JP2015157727A - Ferrite particle, and carrier for electrophotographic development and electrophotographic developer using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide ferrite particles having such properties that when the ferrite particles are used as a carrier for an image forming apparatus employing an electrophotographic system, degradation of the carrier due to long-term use can be significantly suppressed, stable charging performance is maintained, and the particles are free from cracks or chipping.SOLUTION: The ferrite particle essentially comprises a material represented by compositional formula MFeO(where M represents at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Mg, Mn, Ca, Ti, Cu, Zn, and Ni, and x satisfies 0<X<1) and contains Sr element by 0.2 mol% to 1.0 mol% in terms of SrO. The particle has a maximum height Rz in a range from 1.2 μm to 1.6 μm and an average length RSm in a range from 5.5 μm to 6.3 μm with a variance σ of RSm in a range from 2.0 μm to 2.4 μm.

Description

  The present invention relates to a ferrite particle, an electrophotographic developer carrier and an electrophotographic developer using the same.

  For example, in an image forming apparatus such as a facsimile, printer, or copier using an electrophotographic method, a toner is attached to an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of a photosensitive member to make a visible image, and the visible image is formed on paper. After being transferred to, etc., it is fixed by heating and pressing. A so-called two-component developer including a carrier and a toner is widely used as a developer from the viewpoint of high image quality and colorization.

  In the developing method using a two-component developer, the carrier and the toner are stirred and mixed in the developing device, and the toner is charged to a predetermined amount by friction. Then, a developer is supplied to the rotating developing roller, a magnetic brush is formed on the developing roller, and the toner is electrically moved to the photosensitive member via the magnetic brush, so that an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member can be formed. Visualize. The carrier after the toner movement remains on the developing roller and is mixed with the toner again in the developing device. For this reason, as the characteristics of the carrier, magnetic characteristics for forming a magnetic brush, charging characteristics for imparting a desired charge to the toner, and durability in repeated use are required.

  As such a carrier, one in which the surface of magnetic particles such as magnetite and various ferrites is coated with a resin is generally used. The magnetic particles as the carrier core material are required to have good magnetic characteristics as well as good triboelectric charging characteristics for the toner. Various shapes of carrier core materials that satisfy such characteristics have been proposed.

  For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a ferrite carrier core material for electrophotographic development that contains Sr and has a specific shape and magnetic properties. Further, Patent Document 2 proposes a ferrite carrier core material for electrophotographic development having a specific composition and having a surface oxide film formed with a lattice constant in a specific range.

JP 2012-159642 A JP 2013-178414 JP

  However, the proposed carrier core material may not be compatible with recent image forming apparatuses such as copying machines. For example, in a so-called high-speed image forming apparatus that can form 60 to 70 images per minute, the resin covering the surface of the carrier core material is peeled off by long-term use, resulting in toner charging. It may cause defects and cause image quality degradation. Further, the carrier core material may be cracked or chipped due to agitation stress, which may cause problems such as carrier scattering.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and its purpose is to greatly reduce the deterioration of the carrier due to long-term use when used as a carrier of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. An object of the present invention is to provide ferrite particles that suppress, maintain stable charging performance, and do not cause cracking or chipping of particles.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a carrier for an electrophotographic developer and an electrophotographic developer that can stably form an image of good image quality even after long-term use.

  As a result of intensive studies to achieve the above object, the inventors of the present application have found that the uneven shape on the surface of the carrier core material is important. That is, if the irregularities on the surface of the carrier core material are small, the resin that covers the surface of the core material tends to peel off after long-term use, and as a result, the ability to impart charge to the toner decreases. On the other hand, if the irregularities on the surface of the carrier core material are large, a large amount of the carrier core material is easily exposed from the coating resin, the resistance of the carrier core material itself decreases, and carrier scattering occurs. It was also found that a trace amount of strontium should be contained as a raw material in order to control the uneven shape on the surface of the carrier core material.

  Then, as the uneven shape on the surface of the carrier core material, the maximum height Rz which is an index of the difference between the peak portion and the valley portion of the grains (crystal grains) appearing on the particle surface, and the average length which is an index of the grain size Focusing on the variation σ of the thickness RSm and the average length RSm, it was found that the object can be achieved by setting these to a predetermined range, and the present invention has been achieved.

