JP2009258233A - Toner for electrophotography - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide toner for electrophotography, having excellent low temperature fixability and heat and storage stability, and to provide a manufacturing method therefor. <P>SOLUTION: This toner for electrophotography includes binder resin and aromatic amide compound. The binder resin includes crystalline polyester and amorphous polyester. The aromatic amide compound is expressed by formula (I):R<SP>1</SP>-CONH-X-NHCO-R<SP>2</SP>(wherein R<SP>1</SP>and R<SP>2</SP>are the same or different, 5-12C cyclo alkyl group, and X is a group expressed by formula (Ia) or formula (Ib)). This method of manufacturing toner for electrophotography includes a step of melting and kneading binder resin and aromatic amide compound and a step of pulverizing kneaded material. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrophotographic toner used for developing a latent image formed in an electrophotographic method, an electrostatic recording method, an electrostatic printing method, and the like, and a method for producing the same.

As an attempt for low-temperature fixability, which is mentioned as a main characteristic required for the toner, a toner containing a crystalline polyester and an amorphous polyester has been studied. From the viewpoint of further improving the storage stability, a fatty acid amide compound is used. The toner to contain is reported (refer patent documents 1-3).
JP 2006-113473 A JP 2007-65620 A JP 2007-328043 A

  However, further improvements in low-temperature fixability are required with the current increase in speed. Further, since it is used in various environments due to the spread of electrophotographic technology, there is a demand for a toner having stable heat storage stability (heat storage stability) even in a severe environment.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an electrophotographic toner containing a crystalline polyester and an amorphous polyester, which is excellent in low-temperature fixability and heat-resistant storage stability, and a method for producing the same. is there.

The present invention
[1] An electrophotographic toner comprising a binder resin and an aromatic amide compound, wherein the binder resin comprises a crystalline polyester and an amorphous polyester, and the aromatic amide compound comprises: Formula (I):
^{R 1 -CONH-X-NHCO-} R 2 (I)
Wherein R ¹ and R ² are the same or different and are a cycloalkyl group having 5 to 12 carbon atoms, and X is a formula (Ia):

Or formula (Ib):

Is a group represented by
An electrophotographic toner, which is a compound represented by:
[2] The method for producing an electrophotographic toner according to [2], comprising a step of melt-kneading a toner raw material containing a binder resin and an aromatic amide compound, and a step of pulverizing the obtained kneaded product.
[3] The present invention relates to an electrophotographic toner obtained by the production method described in [3].

  The toner for electrophotography of the present invention contains a crystalline polyester and an amorphous polyester, and has the effect of being excellent in low-temperature fixability and heat-resistant storage stability.

The electrophotographic toner of the present invention contains a crystalline polyester and an amorphous polyester as a binder resin, and further contains a formula (I):
^{R 1 -CONH-X-NHCO-} R 2 (I)
Wherein R ¹ and R ² are the same or different and are a cycloalkyl group having 5 to 12 carbon atoms, and X is a formula (Ia):

Or formula (Ib):

Is a group represented by
The aromatic amide compound represented by these is contained. The aromatic amide compound represented by the formula (I) has one or more aromatic rings between two amide bonds. The specific aromatic amide compound, crystalline polyester and amorphous polyester, By this interaction, it is presumed that the aromatic ring and the crystalline polyester structure are regularly arranged (causes stacking), and the crystallization of the crystalline polyester is likely to occur.

  Specific examples of the compound represented by the formula (I) include N, N′-dicyclohexyl-2,6-naphthalenedicarboxamide, N, N′-dicyclooctyl-2,6-naphthalenedicarboxamide, N, N Examples include '-dicyclododecyl-2,6-naphthalenedicarboxamide, N, N'-dicyclohexyl-4,4'-biphenyldicarboxamide, and the like.

  The content of the aromatic amide compound represented by the formula (I) is preferably 0.2 to 10 parts by weight and more preferably 0.5 to 5 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the binder resin from the viewpoint of heat-resistant storage stability. 1.0 to 3.0 parts by weight are more preferable.

  The toner of the present invention contains a crystalline polyester and an amorphous polyester as a binder resin.

