 1 to 20
Represents a hydrocarbon group. Preferred examples include n-octyl mercaptan, 2-ethylhexyl mercaptan, n-dodecyl mercaptan, sec-dodecyl mercaptan, t-dodecyl mercaptan and the like.

The amount used is suitably from 0.01 to 5% by mass based on all monomers used for resin synthesis.

The molecular weight distribution of the resulting resin is such that a high molecular weight component having a peak or shoulder in a molecular weight region of 100,000 to 1,000,000 and a molecular weight distribution of 1,000 to 2
It is preferable to use a resin containing both low molecular weight components having a peak or shoulder in a region of less than 000.

The method of measuring the molecular weight of a resin by GPC is based on GPC using tetrahydrofuran (THF) as a solvent.
(Gel permeation chromatography). That is, 1 ml of THF is added to 0.5 to 5 mg, more specifically, 1 mg of the measurement sample, and the mixture is stirred at room temperature using a magnetic stirrer or the like to be sufficiently dissolved. Then, pore size 0.45 to 0.50
After treating with a μm membrane filter, the mixture is injected into GPC. The GPC measurement conditions were as follows: stabilize the column at 40 ° C., flow THF at a flow rate of 1 ml per minute,
Approximately 100 μl of a sample having a concentration of ml is injected and measured. The column is preferably used in combination with a commercially available polystyrene gel column. For example, S manufactured by Showa Denko
HODEX GPC KF-801, 802, 803, 8
04, 805, 806, 807 and TSKgel G1000H, G2000H, G300 manufactured by Tosoh Corporation
0H, G4000H, G5000H, G6000H, G
7000H, a combination of TSK guard column and the like. As a detector,
It is preferable to use a refractive index detector (IR detector) or a UV detector. In measuring the molecular weight of a sample, the molecular weight distribution of the sample is calculated using a calibration curve created using monodispersed polystyrene standard particles. As polystyrene for preparing a calibration curve, about 10 points may be used.

Further, a releasing agent can be added as a fixing offset improving agent. The release agent is not particularly limited. Low molecular weight polypropylene (number average molecular weight: 1500
9000), low molecular weight polyolefin wax such as low molecular weight polyethylene, paraffin wax, Fischer-Tropsch wax, ester wax and the like. An ester wax represented by the following general formula can be suitably used.

R _1- (OCO-R ₂ ) _n n is an integer of 1 to 4, preferably 2 to 4, more preferably 3 or 4, and particularly preferably 4. R ₁ and R ₂ represent a hydrocarbon group which may have a substituent, and R ₁ has 1 to 40 carbon atoms, preferably 1 to 20 carbon atoms, more preferably 2 to 5 carbon atoms.
It is. R ₂ has 1 to 40 carbon atoms, preferably 16 to 3 carbon atoms.
0, more preferably 18 to 26.

Next, specific examples of the compounds will be described.

[0037]

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[0038]

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The amount of addition is 1 to 3 with respect to the entire toner.
0 mass%, preferably 2 to 20 mass%, more preferably 3 to 15 mass%.

The toner of the present invention is obtained by dispersing a release agent in a monomer in water using the above-mentioned mini-emulsion polymerization method, polymerizing the mixture, and encapsulating the above compound in resin particles. To form particles and salt out with colorant particles /
It is preferable to produce colored particles by fusing to form a toner.

The toner of the present invention is produced by suspension polymerization or emulsion polymerization of monomers in a liquid to which an emulsion of necessary additives is added to produce fine polymerized particles. , And a method of associating by adding a coagulant or the like. A method of preparing by mixing and dispersing with a dispersion liquid such as a release agent and a colorant necessary for the composition of the toner at the time of association, and dispersing toner constituent components such as a release agent and a colorant in a monomer. And then emulsion polymerization. Here, the association means that a plurality of resin particles and colorant particles are fused.

The vegetable essential oil of the present invention is present in a toner by a method of adding it to a polymerizable monomer composition or a method of adding it by adding it to a component (toner composition) necessary for constituting a toner. be able to.

The aqueous medium in the present invention means a medium containing at least 50% by mass of water.

That is, as a typical production method, a coloring agent, a releasing agent, a charge controlling agent,
Further, various constituent materials such as a polymerization initiator or a chain transfer agent are added, and the various constituent materials are dissolved or dispersed in the polymerizable monomer using a homogenizer, a sand mill, a sand grinder, an ultrasonic disperser or the like. The polymerizable monomer in which these various constituent materials are dissolved or dispersed is dispersed in an aqueous medium containing a dispersion stabilizer into oil droplets of a desired size as a toner using a homomixer, a homogenizer, or the like. After that, the mixture is transferred to a reactor having a stirring blade and heated to cause a polymerization reaction to proceed. After completion of the reaction, the toner of the present invention is prepared by removing the dispersion stabilizer, filtering, washing and drying.

Further, as a method of producing the toner of the present invention, a method of preparing the resin particles by fusing them in an aqueous medium can also be mentioned. Although this method is not particularly limited, for example, JP-A-5-265252, JP-A-6-329947, and JP-A-9-1590.
No. 4 publication can be mentioned.