That is, the ferrite particles according to the present invention have a composition formula M _X Fe _3-X O ₄ (where M is at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Mg, Mn, Ca, Ti, Cu, Zn, Ni, The main component is a material represented by 0 <X <1), Sr element is contained in an amount of 0.2 mol% to 1.0 mol% in terms of SrO, and the maximum height Rz of the particles is in the range of 1.2 μm to 1.6 μm. The average particle length RSm is in the range of 5.5 μm to 6.3 μm, and the RSm variation σ is in the range of 2.0 μm to 2.4 μm.

  Here, M in the composition formula is preferably Mn. It is preferable that M is Mn because the balance between magnetic force and resistance becomes good. More preferably, the amount of Mn substitution is 0.5 <X <1.

  According to the present invention, there is also provided an electrophotographic developing carrier characterized in that the surface of the ferrite particles described above is coated with a resin.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, there is provided an electrophotographic developer comprising the electrophotographic developer carrier described above and a toner.

  Since the ferrite particle according to the present invention has a specific uneven shape uniformly formed on the surface, when used as a carrier core material of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, the deterioration of the carrier due to use is greatly suppressed. Can be used for a long time. Further, stable charging performance is maintained, and no cracking or chipping of particles occurs.

  In addition, according to the electrophotographic developer carrier and the electrophotographic developer according to the present invention, the image forming speed can be increased and the image quality can be improved.

It is a schematic sectional drawing of the ferrite particle which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows one Embodiment of the carrier based on this invention which coat | covered the ferrite particle surface of FIG. 1 with resin. 2 is a partially enlarged SEM photograph of ferrite particles of Example 1. 4 is a partially enlarged SEM photograph of ferrite particles of Comparative Example 1. It is an example of an observation screen of a super-depth color 3D shape measurement microscope.

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic sectional view of a ferrite particle according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a schematic sectional view showing an embodiment of a carrier according to the present invention in which the ferrite particle surface shown in FIG. 1 is coated with a resin.

  The ferrite particle 1 according to the present invention shown in FIG. 1 has a substantially spherical outer shape. On the surface of the ferrite particle 1, a minute uneven shape is formed. Specifically, on the surface of the ferrite particle 1, a concave portion 12 having a partially recessed shape and a convex portion 11 having a shape protruding toward the outer diameter side relative to the concave portion 12 are formed. ing. In FIG. 1, the minute uneven shape is exaggerated from the viewpoint of easy understanding.

  Here, the maximum height Rz, which is an index of the difference between the peak portion and the valley portion of the grain appearing on the surface of the ferrite particle 1, is in the range of 1.2 μm to 1.6 μm, and is an index of the grain size. It is important that the average particle length RSm is in the range of 5.5 μm to 6.3 μm, and the RSm variation σ is in the range of 2.0 μm to 2.4 μm. Because such fine and uniform irregularities are formed on the ferrite particle surface, the coating resin can be applied uniformly when the particle surface is coated with resin, and it is difficult to peel off even after long-term use. Become. Further, even if a part of the coating resin is peeled off, the coating resin remaining in the recesses suppresses a decrease in the ability to impart charge to the toner. Furthermore, cracking and chipping of particles can be suppressed.

  The more preferable maximum height Rz of the ferrite particle 1 is in the range of 1.3 to 1.5. When the maximum height Rz is 1.3 or more, it is preferable that the resin remains in the concave portion when the resin is coated, so that a decrease in charging ability can be suppressed. Further, it is preferable that the maximum height Rz is 1.5 or less because the convex portion is not too large and has high strength. A more preferable average length RSm of the ferrite particles 1 is in the range of 5.5 to 6.1. If the average length RSm is 5.5 or more, exposure from the coating resin is suppressed, and high charging is preferable. Moreover, if average length RSm is 6.1 or less, since resin peeling will be suppressed when resin-coated, it is preferable. Furthermore, the more preferable variation σ of RSm is in the range of 2.0 to 2.2. If the variation σ of RSm is 2.0 or more, fluidity is improved and high charging is preferable. When the RSm variation σ is 2.2 or less, the coating resin can be uniformly applied, and it is difficult to peel off even after long-time use, which is preferable. The measuring method will be described later.