  The crystallinity of the resin is expressed by the ratio between the softening point and the maximum endothermic peak temperature in the differential scanning calorimeter, that is, [softening point / maximum endothermic peak temperature]. When it is less than 0.6, the crystallinity is low and there are many amorphous parts. The crystallinity of the resin can be adjusted by the type and ratio of the raw material monomers, production conditions (for example, reaction temperature, reaction time, cooling rate) and the like. In the present invention, “crystalline polyester” refers to a polyester having a [softening point / maximum endothermic peak temperature] of 0.6 to 1.5, preferably 0.8 to 1.2, and “amorphous polyester” refers to a “softening point”. / Maximum endothermic peak temperature] refers to polyesters greater than 1.5 or less than 0.6, preferably greater than 1.5. The highest endothermic peak temperature refers to the temperature of the peak on the highest temperature side among the observed endothermic peaks. If the maximum peak temperature is within 20 ° C. from the softening point, the melting point is set, and the peak having a difference from the softening point exceeding 20 ° C. is a peak due to glass transition.

  The crystalline polyester in the present invention is preferably a polyester obtained by condensation polymerization of an alcohol component containing an α, ω-linear alkanediol and a carboxylic acid component containing an aliphatic dicarboxylic acid compound.

  Examples of the α, ω-linear alkanediol include ethylene glycol, 1,3-propylene glycol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,5-pentanediol, 1,6-hexanediol, and the like, which increases crystallinity. From the viewpoint, a diol having 2 to 8 carbon atoms is preferable, and 1,4-butanediol and 1,6-hexanediol are more preferable.

  The content of α, ω-linear alkanediol is preferably 90 to 100 mol%, more preferably 95 to 100 mol%, in the alcohol component, from the viewpoint of enhancing crystallinity.

  Aliphatic dicarboxylic acid compounds include oxalic acid, malonic acid, maleic acid, fumaric acid, citraconic acid, itaconic acid, glutaconic acid, succinic acid, adipic acid, sebacic acid, azelaic acid, n-dodecyl succinic acid, n-dodecenyl succinic acid. Examples thereof include aliphatic dicarboxylic acids such as acids, anhydrides of these acids, alkyl (C1-3) esters, etc. Among these, dicarboxylic acid compounds having 2 to 8 carbons are preferable, and fumaric acid is more preferable. preferable. As described above, the aliphatic dicarboxylic compound refers to an aliphatic dicarboxylic acid, its anhydride, and its alkyl (C1-3) ester. Among these, an aliphatic dicarboxylic acid is preferable.

  The content of the aliphatic dicarboxylic acid compound is preferably 90 to 100 mol%, more preferably 95 to 100 mol% in the carboxylic acid component, from the viewpoint of enhancing crystallinity.

  The molar ratio of the aliphatic dicarboxylic acid compound to the α, ω-linear alkanediol in the crystalline polyester (aliphatic dicarboxylic acid compound / α, ω-linear alkanediol) is further determined from the viewpoint of production stability. When the amount of ω-linear alkanediol is large, it is preferably 0.9 or more and 1.0 or less, more preferably 0.95 or more and 1.0 or less, from the viewpoint that the molecular weight of the resin can be easily adjusted by evaporation during a vacuum reaction.

  Crystalline polyester is obtained by condensation polymerization of an alcohol component and a carboxylic acid component at a temperature of 120 to 230 ° C. in an inert gas atmosphere, if necessary, using an esterification catalyst, a polymerization inhibitor, etc. can get. Specifically, all monomers are charged at once to increase the strength of the resin, or a divalent monomer is first reacted to reduce low molecular weight components, and then a trivalent or higher monomer. A method of adding and reacting may be used. Further, the reaction may be accelerated by reducing the pressure of the reaction system in the latter half of the polymerization. In order to obtain polyester with high crystallinity, it is preferable to increase the molecular weight, and it is more preferable to carry out the reaction until the viscosity of the reaction solution becomes high. In order to obtain a high molecular weight polyester having a high molecular weight, as described above, the molar ratio of the aliphatic dicarboxylic acid compound and the α, ω-linear alkanediol is adjusted, the reaction temperature is increased, and the amount of catalyst is increased. Reaction conditions such as a dehydration reaction for a long time under reduced pressure may be selected. A high-power motor can be used to produce a high-molecular-weight polyester having a high molecular weight. However, when the production equipment is not particularly selected, the raw material monomer is a non-reactive low-viscosity resin. A method of reacting with a solvent is also an effective means.