That is, a method of associating a plurality of dispersed particles of a constituent material such as a resin particle and a colorant, or a plurality of fine particles composed of a resin and a colorant, particularly, after dispersing them in water using an emulsifier, At the same time as adding a coagulant having a critical coagulation concentration or more and salting out, simultaneously forming a fused particle by heating and fusing at a temperature equal to or higher than the glass transition temperature of the formed polymer itself, gradually growing the particle size, At the particle size, add a large amount of water to stop the particle size growth, and further heat and stir to smooth the particle surface and control the shape.
The toner of the present invention can be formed by heating and drying the particles in a fluidized state in a water-containing state. Here, an organic solvent that is infinitely soluble in water may be added together with the coagulant.

As the polymerizable monomer constituting the resin, styrene, o-methylstyrene, m-methylstyrene, p-methylstyrene, α-methylstyrene, p-chlorostyrene, 3,4- Dichlorostyrene,
p-phenylstyrene, p-ethylstyrene, 2,4-
Dimethylstyrene, p-tert-butylstyrene, p
-N-hexylstyrene, pn-octylstyrene,
pn-nonylstyrene, pn-decylstyrene, p
Styrene or a styrene derivative such as -n-dodecylstyrene, methyl methacrylate, ethyl methacrylate,
N-butyl methacrylate, isopropyl methacrylate,
Methacrylate derivatives such as isobutyl methacrylate, t-butyl methacrylate, n-octyl methacrylate, 2-ethylhexyl methacrylate, stearyl methacrylate, lauryl methacrylate, phenyl methacrylate, diethylaminoethyl methacrylate, and dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate. , Methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, isopropyl acrylate, n-butyl acrylate, t-butyl acrylate, isobutyl acrylate,
Acrylic ester derivatives such as n-octyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, stearyl acrylate, lauryl acrylate, phenyl acrylate, and the like, olefins such as ethylene, propylene, and isobutylene, vinyl chloride, vinylidene chloride, and vinyl bromide , Vinyl fluoride such as vinyl fluoride and vinylidene fluoride; vinyl esters such as vinyl propionate, vinyl acetate and vinyl benzoate; vinyl ethers such as vinyl methyl ether and vinyl ethyl ether; vinyl methyl ketone and vinyl ethyl ketone , Vinyl ketones such as vinyl hexyl ketone, N-vinyl compounds such as N-vinyl carbazole, N-vinyl indole, N-vinyl pyrrolidone, vinyl compounds such as vinyl naphthalene and vinyl pyridine, acrylonitrile, Acrylonitrile, there are acrylic acid or methacrylic acid derivatives such as acrylamide. These vinyl monomers can be used alone or in combination.

Further, it is more preferable to use a polymerizable monomer constituting the resin in combination with one having an ionic dissociating group. For example, those having a substituent such as a carboxyl group, a sulfonic acid group, and a phosphoric acid group as a constituent group of a monomer, specifically, acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, maleic acid, itaconic acid, cinnamic acid, and fumaric acid. Acid, maleic acid monoalkyl ester, itaconic acid monoalkyl ester, styrenesulfonic acid, allylsulfosuccinic acid, 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid, acid phosphooxyethyl methacrylate, 3
-Chloro-2-acid phosphooxypropyl methacrylate and the like.

Further, divinylbenzene, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, ethylene glycol diacrylate, diethylene glycol dimethacrylate, diethylene glycol diacrylate, triethylene glycol dimethacrylate, triethylene glycol diacrylate, neopentyl glycol dimethacrylate,
Polyfunctional vinyls such as neopentyl glycol diacrylate can be used to form a crosslinked resin.

These polymerizable monomers can be polymerized using a radical polymerization initiator. When an emulsion polymerization method is used, a water-soluble radical polymerization initiator can be used. Examples of the water-soluble polymerization initiator include persulfates such as potassium persulfate and ammonium persulfate, azobisaminodipropane acetate, azobiscyanovaleric acid and salts thereof, and hydrogen peroxide.

As the resin excellent in the present invention, a resin having a glass transition point of 20 to 90 ° C. is preferable and a softening point of 8
The thing of 0-220 ° C is preferred. The glass transition point is measured by a differential calorimetric analysis method, and the softening point can be measured by a Koka flow tester. Furthermore, these resins have a number average molecular weight (Mn) of 10 as measured by gel permeation chromatography.
00 to 100000, weight average molecular weight (Mw) 200
Those having 0 to 1,000,000 are preferred. Further, as a molecular weight distribution, Mw / Mn is 1.5 to 100, particularly 1.8.
-70 are preferred.

The flocculant used is not particularly limited, but those selected from metal salts are preferably used. Specifically, as a monovalent metal, for example, a salt of an alkali metal such as sodium, potassium, and lithium, and as a divalent metal, for example, a salt of an alkaline earth metal such as calcium and magnesium, or a divalent metal such as manganese or copper Salt,
Examples include salts of trivalent metals such as iron and aluminum, and specific salts include sodium chloride, potassium chloride, lithium chloride, calcium chloride, zinc chloride, copper sulfate, magnesium sulfate, and manganese sulfate. Can be.
These may be used in combination.

It is preferable to add these coagulants at a concentration higher than the critical coagulation concentration. The critical aggregation concentration is an index relating to the stability of the aqueous dispersion, and indicates the concentration at which aggregation occurs when a coagulant is added. This critical aggregation concentration is
It varies greatly depending on the emulsified component and the dispersant itself. For example, Seizo Okamura et al.
7, 601 (1960), edited by The Society of Polymer Science, Japan, and the like, and a detailed critical aggregation concentration can be determined.
As another method, a desired salt is added to the target particle dispersion at a different concentration, the 、 (zeta) potential of the dispersion is measured, and the salt concentration at which this value changes is defined as the critical aggregation concentration. You can also ask.