  In order to control the uneven shape of the ferrite particle surface, strontium is contained as a raw material, and the sintering conditions in the manufacturing process may be adjusted. Details will be described later.

  The particle diameter of the ferrite particles of the present invention is not particularly limited, but an average particle diameter of about several tens of μm to several hundreds of μm is preferable. Further, when the ferrite particles of the present invention are used as a carrier core material, a particle size of about several tens of μm is preferable, and the particle size distribution is preferably sharp.

  The ferrite particles of the present invention can be used in various applications, for example, electrophotographic developer carriers, electromagnetic wave absorbing materials, electromagnetic shielding material powders, rubber, fillers / reinforcing materials for plastics, paints, paints / adhesives It can be used as a matting material, filler, reinforcing material and the like. Among these, it is particularly preferably used as a carrier for electrophotographic development.

  Although the manufacturing method of the ferrite particle of the present invention is not particularly limited, the manufacturing method described below is preferable.

First, an Fe component raw material, an M component raw material, and, if necessary, an additive are weighed, put into a dispersion medium, and mixed to prepare a slurry. M is at least one metal element selected from divalent metal elements such as Mg, Mn, Ca, Ti, Cu, Zn, and Ni. As the Fe component material, Fe ₂ O ₃ or the like is preferably used. As the M component raw material, MnCO ₃ , Mn ₃ O _{4 and the} like can be used for Mn, and MgO, Mg (OH) ₂ and MgCO ₃ can be suitably used for Mg. As the Ca component raw material, at least one compound selected from CaO, Ca (OH) ₂ , CaCO _{3 and the} like is preferably used. The M component mainly adjusts the magnetic properties of the carrier, and a component that matches the desired magnetic properties may be selected and blended. It is a component that has little effect on unevenness.

Here, a small amount of Sr is added to make the surface of the ferrite particles uneven. By adding a small amount of Sr, a part of Sr ferrite is generated in the firing step, a magnetoplumbite type crystal structure is formed, and the uneven shape on the surface of the ferrite particles is easily promoted. The amount of Sr added is in the range of 0.2 mol% to 1.0 mol% in terms of SrO with respect to the ferrite particles. More preferably, it is the range of 0.3 mol%-0.9 mol%. More preferably, it is the range of 0.4-0.8 mol%. When the amount of Sr added is less than 0.2 mol%, the crystal size is small and uniform, but the maximum height Rz is low and the charging performance is inferior. When the amount of Sr added exceeds 1.0 mol%, sintering is excessively suppressed and the crystal size is small, but the maximum height Rz is lowered and the charging performance is inferior. As the Sr component raw material, SrCO ₃ can be suitably used.

  Water is preferred as the dispersion medium used in the present invention. In addition to the Fe component raw material, the M component raw material, and the Sr component raw material, a binder, a dispersant and the like may be blended in the dispersion medium as necessary. For example, polyvinyl alcohol can be suitably used as the binder. The blending amount of the binder is preferably about 0.5 to 2 wt% in the slurry. Moreover, as a dispersing agent, polycarboxylate ammonium etc. can be used conveniently, for example. As the blending amount of the dispersant, the concentration in the slurry is preferably about 0.5 to 2 wt%. In addition, you may mix | blend a lubricant, a sintering accelerator, etc. The solid content concentration of the slurry is desirably in the range of 50 to 90 wt%. In addition, before the Fe component raw material, the M component raw material, and the Sr component raw material are added to the dispersion medium, a pulverization and mixing process may be performed as necessary.