  The number average molecular weight of the crystalline polyester is preferably 2000 to 4000, more preferably 2200 to 3500, and further preferably 2300 to 3000, from the viewpoint of heat-resistant storage stability and productivity of the toner.

  The highest endothermic peak temperature of the crystalline polyester by differential scanning calorimetry is preferably 110 to 140 ° C., more preferably 110 to 130 ° C., more preferably 110 to 130 ° C., from the viewpoint of low-temperature fixability, heat-resistant storage stability and durability of the toner. 120 ° C. is more preferable.

  The softening point of the crystalline polyester is preferably from 70 to 140 ° C, more preferably from 90 to 130 ° C, and even more preferably from 90 to 120 ° C, from the viewpoint of low-temperature fixability of the toner. Examples of the method of adjusting the softening point include a method of adjusting the molar ratio of the aliphatic dicarboxylic acid compound and the α, ω-linear alkanediol, a reaction temperature, an amount of the catalyst, and a dehydration reaction for a long time under reduced pressure. The method of changing the reaction conditions of esterification is mentioned. Specifically, the number average molecular weight can be increased by increasing the proportion of the aliphatic dicarboxylic acid compound, increasing the reaction temperature, increasing the amount of catalyst, extending the dehydration reaction time, or the like. Further, if the above description is reversed, there is a tendency to become smaller. Further, as described above, in order to adjust the ratio between the softening point and the maximum endothermic peak temperature, the molar ratio of the aliphatic dicarboxylic acid compound and the α, ω-linear alkanediol is adjusted, the reaction temperature is increased, the amount of catalyst It can be achieved by adjusting the reaction conditions such as increasing the pressure, dehydrating reaction under reduced pressure for a long time.

  The amorphous polyester in the present invention is represented by the formula (II) from the viewpoint of polyester amorphization and toner chargeability and durability:

(Wherein R ³ O and OR ³ are oxyalkylene groups, R ³ is an ethylene and / or propylene group, x and y indicate the number of moles of alkylene oxide added, each being a positive number, The average value of the sum of y and y is preferably 1 to 16, more preferably 1 to 8, and even more preferably 1.5 to 4)
A polyester obtained by polycondensation of an alcohol component containing a bisphenol A alkylene oxide adduct represented by the following formula and a carboxylic acid component is preferred.

  The content of the alkylene oxide adduct of bisphenol A is preferably 50 mol% or more, more preferably 70 mol% or more, and still more preferably 90 mol% or more in the alcohol component.

  Dicarboxylic acid compounds contained in the carboxylic acid component include fumaric acid, adipic acid, oxalic acid, malonic acid, maleic acid, fumaric acid, citraconic acid, itaconic acid, glutaconic acid, succinic acid, sebacic acid, azelaic acid, n- Aliphatic dicarboxylic acids having 2 to 30 carbon atoms, preferably 2 to 8 carbon atoms such as dodecyl succinic acid and n-dodecenyl succinic acid; Aromatic dicarboxylic acids such as phthalic acid, isophthalic acid and terephthalic acid; Dicarboxylic acids; anhydrides of these acids; and alkyl (C1-3) esters of acids. Among these, from the viewpoint of low-temperature fixability of the toner, an aliphatic dicarboxylic acid compound is preferable, and fumaric acid is more preferable.

  The content of the aliphatic dicarboxylic acid compound is preferably 40 to 90 mol% and more preferably 50 to 85 mol% in the carboxylic acid component from the viewpoint of low-temperature fixability of the toner.

  In addition, trivalent or higher polyvalent carboxylic acid compounds include trimellitic or higher polyvalent carboxylic acids such as trimellitic acid and pyromellitic acid, anhydrides of these acids, and alkyl alkyls (1 to 3 carbon atoms). Examples include esters.