The addition amount of the coagulant of the present invention may be not less than the critical coagulation concentration, but is preferably 1.2 to the critical coagulation concentration.
It is better to add it at least twice, more preferably at least 1.5 times.

The infinitely soluble solvent means a solvent which is infinitely soluble in water. In the present invention, a solvent which does not dissolve the formed resin is selected.
Specifically, methanol, ethanol, propanol,
Examples thereof include alcohols such as isopropanol, t-butanol, methoxyethanol and butoxyethanol, nitriles such as acetonitrile, and ethers such as dioxane. Particularly, ethanol, propanol and isopropanol are preferred.

The amount of the solvent to be dissolved infinitely is 1 to 100% by volume based on the polymer-containing dispersion to which the flocculant is added.
Is preferred.

In order to make the shape uniform, it is preferable to prepare a colored particle, and after filtering, slurry containing 10% by mass or more of water based on the particle is flow-dried. Those having a polar group in the polymer are preferred. It is considered that the reason for this is that the existing water exerts an effect of slightly swelling the polymer in which the polar group is present, so that it is particularly easy to make the shape uniform.

The toner of the present invention contains at least a resin and a colorant, but may also contain a releasing agent or a charge control agent as a fixing property improving agent, if necessary. Further, an external additive composed of inorganic fine particles, organic fine particles, and the like may be added to the toner particles containing the resin and the colorant as main components.

As the colorant used in the toner of the present invention, carbon black, magnetic substance, dye, pigment and the like can be used arbitrarily. As the carbon black, channel black, furnace black, acetylene black, and the like can be used.
Thermal black, lamp black and the like are used. Ferromagnetic metals such as iron, nickel, and cobalt as magnetic materials,
Alloys containing these metals, compounds of ferromagnetic metals such as ferrite and magnetite, alloys that do not contain ferromagnetic metals but exhibit ferromagnetism by heat treatment, for example, Heusler such as manganese-copper-aluminum and manganese-copper-tin An alloy of a type called an alloy, chromium dioxide, or the like can be used.

As the dye, C.I. I. Solvent Red 1, 49, 52, 58, 63, 111, 1
22, C.I. I. Solvent Yellow 19, 44, 7
7, 79, 81, 82, 93, 98, 10
3, 104, 112, 162, C.I. I. Solvent Blue 25, 36, 60, 70, 93, 9
5 and the like, and a mixture thereof can also be used. Examples of the pigment include C.I. I. Pigment Red 5, 48: 1, 53: 1, 57: 1, 122,
139, 144, 149, 166, 177,
178, 222, C.I. I. Pigment Orange 3
1, 43, C.I. I. Pigment Yellow 14, 1
7, 93, 94, 138, 156, 158,
180, 185, C.I. I. Pigment Green 7,
C. I. Pigment Blue 15: 3, 60 and the like, and mixtures thereof can also be used. The number average primary particle size varies depending on the type, but
About 200 nm is preferable.

As a method of adding a colorant, a method of adding polymer particles prepared by an emulsion polymerization method at the stage of coagulation by adding a coagulant to color the polymer, or a process of polymerizing monomers. And a method of adding a colorant, polymerizing, and forming colored particles can be used. When the colorant is added at the stage of preparing the polymer, it is preferable to use the colorant after treating the surface with a coupling agent or the like so as not to inhibit the radical polymerizability.

The charge control agents are also various known ones.
What can be dispersed in water can also be used. Specifically, nigrosine dyes, metal salts of naphthenic acid or higher fatty acids, alkoxylated amines,
Quaternary ammonium salt compounds, azo-based metal complexes, salicylic acid metal salts or metal complexes thereof.

The particles of the charge controlling agent and the fixability improving agent have a number average primary particle diameter of 10 to 500 in a dispersed state.
It is preferable to set it to about nm.

The shape of the toner obtained by fusing is determined by the average value (average circularity) of the shape coefficients represented by the following formula.
Is 0.930 to 0.980, preferably 0.940 to
It is preferably 0.975.

Shape factor = (circumferential length obtained from equivalent circle diameter) / (perimeter of particle projected image) Also, it is preferable that the shape factor distribution is sharp.
The standard deviation of the circularity is preferably 0.10 or less, and the CV value calculated by the following equation is preferably less than 20%, more preferably less than 10%.

CV value = {(standard deviation of circularity) / (average circularity)} × 100 By setting the average circularity to 0.930 to 0.980, the shape of the toner is made somewhat irregular. The heat transfer can be made more efficient, and the fixability can be further improved. That is, an average circularity of 0.9
When the ratio is 80 or less, the fixing property can be improved.
Further, since the adhesion to the photoreceptor can be reduced, the cleaning property can be improved. Also, 0.9
By setting the average circularity to 30 or more, the degree of irregularity of the particles can be suppressed, and the friability of the particles due to stress during long-term use can be suppressed.

Further, it is preferable that the distribution of the shape factor is sharp, and the standard deviation of the circularity is 0.10 or less, so that a toner having a uniform shape can be obtained. Since it can be reduced, the effect of preventing the fixing device from being contaminated by improving the fixing rate and reducing the offset property is further exhibited. When the CV value is also less than 20%, a sharp shape distribution can be similarly obtained, and the effect of improving the fixing property can be more remarkably exhibited.