  Next, the slurry produced as described above is wet pulverized. For example, wet grinding is performed for a predetermined time using a ball mill or a vibration mill. The average particle diameter of the raw material after pulverization is preferably 10 μm or less, more preferably 5 μm or less. The vibration mill or ball mill preferably contains a medium having a predetermined particle diameter. Examples of the material of the media include iron-based chromium steel and oxide-based zirconia, titania, and alumina. As a form of a grinding | pulverization process, any of a continuous type and a batch type may be sufficient. The particle size of the pulverized product is adjusted depending on the pulverization time and rotation speed, the material and particle size of the media used, and the like.

  Then, the pulverized slurry is spray-dried and granulated. Specifically, the slurry is introduced into a spray dryer such as a spray dryer, and granulated into a spherical shape by spraying into the atmosphere. The atmospheric temperature during spray drying is preferably in the range of 100 to 300 ° C. Thereby, a spherical granulated product having a particle size of 10 to 200 μm is obtained. In addition, it is desirable that the obtained granulated product has a sharp particle size distribution by removing coarse particles and fine powder using a vibration sieve or the like.

  Next, the granulated product is put into a furnace heated to a predetermined temperature and fired to generate ferrite particles. The firing temperature is preferably in the range of 1030 ° C to 1150 ° C. The rate of temperature increase up to the firing temperature is preferably in the range of 250 ° C / h to 500 ° C / h.

Here, it is important that CO ₂ is present in the firing atmosphere. In the firing step, usually, ferrite is produced in the order of Sr ferrite (magnetoplumbite ferrite) and spinel ferrite, and the presence of CO ₂ increases the reaction temperature of the following reaction formula (1). Ferrite is generated in the order of ferrite and Sr ferrite (magnet plumbite ferrite). As a result, diffusion of Sr element is suppressed, Sr element segregates in the particle, and ferrite particles having a uniform crystal size can be obtained. The CO ₂ concentration is preferably 15% or more by volume. If the CO ₂ concentration is 15% or more, the reaction temperature of the following reaction formula (1) becomes high, and ferrite is generated in the order of spinel ferrite and Sr ferrite (magnetoplumbite ferrite). The upper limit of the CO ₂ concentration is preferably 60%, and the more preferable CO ₂ concentration is in the range of 15% to 30%. The firing atmosphere is preferably a reducing atmosphere. The oxygen concentration in the firing atmosphere is about 100 ppm to 20000 ppm.
SrCO ₃ → SrO + CO ₂ (1)

  The ferrite particles thus obtained are pulverized as necessary. Specifically, for example, the fired product is pulverized by a hammer mill or the like. The form of the granulation step may be either a continuous type or a batch type. And if necessary, classification may be performed in order to make the particle size in a predetermined range. As a classification method, a conventionally known method such as air classification or sieve classification can be used. In addition, after primary classification with an air classifier, the particle size may be aligned within a predetermined range with a vibration sieve or an ultrasonic sieve. Furthermore, you may make it remove a nonmagnetic particle with a magnetic field separator after a classification process. The diameter of the ferrite particles is preferably in the range of 20 μm to 60 μm.

  Thereafter, if necessary, the ferrite particles after classification may be heated in an oxidizing atmosphere to form an oxide film on the particle surface to increase the resistance of the ferrite particles (high resistance treatment). The oxidizing atmosphere may be either an air atmosphere or a mixed atmosphere of oxygen and nitrogen. The heating temperature is preferably in the range of 200 to 800 ° C, more preferably in the range of 250 to 600 ° C. The heating time is preferably in the range of 0.5 hours to 5 hours.

  When the ferrite particles of the present invention produced as described above are used as a carrier for electrophotographic development, the ferrite particles can be used as they are as a carrier for electrophotographic development. However, from the viewpoint of chargeability and the like, The surface is coated with a resin.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a carrier according to the present invention in which the surfaces of ferrite particles are coated with a resin. In FIG. 2, the carrier 2 is formed by thinly coating a resin 21 on the surface of the ferrite particle 1. The particle size of the carrier 2 is almost the same as that of the ferrite particle 1. The surface of the carrier 2 is almost entirely covered with the resin 21, but the surface of the ferrite particle 1 itself is exposed in a part of the region 22.