  From the viewpoint of hot offset resistance of the toner, the content of the trivalent or higher polyvalent carboxylic acid compound is preferably 10 to 50 mol%, more preferably 15 to 30 mol%, in the carboxylic acid component.

  A monovalent alcohol may be appropriately contained in the alcohol component, and a monovalent carboxylic acid compound may be appropriately contained in the carboxylic acid component for molecular weight adjustment or the like.

  The condensation polymerization of the alcohol component and the carboxylic acid component in the amorphous polyester can be performed, for example, in an inert gas atmosphere at a temperature of 180 to 250 ° C., but the effect of the present invention is more remarkably exhibited. It is preferable to carry out in the presence of an esterification catalyst such as dibutyltin oxide.

  The amount of the esterification catalyst present in the reaction system is preferably 0.05 to 1 part by weight, more preferably 0.1 to 0.8 part by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the total amount of the alcohol component and the carboxylic acid component.

  The softening point of the amorphous polyester is preferably from 100 to 170 ° C., more preferably from 120 to 150 ° C., from the viewpoints of low-temperature fixability and hot offset resistance of the toner.

  The glass transition point of the amorphous polyester is preferably 40 to 70 ° C, more preferably 50 to 70 ° C, from the viewpoints of low-temperature fixability and durability of the toner. The acid value is preferably 5 to 60 mgKOH / g, more preferably 10 to 30 mgKOH / g.

  The number average molecular weight of the amorphous polyester is preferably 2000 to 4000, more preferably 2300 to 3500, from the viewpoint of hot offset resistance of the toner.

  In the present invention, the polyester may be a polyester modified to such an extent that the characteristics are not substantially impaired. Examples of the modified polyester include grafting and blocking with phenol, urethane, epoxy and the like by the methods described in JP-A-11-133668, JP-A-10-239903, JP-A-8-20636, and the like. And a composite resin having two or more kinds of resin units including a polyester unit.

  In the present invention, the binder resin contains a crystalline polyester and an amorphous polyester as main components, but the content of the crystalline polyester is 5% in the binder resin from the viewpoint of low-temperature fixability and durability of the toner. -40% by weight is preferred, 5-35% by weight is more preferred, and 15-30% by weight is even more preferred.

  The content of the amorphous polyester is preferably 60 to 99% by weight, more preferably 65 to 95% by weight, and more preferably 70 to 85% by weight in the binder resin from the viewpoint of low-temperature fixability and durability of the toner. .

  The weight ratio of crystalline polyester to amorphous polyester (crystalline polyester / amorphous polyester) is preferably 5/95 to 40/60, from the viewpoint of low-temperature fixability and durability of the toner, and 15/85 to 30 / 70 is more preferable.

  In the binder resin in the present invention, in addition to the crystalline polyester and the amorphous polyester, other binder resins may be appropriately contained as long as the effects of the present invention are not impaired. Examples of other binder resins include binder resins other than polyesters such as vinyl resins, epoxy resins, polycarbonates, and polyurethanes. The total content of the crystalline polyester and the amorphous polyester is not particularly limited, but is preferably 95% by weight or more and more preferably 99% by weight or more in the binder resin from the viewpoint of low-temperature fixability of the toner.

  The softening point of the binder resin is preferably from 80 to 170 ° C, more preferably from 100 to 160 ° C, from the viewpoint of low-temperature fixability and storage stability of the toner. In the present invention, the softening point of the binder resin is a weighted average value obtained by multiplying the physical properties of the resin constituting the binder resin by the resin content.

  Further, as a toner raw material other than the binder resin in the present invention, a colorant, a release agent, a charge control agent, a magnetic powder, a conductivity adjusting agent, an extender pigment, a reinforcing filler such as a fibrous substance, an antioxidant, an aging Additives such as an inhibitor, a fluidity improver, and a cleanability improver may be used as appropriate.

  As the colorant, all of dyes and pigments used as toner colorants can be used, such as carbon black, phthalocyanine blue, permanent brown FG, brilliant first scarlet, pigment green B, rhodamine-B base, Solvent Red 49, Solvent Red 146, Solvent Blue 35, Quinacridone, Carmine 6B, Isoindoline, Disazo Yellow and the like can be used alone or in combination of two or more. Any of black toner, color toner, and full color toner may be used. The content of the colorant is preferably 1 to 40 parts by weight and more preferably 3 to 10 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the binder resin.