The method of measuring the shape factor is not limited, but for example, toner particles may be measured with an electron microscope.
Take a photo magnified 0 times, use an image analyzer,
The average circularity can be calculated by measuring the circularity of 500 toners and calculating the arithmetic average value. In addition, as a simple measurement method, FPIA-200
0 (manufactured by Toa Medical Electronics Co., Ltd.).

In order to control the shape, a proper process end time may be determined while monitoring the characteristics of toner particles (colored particles) whose shape is being controlled in a process such as association.

The term "monitoring" means that a measuring device is incorporated in-line and process conditions are controlled based on the measurement result. In other words, for a polymerized toner formed by fusing resin particles in an aqueous medium with measurement of shape and the like incorporated in-line, for example, the shape and particle size are measured while performing sequential sampling in a process such as fusing. Then, the reaction is stopped when the desired shape is obtained.

Although the monitoring method is not particularly limited, a flow type particle image analyzer FPIA-
2000 (manufactured by Toa Medical Electronics Co., Ltd.) can be used. This apparatus is suitable because the shape can be monitored by performing image processing in real time while passing the sample liquid. That is, a pump or the like is used from the reaction field to constantly monitor and measure the shape and the like, and stop the reaction when the desired shape and the like are obtained.

The volume average particle diameter of the toner of the present invention is measured by a Coulter Counter TA-II or a Coulter Multisizer (manufactured by Coulter Inc.). In the present invention, a Coulter Multisizer was used by connecting an interface (manufactured by Nikkaki Co., Ltd.) for outputting a particle size distribution and a personal computer. The particle size distribution and the average particle size were calculated by measuring the volume distribution of toner having a size of 2 μm or more by using an aperture of 100 μm as the aperture used in the Coulter Multisizer.

The toner of the present invention preferably has a volume average particle diameter of 3 to 8 μm. When toner particles are formed by a polymerization method, the particle diameter can be controlled by the concentration of the coagulant, the amount of the organic solvent added, the fusing time, and the composition of the polymer itself.

When the volume average particle diameter is 3 to 8 μm, in the fixing step, toner particles having a large adhesive force which flies and adheres to the heating member to cause offset are reduced, and the transfer efficiency is increased. The halftone image quality is improved, and the image quality of fine lines and dots is improved.

Further, in the toner of the present invention, more effects can be exhibited by adding and using fine particles such as inorganic fine particles and organic fine particles as external additives. The reason for this is presumed that the embedding and detachment of the external additive can be effectively suppressed, so that the effect is remarkable.

As the inorganic fine particles, it is preferable to use inorganic oxide particles such as silica, titania, and alumina. Further, it is preferable that these inorganic fine particles have been subjected to a hydrophobic treatment with a silane coupling agent or a titanium coupling agent. preferable. The degree of the hydrophobizing treatment is not particularly limited, but a methanol wettability of 40 to 95 is preferable. Methanol wettability is to evaluate the wettability to methanol.

In this method, 0.2 g of inorganic fine particles to be measured are weighed and added to 50 ml of distilled water placed in a beaker having a content of 200 ml. Methanol is slowly dropped from a burette whose tip is immersed in the liquid until the entire inorganic fine particles are wet with stirring slowly.
When the amount of methanol required to completely wet the inorganic fine particles is a (ml), the degree of hydrophobicity is calculated by the following equation.

Degree of hydrophobicity = {a / (a + 50)} × 100 The amount of the external additive added is 0.1 to 5.
0 mass%, preferably 0.5 to 4.0 mass%. Various external additives may be used in combination.

The toner of the present invention can be used as a one-component magnetic toner containing a magnetic material, for example, when used as a two-component developer by mixing with a so-called carrier, or when a non-magnetic toner is used alone. Although any of them can be suitably used, the toner of the present invention is preferably used as a two-component developer used by being mixed with a carrier.

When the toner is used as a non-magnetic one-component toner, a developing device having a structure in which a developer layer regulating member for forming a thin layer is pressed against a developer layer carrier is used. Develop with. The preferred mode is contact development.

As the carrier constituting the two-component developer, conventionally known materials such as metals such as iron, ferrite and magnetite, and alloys of these metals with metals such as aluminum and lead are used as the magnetic particles. be able to.
Particularly, ferrite particles are preferable. The magnetic particles preferably have a volume average particle size of 15 to 100 μm, more preferably 25 to 60 μm. The volume average particle diameter of the carrier can be typically measured by a laser diffraction type particle size distribution analyzer “HELOS” (manufactured by SYMPATEC) equipped with a wet disperser.

The carrier is preferably a carrier further coated with a resin or a so-called resin-dispersed carrier in which magnetic particles are dispersed in a resin. Although there is no particular limitation on the resin composition for coating, for example, an olefin resin, a styrene resin, a styrene / acrylic resin, a silicone resin, an ester resin, a fluorine-containing polymer resin, or the like is used. The resin for constituting the resin-dispersed carrier is not particularly limited, and a known resin can be used.
Acrylic resin, polyester resin, fluorine resin, phenol resin, and the like can be used.