  As the resin for covering the surface of the ferrite particles, conventionally known resins can be used, for example, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, poly-4-methylpentene-1, polyvinylidene chloride, ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene). Examples thereof include resins, polystyrene, (meth) acrylic resins, polyvinyl alcohol resins, polyvinyl chloride-based, polyurethane-based, polyester-based, polyamide-based, polybutadiene-based thermoplastic elastomers, fluorine silicone-based resins, and the like.

  In order to coat the surface of the ferrite particles with a resin, a resin solution or dispersion may be applied to the ferrite particles. Solvents for the coating solution include aromatic hydrocarbon solvents such as toluene and xylene; ketone solvents such as acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, and cyclohexanone; cyclic ether solvents such as tetrahydrofuran and dioxane; ethanol, propanol, and butanol Alcohol solvents such as ethyl cellosolve, cellosolve solvents such as butyl cellosolve; ester solvents such as ethyl acetate and butyl acetate; amide solvents such as dimethylformamide and dimethylacetamide, etc. . The resin component concentration in the coating solution should generally be in the range of 0.001 wt% to 30 wt%, particularly 0.001 wt% to 2 wt%.

  As a method for coating the resin on the ferrite particles, for example, a spray drying method, a fluidized bed method, a spray drying method using a fluidized bed, an immersion method, or the like can be used. Among these, the fluidized bed method is particularly preferable in that it can be efficiently applied with a small amount of resin. For example, in the case of the fluidized bed method, the resin coating amount can be adjusted by the amount of resin solution sprayed and the spraying time.

  The particle diameter of the carrier is generally preferably in the range of 10 μm to 200 μm, particularly 20 μm to 60 μm in terms of volume average particle diameter.

  The electrophotographic developer according to the present invention is obtained by mixing the carrier prepared as described above and a toner. The mixing ratio of the carrier and the toner is not particularly limited, and may be determined as appropriate based on the developing conditions of the developing device to be used. In general, the toner concentration in the developer is preferably in the range of 1 wt% to 15 wt%. When the toner density is less than 1 wt%, the image density becomes too thin, and when the toner density exceeds 15 wt%, the toner scatters in the developing device, and the toner adheres to the background portion such as in-machine dirt or transfer paper. This is because there is a risk of occurrence. A more preferable toner concentration is in the range of 3 wt% to 10 wt%.

  As the toner, toner produced by a conventionally known method such as a polymerization method, a pulverization classification method, a melt granulation method, or a spray granulation method can be used. Specifically, a binder resin containing a thermoplastic resin as a main component and containing a colorant, a release agent, a charge control agent and the like can be suitably used.

  In general, the particle diameter of the toner is preferably in the range of 5 μm to 15 μm, more preferably in the range of 7 μm to 12 μm, as a volume average particle diameter measured by a Coulter counter.

  If necessary, a modifier may be added to the toner surface. Examples of the modifier include silica, alumina, zinc oxide, titanium oxide, magnesium oxide, polymethyl methacrylate and the like. These 1 type (s) or 2 or more types can be used in combination.

  A known mixing device can be used for mixing the carrier and the toner. For example, a Henschel mixer, a V-type mixer, a tumbler mixer, a hybridizer, or the like can be used.

Example 1
Mn ferrite particles were produced by the following method. As starting materials, Fe ₂ O ₃ (average particle size: 0.6 μm) was 10.05 kg (62.9 mol), Mn ₃ O ₄ (average particle size: 2 μm) was 4.95 kg (21.6 mol), Dispersed in 3.8 kg of water, 90 g of an ammonium polycarboxylate dispersant as a dispersant, 55 g (0.38 mol) of SrCO ₃ as an Sr raw material so that SrO contained in the ferrite is 0.3 mol%, 30 g (0.25 mol) of colloidal silica (solid concentration 50%) was added as a SiO ₂ raw material to obtain a mixture. The solid content concentration of this mixture was 80% by weight. This mixture was pulverized by a wet ball mill (media diameter 2 mm) to obtain a mixed slurry. This mixed slurry was sprayed into hot air at about 130 ° C. with a spray dryer to obtain a dry granulated product having a particle size of 10 to 200 μm. From this granulated product, coarse particles were separated using a sieve mesh having a mesh size of 54 μm, and fine particles were separated using a sieve mesh having a mesh size of 33 μm. This granulated powder was put into an electric furnace under a reducing atmosphere in which a mixed gas in which the gas flow rate of N ₂ and CO ₂ was adjusted to 4: 1 and the air was introduced so that the oxygen concentration was 17000 ppm, Firing was performed at 1100 ° C. for 3 hours. The fired product obtained was pulverized with a hammer mill and then classified using a vibration sieve to obtain ferrite particles having an average particle size of 35 μm.