  As release agents, natural waxes such as polypropylene wax, polyethylene wax, synthetic wax such as Fischer Tropu, coal wax such as montan wax, petroleum wax such as paraffin wax, wax such as alcohol wax, carnauba wax and rice wax An ester wax may be mentioned, and these waxes may be used alone or in admixture of two or more. The content of the release agent is preferably 1 to 20 parts by weight and more preferably 2 to 10 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the binder resin from the viewpoint of toner fixing properties.

  The charge control agent may be either a positively chargeable charge control agent or a negatively chargeable charge control agent, and these may be used in combination. Examples of the positively chargeable charge control agent include digrosine dyes, triphenylmethane dyes containing tertiary amines as side chains, quaternary ammonium salt compounds, polyamine resins, and imidazole derivatives. Examples of the negatively chargeable charge control agent include metal-containing azo dyes, copper phthalocyanine dyes, metal complexes of alkyl derivatives of salicylic acid, and boron complexes of benzyl acid. The content of the charge control agent is preferably 0.1 to 5.0 parts by weight and more preferably 0.2 to 4.0 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the binder resin from the viewpoint of toner chargeability.

  The toner of the present invention may be a toner obtained by any conventionally known method such as a melt-kneading method, an emulsion phase inversion method, or a polymerization method, but from the viewpoint of productivity and dispersibility of the colorant, Pulverized toner by a kneading method is preferred.

  Therefore, the toner of the present invention is preferably produced by a method including a step of melt kneading a toner raw material containing a binder resin and an aromatic amide compound and a step of pulverizing the obtained kneaded product.

  The kneading of the toner material can be performed using a known kneader such as a closed kneader, a single or biaxial extruder, a continuous open roll kneader.

  The toner raw material is preferably mixed in advance using a Henschel mixer, a super mixer, or the like in advance, and then supplied to a kneader.

  In the present invention, from the viewpoint of heat-resistant storage stability of the toner, the melt-kneading step includes at least a first kneading step of melt-kneading a toner raw material containing an amorphous polyester and an aromatic amide compound, and the step. It is preferable to carry out in two stages of a second kneading step in which a toner raw material containing the obtained kneaded product and crystalline polyester is melt-kneaded. By pre-melting and kneading the aromatic amide compound with the amorphous polyester, the dispersibility of the aromatic amide compound in the amorphous polyester can be improved, and the effect of adding the aromatic amide compound can be promoted. The kneader mentioned above can be used in the first kneading step and the second kneading step.

  Additives such as colorants and charge control agents may be blended in any of the first kneading step and the second kneading step, and further the third kneading step of blending these additives after the second kneading step. However, it is preferable to blend in the second kneading step from the viewpoint of production efficiency.

  After melt-kneading, the obtained kneaded material is cooled until reaching a pulverizable hardness, and is subjected to a pulverization step.

  The pulverization process may be performed in multiple stages. For example, the kneaded product may be coarsely pulverized to about 1 to 5 mm, and then finely pulverized to a desired particle size.

  The pulverizer used in the pulverization step is not particularly limited. For example, as a pulverizer suitably used for coarse pulverization, an atomizer, a rotoplex, etc., as a pulverizer suitably used for fine pulverization, a jet mill, a collision Examples thereof include a plate mill and a rotary machine mill.

  After the pulverization step, it is preferable to adjust the particle size of the toner by appropriately performing a classification step, a sieving step, and the like.

  Examples of the classifier used in the classification process include an air classifier, an inertia classifier, and a sieve classifier. In the classification step, the pulverized product that has been removed due to insufficient pulverization may be subjected to the pulverization step again.

  Although the toner is obtained by the above steps, inorganic fine particles such as hydrophobic silica and resin fine particles may be externally added to the obtained toner surface.