Next, a sectional configuration diagram of a color image forming apparatus as an example of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is shown. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 21 denotes a photosensitive drum serving as a latent image carrier, which is formed by applying an OPC photosensitive member (organic photosensitive member) on a drum base, and is grounded and driven to rotate clockwise in the drawing.
Reference numeral 22 denotes a scorotron charger, which is a charging means, and applies uniform charging of a high potential VH to the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 by corona discharge using a grid maintained at a grid potential VG and a corona discharge wire. Prior to the charging by the scorotron charger, the peripheral surface of the photoconductor is discharged by performing exposure by a PCL (pre-charging static eliminator) using a light emitting diode or the like in order to eliminate the history of the photoconductor up to the previous print. Good.

After the photosensitive drum 21 is uniformly charged, the exposure means 23 performs image exposure based on the image signal.
The exposure means 23 includes a rotating polygon mirror 131 and an fθ lens 13 using a laser diode (not shown) as a light source.
2. Reflection mirror 13 through cylindrical lens 133
The optical path is bent by 4 to perform main scanning.

Image exposure is performed in synchronization with the rotation (sub-scanning) of the photosensitive drum 21 to form a latent image. In this example, a character portion is exposed to form a reversal latent image such that the character portion has a lower potential VL.

At the periphery of the photosensitive drum 21, developing means 24Y each containing a two-component developer composed of a toner such as yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) and a carrier. , 24M, 24C, and 24K are provided.

The image forming process will be described. First, for example, yellow is developed as the first color. Usually, the developer is composed of a carrier having a ferrite core as a core and an insulating resin coated around the core, and a toner containing polyester as a main material and a pigment corresponding to a color, a charge control agent, silica, titanium oxide and the like. The developer is conveyed to the developing area while being regulated to a developer layer thickness of 100 to 600 μm on the developing sleeve by the layer forming means.

The gap between the developing sleeve and the photosensitive drum 21 in the developing zone is larger than the thickness of the developer layer.
As 0mm, D of the AC bias and V _DC of V _AC during this time
A C bias is superimposed and applied. V _DC and V _H, for charging the toner are the same polarity, the toner given the opportunity to leave from the carrier by V _AC is not adhere to a portion of the high V _H of potential than V _DC, potential than V _DC Adhered to the low V _L portion, and visualization (reversal development) is performed.

After the visualization of the first color is completed, the image forming process for the magenta of the second color is started, and uniform charging is again performed by the scorotron charger, and a latent image based on the image data of the second color is formed by the exposure means 23. Is done.

Again, a portion of the photoreceptor, which has a potential of VH over the entire peripheral surface of the photoreceptor drum 21 and has no image of the first color, forms a latent image similar to that of the first color and is developed. However, in the portion where the first color image is developed again, the latent image of VM ′ is formed by the light attached to the toner of the first color and the electric charge of the toner itself.
Development according to the potential difference between DC and VM 'is performed. This one
When the first color is developed by forming a VL latent image in the overlapping portion of the images of the first color and the second color, the balance between the first color and the second color is lost, so that the exposure amount of the first color is reduced and VH> V
There may be a case where the intermediate potential VM satisfies M> VL.

The same image forming process as that for the second color magenta is performed for the third color cyan and the fourth color black, and a visible image of four colors is formed on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21.

On the other hand, one sheet of recording material (recording paper or the like) P conveyed from the paper supply cassette via the half-moon roller is temporarily stopped near the pair of registration rollers (paper supply roller) via the pair of feed rollers and transferred. When the timing of (1) is adjusted, the sheet is fed to the transfer area by rotating the registration roller.

In the transfer area, a transfer means is pressed against the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 in synchronization with the transfer timing, and the fed recording material P is sandwiched to transfer the multicolor image at once. .

Next, the recording material P is neutralized by a separating means, separated from the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 and conveyed to a fixing device (fixing means) 40, where a heating roller (upper roller) 41 and a pressure roller (lower). After the toner is welded by heating and pressurizing of the roller (roller) 42, the toner is discharged to a discharge tray outside the apparatus via a discharge roller. The transfer unit is retracted from the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 after the recording material P has passed, and is ready for the formation of the next toner image.

On the other hand, the photosensitive drum 2 from which the recording material P has been separated
In the case of 1, after being subjected to static elimination by the static eliminator, the residual toner is removed and pressed by the pressure contact of the blade of the cleaning means 25, and is again subjected to static elimination by the PCL and electrification by the scorotron charger to enter the next image forming process. .
The blade moves immediately after the cleaning of the photoreceptor surface and retreats from the peripheral surface of the photoreceptor drum 21. The waste toner scraped into the cleaning means 25 by the blade is discharged by a screw and then stored in a waste toner collecting container (not shown).

As a preferred fixing method used in the present invention, a so-called contact heating method can be used. In particular, examples of the contact heating method include a heat and pressure fixing method, a heat roll fixing method, and a pressure contact heat fixing method in which fixing is performed by a rotating pressing member including a fixedly disposed heating element.

In the heat roller fixing system, a heat source is often provided inside a metal cylinder made of iron, aluminum or the like whose surface is coated with tetrafluoroethylene or polytetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkoxyvinyl ether copolymer or the like. It is formed of an upper roller and a lower roller made of silicone rubber or the like. A typical example of the heat source is one having a linear heater and heating the surface temperature of the upper roller to about 120 to 200 ° C. In the fixing section, pressure is applied between the upper roller and the lower roller to deform the lower roller and form a so-called nip. The nip width is 1 to 10 mm, preferably 1.
5-7 mm. The fixing linear velocity is 40 mm / sec to 60
0 mm / sec is preferable. When the nip is narrow, heat cannot be uniformly applied to the toner, causing uneven fixing. On the other hand, if the nip width is wide, the melting of the resin is promoted, and a problem occurs in that the fixing offset becomes excessive.