  The maximum height Rz, average length RSm, variation of RSm, magnetic properties, strength, and particle size distribution of the obtained ferrite particles were measured by the methods described below. Table 1 summarizes the measurement results. FIG. 3 shows a partially enlarged SEM photograph of the ferrite particles of Example 1.

  Next, the surface of the ferrite particles of Example 1 obtained in this way was coated with a resin to produce the carrier of Example 1. Specifically, a silicone resin (SR2411 manufactured by Toray Dow Corning) was dissolved in toluene to prepare a coating resin solution. Then, the ferrite particles and the coating resin solution are loaded into a stirrer at a weight ratio of ferrite particles: resin solution = 9: 1, and the ferrite particles are immersed in the resin solution at a temperature of 150 ° C. to 250 ° C. Stir for hours. Subsequently, it heated further with the hot-air circulation type heating apparatus at the temperature of 250 degreeC for 5 hours, the coating resin layer was hardened, and the carrier was obtained.

  The obtained carrier and a toner having an average particle size of about 5.0 μm were mixed for a predetermined time using a pot mill to obtain a two-component electrophotographic developer according to Example 1. In this case, the carrier and the toner were adjusted so that the weight of toner / (weight of toner and carrier) = 5/100. Hereinafter, developers were obtained in the same manner for all of the Examples and Comparative Examples. The obtained developer was subjected to charge amount measurement and image characteristic evaluation described later. The measurement and evaluation results are shown in Table 1. In addition, when the EDS analysis by SEM was performed about the cross section of the ferrite particle, it was observed that the segregation of Sr was scattered.

Example 2
Ferrite particles were produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the amount of SrCO ₃ added as the Sr raw material was changed to 110 g (0.75 mol) so that the SrO contained in the ferrite was 0.6 mol%. And each physical property was measured like Example 1. FIG. Table 1 summarizes the measurement results.

Example 3
Ferrite particles were produced in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the amount of SrCO ₃ added as the Sr raw material was 165 g (1.13 mol) so that the SrO contained in the ferrite was 0.9 mol%. And each physical property was measured like Example 1. FIG. Table 1 summarizes the measurement results.

Example 4
The amount of SrCO ₃ added as the Sr raw material is 110 g (0.75 mol) so that the SrO contained in the ferrite is 0.6 mol%, and the gas flow rate of N ₂ and CO ₂ is 1: Ferrite particles were produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the mixed gas adjusted to 1 was allowed to flow into the electric furnace. And each physical property was measured like Example 1. FIG. Table 1 summarizes the measurement results.

Comparative Example 1
Ferrite particles were produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that CO ₂ was not introduced during firing. And each physical property was measured like Example 2. FIG. Table 1 summarizes the measurement results. FIG. 4 shows a partially enlarged SEM photograph of the ferrite particles of Comparative Example 1.

Comparative Example 2
Ferrite particles were produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that SrCO ₃ was not added. And each physical property was measured like Example 1. FIG. Table 1 summarizes the measurement results.

Comparative Example 3
Ferrite particles were produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the amount of SrCO ₃ added was 220 g (1.50 mol%) so that SrO contained in the ferrite was 1.2 mol%. And each physical property was measured like Example 1. FIG. Table 1 summarizes the measurement results.