The volume median particle size (D ₅₀ ) of the toner of the present invention is preferably 2 to 15 μm, more preferably 3 to 10 μm, and even more preferably 3 to 9 μm. In the present specification, the volume-median particle size (D ₅₀ ) means a particle size at which the cumulative volume frequency calculated by the volume fraction is 50% when calculated from the smaller particle size.

  The toner obtained by the present invention can be used for both a one-component developing toner and a two-component developing toner used by mixing with a carrier, but as a one-component developing toner that requires more heat resistance. More preferably used.

[Softening point of resin]
Using a flow tester (Shimadzu Corporation, CFT-500D), a 1 g sample is heated at a heating rate of 6 ° C / min. While applying a load of 1.96 MPa with a plunger and extruded from a nozzle with a diameter of 1 mm and a length of 1 mm. . Plot the plunger drop amount of the flow tester against the temperature, and let the softening point be the temperature at which half of the sample flows out.

[Maximum peak temperature of resin endotherm]
Using a differential scanning calorimeter (Seiko Denshi Kogyo Co., Ltd., DSC210), the sample cooled from room temperature to 0 ° C at a temperature drop rate of 10 ° C / min is allowed to stand still for 1 minute, and then measured at a temperature rise rate of 10 ° C / min. . Among the observed endothermic peaks, the temperature of the peak on the highest temperature side is defined as the highest endothermic peak temperature. If the maximum peak temperature is within 20 ° C. from the softening point, the melting point is set, and the peak having a difference from the softening point exceeding 20 ° C. is a peak due to glass transition.

[Glass transition point of resin]
Using a differential scanning calorimeter (Seiko Denshi Kogyo Co., Ltd., DSC210), the sample was heated to 200 ° C at a heating rate of 10 ° C / min and cooled to -10 ° C at a cooling rate of 100 ° C / min for 3 minutes. Thereafter, the temperature is raised to 25 ° C. at a temperature rising rate of 60 ° C./min, held for 2 minutes, and measurement is started at a temperature rising rate of 10 ° C./min. The glass transition point is defined as the temperature at the intersection of the base line extension below the glass transition point and the tangent that indicates the maximum slope from the peak rising portion to the peak apex.

[Resin acid value]
Measured by the method of JIS K0070. However, only the measurement solvent was changed from the mixed solvent of ethanol and ether specified in JIS K0070 to the mixed solvent of acetone and toluene (acetone: toluene = 1: 1 (volume ratio)).

[Number average molecular weight of resin]
The number average molecular weight is obtained from a chart showing the molecular weight distribution by gel permeation chromatography obtained by the following method.
(1) Preparation of sample solution Amorphous polyester is dissolved in tetrahydrofuran and crystalline polyester is dissolved in chloroform so that the concentration is 0.5 g / 100 mL. Next, this solution is filtered using a fluororesin filter (FP-200, manufactured by Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.) having a pore size of 2 μm to remove insoluble components, thereby obtaining a sample solution.
(2) Molecular weight distribution measurement Using the following measuring apparatus and analytical column, tetrahydrofuran was flown at a flow rate of 1 mL / min for measurement of amorphous polyester as a solution, and chloroform was measured at a flow rate of 1 mL / min for measurement of crystalline polyester. Stabilize the column in a thermostat. Measurement is performed by injecting 100 μL of the sample solution. The molecular weight of the sample is calculated based on a calibration curve prepared in advance. In this calibration curve, there are several types of monodisperse polystyrene (2.63 × 10 ³ , 2.06 × 10 ⁴ , 1.02 × 10 ⁵ , manufactured by Tosoh Corporation, 2.10 × 10 ³ , 7.00 × 10 ³ , 5.04 × manufactured by GL Sciences, Inc. Use 10 ⁴ ) prepared as a standard sample.
Measuring device: CO-8010 (manufactured by Tosoh Corporation)
Analytical column: GMHXL + G3000HXL (manufactured by Tosoh Corporation)