A fixing cleaning mechanism may be provided for use. As this method, a method in which a silicone oil is supplied to a roller or a film after fixing, or a method in which a silicone oil-impregnated pad, roller, web or the like is used for cleaning can be used.

The above-mentioned fixing device may be provided with a cleaning mechanism. As a cleaning method, a method of supplying various silicone oils to the fixing film or a method of cleaning with a pad, a roller, a web or the like impregnated with various silicone oils is used.

Incidentally, as the silicone oil, polydimethylsiloxane, polymethylphenylsiloxane, polydiphenylsiloxane and the like can be used. Further, a siloxane containing fluorine can also be suitably used.

[0101]

EXAMPLES Next, typical embodiments of the present invention will be described as examples, but of course, the present invention is not limited thereto.

(Latex Preparation Example 1) 7.08 g of an anionic activator (sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate: SDS) was previously placed in a 5000 ml separable flask equipped with a stirrer, a temperature sensor, a condenser, and a nitrogen introducing device.
Is dissolved in ion-exchanged water (2760 g). The internal temperature was raised to 80 ° C. while stirring at a stirring speed of 230 rpm under a nitrogen stream. On the other hand, Exemplified Compound 1
9) 72.0 g and 0.073 g of eugenol were mixed with 115.1 g of styrene, 42.0 g of n-butyl acrylate,
In addition to a monomer consisting of 10.9 g of methacrylic acid, 80
The mixture was heated to ℃ and dissolved to prepare a monomer solution. The heated solution was mixed and dispersed by a mechanical disperser having a circulation path to produce emulsified particles having a uniform dispersed particle diameter. Then, a polymerization initiator (potassium persulfate: KP
S) A solution obtained by dissolving 0.84 g in 200 g of ion-exchanged water was added, and the mixture was heated and stirred at 80 ° C. for 3 hours to produce latex particles. Subsequently, a polymerization initiator (K
(PS) 7.73 g was dissolved in 240 ml of ion-exchanged water, and 15 minutes later, styrene 383.
6 g, n-butyl acrylate 140.0 g, methacrylic acid 36.4 g, tert-dodecyl mercaptan 1
3.7 g of the mixture was added dropwise over 126 minutes. After completion of the dropwise addition, the mixture was heated and stirred for 60 minutes and then cooled to 40 ° C. to obtain latex particles.

This latex particle is designated as latex 1. (Latex Preparation Example 2)
15.0 g of n-octyl-3-mercaptopropionate was used in place of tert-dodecyl mercaptan.
Latex particles were obtained in the same manner except for the use. This is designated as latex 2.

(Latex Preparation Example 3) Latex particles were obtained in the same manner as in Latex Preparation Example 1, except that 0.073 g of benzaldehyde was used instead of eugenol. This is designated as Latex 3.

(Latex Preparation Example 4) Latex particles were obtained in the same manner as in Latex Preparation Example 2, except that 0.073 g of benzyl acetate was used instead of eugenol. This is designated as Latex 4.

(Latex Preparation Example 5) Latex particles were obtained in the same manner as in Latex Preparation Example 2, except that 0.150 g of benzyl benzoate was used instead of eugenol. This is designated as Latex 5.

(Preparation Example 6 of Latex) In Preparation Example 2 of latex, p-cymene was added to 0.1 g of p-cymene instead of eugenol.
Latex particles were obtained in the same manner except that 150 g was used. This is designated as latex 6.

(Latex Preparation Example 7) Latex particles were obtained in the same manner as in Latex Preparation Example 2, except that 0.073 g of benzaldehyde was used instead of eugenol. This is designated as latex 7.

(Latex Preparation Example 8) Latex particles were obtained in the same manner as in Latex Preparation Example 2, except that eugenol was not used. This is designated as latex 8.

(Production Example 1 of Colored Particles) 9.2 g of sodium n-dodecyl sulfate was dissolved in 160 ml of ion-exchanged water with stirring. 20 g of Regal 330R (carbon black: manufactured by Cabot Corporation) was gradually added to this liquid with stirring, and then dispersed using CLEARMIX. The particle diameter of the dispersion was measured using an electrophoretic light scattering photometer ELS-800 manufactured by Otsuka Electronics Co., Ltd., and as a result, it was 112 nm in weight average diameter. This dispersion is referred to as “colorant dispersion 1”.

1250 g of the above-mentioned “latex 1”, 2000 ml of ion-exchanged water and “colorant dispersion 1” were added to a temperature sensor, a cooling pipe, a nitrogen introducing device, and a stirring device.
Stir into a 4 liter four-necked flask. After the temperature was adjusted to 30 ° C., a 5 mol / liter aqueous sodium hydroxide solution was added to the solution to adjust the pH to 10.0. Then, an aqueous solution in which 52.6 g of magnesium chloride hexahydrate was dissolved in 72 ml of ion-exchanged water was stirred at 30 ° C. for 10 hours.
Minutes. Then, after leaving it to stand for 3 minutes, the temperature is started to rise and the temperature is raised to 90 ° C. in 6 minutes (heating rate =
10 ° C / min). In this state, the particle size was measured with a Coulter Counter TA-II, and when the volume average particle size reached 6.5 μm, 115 g of sodium chloride was replaced with 700 g of ion-exchanged water.
An aqueous solution dissolved in ml was added to stop the particle growth, and the mixture was further heated and stirred at a liquid temperature of 90 ° C. ± 2 ° C. for 6 hours to carry out salting out / fusion. Thereafter, the mixture was cooled to 30 ° C. at 6 ° C./min, hydrochloric acid was added to adjust the pH to 2.0, and stirring was stopped. The produced colored particles were filtered and then dried with warm air at 40 ° C. to obtain colored particles. The colored particles obtained as described above are referred to as “colored particles 1”.