Comparative Example 4
Fe ₂ O ₃ was weighed to 52 mol, MnO ₂ to 40 mol, and MgO to 8 mol, and pelletized with a roller compactor. The obtained pellet was calcined in a rotary calcining furnace at 1030 ° C. under atmospheric conditions. After coarsely pulverizing this with a dry bead mill, 0.75 mol of water and SrCO ₃ are added, and pulverized with a wet bead mill for 6 hours, so that PVA as a binder component is 3.2% by weight based on the slurry solid content. The pulverized slurry was prepared by adding a polycarboxylic acid dispersant such that the slurry had a viscosity of 2 to 3 poise. At this time, the solid content of the slurry was 55% by weight, and the D ₅₀ of the slurry particle size was 1.8 μm. The pulverized slurry thus obtained was granulated and dried with a spray dryer, and subjected to primary firing at 700 ° C. in the air using a rotary under atmospheric conditions. Next, using an electric furnace, the main calcination was performed by maintaining at 1130 ° C. for 4 hours under the condition of an oxygen concentration of 0.5 vol%. Thereafter, pulverization and classification were performed to obtain a carrier core material composed of ferrite particles. Furthermore, the carrier core material according to Comparative Example 4 which has been subjected to surface oxidation treatment by subjecting the obtained carrier core material made of ferrite particles to surface oxidation treatment in a rotary electric furnace at a surface oxidation treatment temperature of 520 ° C. under atmospheric conditions ( Ferrite particles) were obtained.

Comparative Example 5
Fe ₂ O ₃ was weighed to 50.5 mol, MnO ₂ to 37.5 mol, MgCO ₃ to 12.5 mol and SrCO ₃ to 0.25 mol, and pelletized with a roller compactor. The obtained pellets were calcined in a rotary calciner at 970 ° C. under atmospheric conditions. After coarsely pulverizing this with a dry bead mill, water is added and pulverized with a wet bead mill for 6 hours, and PVA is added as a binder component so as to be 3.2% by weight based on the slurry solid content. A pulverized slurry was prepared by adding a system dispersant such that the slurry had a viscosity of 2 to 3 poise. The solid content of the slurry at this time was 55% by weight, and the D ₅₀ of the slurry particle size was 1.7 μm. The pulverized slurry thus obtained was granulated and dried with a spray dryer, and subjected to primary firing at 700 ° C. in the air using a rotary under atmospheric conditions. Next, using an electric furnace, the main calcination was performed by holding at 1150 ° C. for 4 hours under an oxygen concentration of 0.25% by volume. Thereafter, the particles were pulverized and classified to obtain ferrite particles. Further, the obtained ferrite particles were subjected to a surface oxidation treatment at 650 ° C. under an atmospheric condition in the hot part using a rotary electric furnace having a cooling part after the hot part. Subsequently, the carrier core material subjected to the oxidation treatment was cooled to 150 ° C. in the cooling section to obtain ferrite particles (carrier core material) according to Comparative Example 5 that had undergone surface oxidation treatment. At this time, it passed through the cooling section in 10 minutes, and the rapid cooling rate was 50 ° C./minute.

Comparative Example 6
Fe ₂ O ₃ (volume particle size D ₅₀ : 0.6 μm, volume particle size D ₉₀ : 3.0 μm) 10 kg, Mn ₃ O ₄ (volume particle size D ₅₀ : 0.3 μm, volume particle size D ₉₀ : 2. 0 kg) was calcined at 900 ° C. for 2 hours, and then pulverized with a vibration ball mill for 1 hour. 14 kg of the obtained calcined raw material was dispersed in 5 kg of water, 84 g of an ammonium polycarboxylate dispersant as a dispersant, 42 g of carbon black as a reducing agent, and SrCO ₃ (volume particle size D ₅₀ as a raw material containing strontium: 103 μg of 1.0 μm, volume particle size D ₉₀ : 4.0 μm) was added to obtain a mixture. As a result of measuring the solid content concentration at this time, it was 74% by weight. This mixture was pulverized by a wet ball mill (media diameter 2 mm) to obtain a mixed slurry in which the calcined raw material had a volume particle diameter D ₅₀ of 1.6 μm and a volume particle diameter D ₉₀ of 3.1 μm. That is, the raw material containing iron in this case is a calcined raw material. Moreover, it added so that the quantity of Sr to add might be 4350 ppm. This slurry was sprayed into hot air at about 130 ° C. with a spray dryer to obtain dry granulated powder. At this time, the granulated powder other than the target particle size distribution was removed with a sieve. This granulated powder was put into an electric furnace and fired at 1130 ° C. for 3 hours. At this time, the inside of the electric furnace flowed to an electric furnace whose atmosphere was adjusted so that the oxygen concentration was 0.8%, that is, 8000 ppm. The cooling temperature during firing was 2 ° C./min. The obtained fired powder was classified using a sieve after pulverization to obtain a carrier core material according to Comparative Example 6 with an average particle size of 25 μm.