[Volume-median particle size of toner (D ₅₀ )]
In this specification, the volume-median particle size (D ₅₀ ) of the toner means the particle size of the toner in which the cumulative volume frequency calculated by the volume fraction is 50% calculated from the smaller particle size.
Measuring instrument: Coulter Multisizer II (Beckman Coulter, Inc.)
Aperture diameter: 50μm
Analysis software: Coulter Multisizer AccuComp version 1.19 (Beckman Coulter)
Electrolyte: Isoton II (Beckman Coulter)
Dispersion: Emulgen 109P (manufactured by Kao Corporation, polyoxyethylene lauryl ether, HLB: 13.6) 5% by weight Electrolyte dispersion condition: 10 mg of measurement sample was added to 5 mL of dispersion, and dispersed for 1 minute with an ultrasonic disperser. Thereafter, 25 mL of an electrolytic solution is added, and further dispersed with an ultrasonic disperser for 1 minute.
Measurement conditions: The dispersion is added to 100 mL of the electrolytic solution so that the particle size of 30,000 toner particles can be measured in 20 seconds, and 30,000 particles are measured. Determine the median particle size (D ₅₀ ).

Production Example 1 of Crystalline Polyester
The alcohol component and carboxylic acid component shown in Table 1, 4 g of dibutyltin oxide and 1 g of tertiary butyl catechol were placed in a 5-liter four-necked flask equipped with a nitrogen introduction tube, a dehydration tube, a stirrer and a thermocouple. The mixture was reacted at 5 ° C. for 5 hours, then heated to 200 ° C. and reacted for 1 hour, and further reacted at 8.3 kPa until the desired softening point was reached, to obtain a resin a.

Production Example 1 of Amorphous Polyester
Raw material monomers other than trimellitic anhydride shown in Table 1 and 4 g of dibutyltin oxide are placed in a 5-liter four-necked flask equipped with a nitrogen inlet tube, a dehydrating tube, a stirrer, and a thermocouple. After the reaction, the reaction was carried out at 8.3 kPa for 1 hour, and trimellitic anhydride was further added at 210 ° C. until the desired softening point was reached, whereby Resin A was obtained.

Examples 1-5 and Comparative Examples 1-4
100 parts by weight of binder resin (resin a and resin A) shown in Table 2 and Compound X, 5.0 parts by weight of carbon black “Mogul L” (Cabot), charge control agent “T-77” (Hodogaya Chemical Co., Ltd.) 1.0 parts by weight) and 2.0 parts by weight of Carnauba Wax No. 1 (manufactured by Kato Yoko Co., Ltd.) are thoroughly mixed in a Henschel mixer, and then the kneaded part has a total length of 1560 mm, a screw diameter of 42 mm, and a barrel inner diameter of 43 mm. Melt kneading was performed using an extruder. The barrel set temperature was 90 ° C. (kneading temperature 120 to 140 ° C.), the screw rotation speed was 200 rotations / minute, the mixture supply speed was 10 kg / hour, and the average residence time was about 18 seconds.

The obtained melt-kneaded product was cooled and coarsely pulverized, and then pulverized and classified by a jet mill to obtain a powder having a volume average particle diameter (D ₅₀ ) of 8.0 μm.

  To the obtained powder, 0.65 parts by weight of hydrophobic silica “TS-530” (manufactured by Cabot) was added as an external additive, and mixed with a Henschel mixer to obtain a toner.

Example 6
Resin A and aromatic amide compound A were previously melt-kneaded using a co-rotating twin-screw extruder, then mixed with other toner raw materials such as resin a and carbon black, and subjected to melt-kneading. A toner was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1. The melt kneading conditions of the resin A and the aromatic amide compound A were the same as the toner raw material conditions.

Compound X used in Examples and Comparative Examples is as follows.
Aromatic amide compound A: N, N'-dicyclohexyl-2,6-naphthalenedicarboxamide: NJester NU-100 (manufactured by Shin Nippon Rika Co., Ltd.)
Aromatic amide compound B: N, N′-dicyclohexyl-4,4′-biphenyldicarboxamide aromatic amide compound C: Formula (III):

Amide compound represented by: T-1287N (made by ADEKA)
Aliphatic amide compound: Ethylene bis stearamide: Kao WAX EB (manufactured by Kao Corporation)
Quinacridone compounds: Hostaperm red violet ERO2 (manufactured by Clariant Japan)
Montanic acid compound: ET132 (manufactured by Clariant Japan)