(Colored Particle Production Examples 2 to 8) Colored particles were obtained in the same manner as in Colored Particle Production Example 1, except that “latex 2” to “latex 8” were used instead of “latex 1”. These are referred to as “colored particles 2” to “colored particles 8”.

(Colored Particle Production Example 9) Colored particles were obtained in the same manner as in Colored Particle Production Example 1, except that 0.100 g of eugenol was added to carbon black during the preparation of the colorant dispersion. This is referred to as “colored particles 9”.

(Production Example 10 of Colored Particles): Example of Suspension Polymerization In a four-necked flask equipped with a high-speed stirrer (TK homomixer), 710 parts by mass of ion-exchanged water and 0.1 mol / L of trisodium phosphate were added. Add 450 parts by mass of aqueous solution, and add
C. and 68 parts by mass of a 1.0 mol / l aqueous solution of calcium chloride was gradually added under stirring conditions at a rotation speed of 12000 rpm to prepare an aqueous dispersion medium containing a dispersion containing colloidal tricalcium phosphate. Subsequently, 30 parts by mass of Exemplified Compound 19) and 0.02 parts by mass of eugenol were added to a dispersion obtained by adding 14 parts by mass of carbon black (Legal 330R) to 165 parts by mass of styrene monomer and 35 parts by mass of n-butyl acrylate, and dispersing the mixture with a sand grinder. And dissolved at 80 ° C. Then tert-
A solution obtained by adding 2 parts by mass of dodecyl mercaptan and 10 parts by mass of 2,2′-azobis (2,4-dimethylvaleronitrile) as a polymerization initiator was gradually added to the aqueous dispersion medium under stirring conditions at a rotation speed of 12,000 rpm. In addition, a solution containing the monomer was dispersed in water. Then, using a reactor having a two-stage stirring blade, under a nitrogen stream, 65
The polymerization reaction was carried out for 10 hours at 200 ° C. and stirring at 200 rpm. At the end of the polymerization reaction, hydrochloric acid was added to remove tricalcium phosphate as a dispersion stabilizer, followed by filtration. Then, it was washed with ion-exchanged water and then dried with warm air at 40 ° C. to obtain colored particles. The colored particles obtained as described above are referred to as “colored particles 10”.

(Production Example 11 of Colored Particles) Production Example 1 of Colored Particles
0, colored particles were obtained in the same manner except that 0.02 parts by mass of cinnamaldehyde was used instead of eugenol, and 3 parts by mass of n-octyl-3-mercaptopropionate was used instead of t-dodecylmercaptan. . This is referred to as “colored particles 11”.

(Production Example 12 of Colored Particles) Production Example 1 of Colored Particles
At 0, colored particles were obtained in the same manner except that benzyl acetate was used instead of eugenol. This is referred to as “colored particles 12”.

(Production Example 13 of Colored Particles) Production Example 1 of Colored Particles
Colored particles were obtained in the same manner except that no eugenol was used at 0. This is referred to as “colored particles 13”.

[0118]

[Table 1]

The circularity was measured by using FPIA-2000, sample analysis volume: 0.3 μl, number of detected particles: 15
It was measured under the condition of 00 to 5000 pieces.

The colored particles 8 and 13 are comparative examples.

[0121]

[Table 2]

Next, the "colored particles 1" to "colored particles 1"
No. 3) is a hydrophobic silica (number average primary particle size: 12
nm, hydrophobicity: 68) and hydrophobic titanium oxide (number-average primary particle diameter: 20 nm, hydrophobicity: 63) were added by 1% by mass and mixed with a Henschel mixer to obtain a toner. These are referred to as “toner 1” to “toner 13”.

It should be noted that there is no difference between the colored particles and the toner in physical properties such as shape and particle size.

For the above-mentioned “Toner 1” to “Toner 13”, the amount of the added plant essential oil was measured using a head space gas chromatograph. For this measurement, a head space device manufactured by PerkinElmer was used (at 170 ° C.).
/ 10 min heat treatment conditions), a single ion mass type mass detector was mounted on a gas chromatograph manufactured by Hewlett-Packard Company, and the content was measured using a calibration curve from a mass spectrum derived from a main component of each essential oil. .

[0125]

[Table 3]

A ferrite carrier coated with a silicone resin and having a volume average particle diameter of 60 μm was mixed with each of the above toners to prepare a developer having a toner concentration of 6%. These are called “developer 1” to “developer 13” corresponding to the toner.
And

Using the developer prepared here, a digital copying machine Konica 7075 (manufactured by Konica) was used to change the configuration of the fixing device to the configuration shown below, and an actual printing evaluation was performed.

As a fixing method, a pressure fixing type heat fixing device as shown in FIG. 2 was used. The specific configuration is as follows.