Test Example 1 [low temperature fixability]
After mounting the toner on the non-magnetic one-component development type image forming device MICROLINE 3050 (Oki Data) and adjusting the bias applied to the developing roll so that the toner amount is 0.6 mg / cm ² , before fixing At this stage, the image was taken out to obtain an unfixed image. Furthermore, using an external fixing machine that is a modification of the fixing machine for the non-contact fixing type image forming device "Vario stream 9000" (manufactured by Océ Printing Systems), the temperature on the paper is changed from 90 ° C at a linear speed of 1000 mm / sec. A fixed image was obtained by gradually increasing the temperature to 150 ° C. by 10 ° C.

"UNICEF Cellophane" (Mitsubishi Pencil Co., Ltd., width: 18mm, JISZ-1522) is pasted on the image fixed at each temperature, pressure is applied to the tape with a roller so that a load of 500g is applied, and then the tape is peeled off. The image density after peeling was measured. The temperature on the paper where the fixing rate (image density after tape peeling / image density before tape application × 100) first exceeded 90% was defined as the minimum fixing temperature. The paper used for the fixing test is a cardboard “CopyBond SF-70NA” (75 g / m ² ) manufactured by Sharp Corporation. The lower the minimum fixing temperature, the better the low-temperature fixing property. The results are shown in Table 2.

Test Example 2 [Heat-resistant storage stability]
4 g of toner was placed in a 20 mL polybin and left in an environment of 55 ° C. and 80% humidity for 48 hours. After being allowed to stand, the degree of aggregation was measured with a powder tester (manufactured by Hosokawa Micron) to evaluate the heat resistant storage stability. The lower the degree of aggregation, the better the heat resistant storage stability. The results are shown in Table 2.

[Method of measuring degree of aggregation]
Set 3 different sieve openings (250μm, 149μm, 74μm) in the order of 250μm, middle stage 149μm, lower stage 74μm on the powder tester's shaking table, and put 4g of toner on the upper stage, 1mm vibration Vibrate for 60 seconds in width and measure the weight (g) of toner remaining on each sieve.

The measured toner weight (g) is calculated by applying to the following formula to determine the degree of aggregation (% by weight).
Aggregation degree (% by weight) = a + b + c
a = (weight of toner remaining on upper screen) / 4 × 100
b = (weight of toner remaining on middle screen) / 4 × 100 × (3/5)
c = (weight of toner remaining on lower sieve) / 4 × 100 × (1/5)

  From the above results, it can be seen that Examples 1 to 6 are superior to Comparative Examples 1 to 4 in both low temperature fixability and heat resistant storage stability under high temperature and high humidity.

  The toner for electrophotography of the present invention is suitably used for developing a latent image formed in electrophotography, electrostatic recording method, electrostatic printing method and the like.

Claims (6)

An electrophotographic toner comprising a binder resin and an aromatic amide compound, wherein the binder resin comprises a crystalline polyester and an amorphous polyester, and the aromatic amide compound is represented by the formula (I ):
^{R 1 -CONH-X-NHCO-} R 2 (I)
(In the formula, R ¹ and R ² are the same or different, and the cycloalkyl group having 5 to 12 carbon atoms, X is the formula (Ia):

Or formula (Ib):

Is a group represented by
An electrophotographic toner, which is a compound represented by:   The toner for electrophotography according to claim 1, wherein the content of the aromatic amide compound is 0.2 to 10 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the binder resin.   The electrophotographic toner according to claim 1, wherein the content of the crystalline polyester is 5 to 40% by weight in the binder resin.   The method for producing an electrophotographic toner according to claim 1, comprising a step of melt-kneading a toner raw material containing a binder resin and an aromatic amide compound, and a step of pulverizing the obtained kneaded product.   The melt-kneading step melt-kneads the first kneading step of melt-kneading the toner raw material containing the amorphous polyester and the aromatic amide compound, and the toner raw material containing the kneaded product obtained in this step and the crystalline polyester The method for producing an electrophotographic toner according to claim 4, comprising a second kneading step.   An electrophotographic toner obtained by the production method according to claim 4.