The surface was treated with PFA (tetrafluoroethylene-
(Perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer) tube 12 (thickness: 120 μm) and an inner diameter of 40 mm
And a heating roller (upper roller) 41 having a columnar aluminum alloy substrate 11 having a thickness of 1.0 mm and a heater 13 built in the center and having a total width of 310 mm. = 48: thickness 2 mm) Thickness 2.0 of inner diameter 40 mm composed of 17
A pressure roller (lower roller) 42 having an iron cored base 16 mm in diameter is provided. The nip width was 5.8 mm.
Using this fixing device, the printing linear velocity was set to 480 mm / s.
ec.

As a cleaning mechanism for the fixing device, polydiphenyl silicone (having a viscosity of 10 Pa ·
s) was used.

The fixing temperature was controlled by the surface temperature of the upper roll, and was set to 175 ° C. The amount of silicone oil applied was 0.1 mg / A4.

[Characteristics Evaluation] To evaluate the fixing property, an A4 halftone image (image having a relative reflection density of 1.0 when the image density is “0” of the paper density) was printed, and the fixing rate was evaluated. It was measured. Fixing rate is defined as a fixed image wound with a “clothed cloth”
The image density change before and after rubbing with a weight of kg was calculated as a percentage.

Fixing rate (%) = ｛(image density after rubbing) /
(Image density before rubbing) Δ × 100 The surface temperature of the heating roller was 175 ° C. as a center value.

A pixel rate of 15% was obtained at a set temperature of 175 ° C. in a closed room having a floor of 5 m × 5 m and a height of 2 m.
Was continuously printed on 1,000 sheets, and the presence or absence of odor was evaluated by sensory evaluation. As for the presence or absence of odor, 10 evaluators were used to evaluate the number of persons who felt an unpleasant odor.

[0135]

[Table 4]

It can be seen that Examples 1 to 11 of the present invention have no problem with any of the characteristics, whereas Comparative Examples 1 and 2 have a problem with at least one of the characteristics.

[0137]

According to the present invention, in a toner for developing an electrostatic latent image produced by a so-called polymerization method, the generation of odor during heat fixing is suppressed, the odor problem does not occur, and the fixability is excellent. Further, it is possible to provide a toner having a small particle diameter, a method for producing the same, and an image forming method using the same.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram of a color image forming apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a heat fixing device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 Heater 41 Heating roller (upper roller) 42 Pressure roller (lower roller) 21 Photoconductor drum (latent image carrier) 22 Charging means 23 Exposure means 24, 24Y, 24M, 24C, 24K Developing means 25 Cleaning means P Recording material (Recording paper)

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Meisho Shirase 2970 Ishikawacho, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo Konica Corporation K-term F-term (reference) 2H005 AA01 AB06 CA02 CA30 EA05

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A method for producing a toner comprising a step of subjecting a radical polymerizable monomer composition containing a colorant and a chain transfer agent to suspension polymerization in at least an aqueous medium, followed by filtration and washing. A method for producing a toner, comprising adding a plant essential oil selected from eugenol, cinnamaldehyde, p-cymene, benzaldehyde, benzyl acetate and benzyl benzoate to a body composition. 2. A resin particle obtained by subjecting a radical polymerizable monomer composition containing at least a chain transfer agent to emulsion polymerization or miniemulsion polymerization using a water-soluble polymerization initiator in an aqueous medium. In a method for producing a toner having a step of fusing and then filtering and washing,
Eugenol, cinnamaldehyde,
A method for producing a toner, comprising a plant essential oil selected from p-cymene, benzaldehyde, benzyl acetate and benzyl benzoate. 3. A resin composition obtained by subjecting a radical polymerizable monomer composition having at least a chain transfer agent to emulsion polymerization or miniemulsion polymerization using a water-soluble polymerization initiator in an aqueous medium, and at least a colorant. A toner composition comprising the steps of: fusing the toner composition with a toner composition containing the composition in an aqueous medium, and then filtering and washing the toner composition. A method for producing a toner, comprising a vegetable essential oil selected from benzyl benzoate. 4. A toner obtained by subjecting a radically polymerizable monomer composition containing a colorant and a chain transfer agent to suspension polymerization in at least an aqueous medium, followed by filtration and washing. Contains a plant essential oil selected from eugenol, cinnamaldehyde, p-cymene, benzaldehyde, benzyl acetate and benzyl benzoate. 5. A resin composition obtained by subjecting a radical polymerizable monomer composition having at least a chain transfer agent to emulsion polymerization or miniemulsion polymerization using a water-soluble polymerization initiator in an aqueous medium. Fused, then filtered,
A toner obtained by washing, wherein the monomer composition contains a plant essential oil selected from eugenol, cinnamaldehyde, p-cymene, benzaldehyde, benzyl acetate and benzyl benzoate. 6. A resin composition obtained by subjecting a radically polymerizable monomer composition having at least a chain transfer agent to emulsion polymerization or miniemulsion polymerization using a water-soluble polymerization initiator in an aqueous medium and a colorant or the like. The toner obtained by fusing the composition for toner with an aqueous medium, followed by filtration and washing, contains eugenol, cinnamaldehyde, p-cymene, benzaldehyde, benzyl acetate and benzyl benzoate in the toner composition. A toner comprising a vegetable essential oil selected from the group consisting of: 7. An image forming method for thermally fixing a toner image on an image support formed by using the toner according to claim 4, wherein the volume average particle diameter of the toner is 3 to 8 μm.
m.