(Measurement of maximum height Rz, average length RSm, and RSm variation σ)
The maximum height Rz, average length RSm and variation σ of the ferrite particles were measured as follows. Using an ultra-deep color 3D shape measurement microscope (“VK-X100” manufactured by Keyence Corporation), the surface was observed with a 100 × objective lens. Specifically, first, ferrite particles are fixed to an adhesive tape with a flat surface, the measurement field of view is determined with a 100 × objective lens, the focus is adjusted to the adhesive tape surface using the autofocus function, and the auto shooting function Was used to capture the three-dimensional shape of the ferrite particle surface.
Each parameter was measured using software VK-H1XA attached to the apparatus. First, as a pretreatment, a portion used for analysis was taken out from the three-dimensional shape of the surface of the obtained ferrite particles. FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of the observation screen. A roughness curve corresponding to a line segment when a line segment 31 extending in the horizontal direction having a length of 15.0 μm is drawn on the center portion of the surface of the ferrite particle, and 10 parallel lines are added at intervals of four above and below the line segment, A total of 21 bottles were taken out. In FIG. 5, the upper ten line segments 32a and the lower ten line segments 32b are simply shown.

  Since the ferrite particles are substantially spherical, the extracted roughness curve has a certain curvature as the background. For this reason, as a background correction, an optimal quadratic curve was fitted and correction subtracted from the roughness curve was performed. In this case, the cutoff value λs was 0.25 μm, and the cutoff value λc was 0.08 mm.

  The maximum height Rz was obtained as the sum of the highest mountain height and the deepest valley depth in the roughness curve.

  The average length RSm defines a combination of valleys and peaks as one element in the roughness curve, and averages the lengths of the respective elements. The variation σ (standard deviation) is obtained by averaging the square of the difference between the average length RSm and each data and taking the square root.

  The measurement of the maximum height Rz, the average length RSm, and the variation σ thereof described above is performed according to JIS B0601 (2001 version).

  Moreover, about the average particle diameter of the ferrite particle used for an analysis, it limited to 32.0 micrometers-34.0 micrometers. In this way, by limiting the average particle diameter of the ferrite particles to be measured to a narrow range, it is possible to reduce an error due to a residue generated during curvature correction. In addition, the average value of 30 particles was used as the average value of each parameter.

(Image characteristics evaluation)
Using a 60-sheet machine employing a digital reversal developing system as an evaluation machine, 500 g of the produced electrophotographic developer is added to form a 200-k character image, initially, after a 100-k image is formed, a 200-k image The image quality and charge amount after formation were evaluated and measured. The image quality was evaluated according to the following criteria. In addition, k represents 1000 sheets, 100k sheets means 100,000 sheets, and 200k sheets means 200,000 sheets.
“◎”: When the image quality is extremely good “○”: When the image quality is good (available)
“△”: When the image quality is not good (unusable)
“×”: Image quality is poor

(Charge amount)
Initially, after forming an image of 100k sheets, 500 mg of an electrophotographic developer after forming an image of 200k sheets was collected, and STC-1-C1 type manufactured by Nippon Piotech Co., Ltd. was used. The charge amount was measured as a 795 mesh made by the manufacturer. Two measurements were performed on the same sample, and the average value of these was taken as the charge amount of the carrier. The charge amount of the carrier was calculated from the following formula. The measurement environment was a temperature of 25 ° C. and a relative humidity of 50%.
Charge amount (μC / g) = Measured charge (nC) × 10 ³ × Coefficient (1.0083 × 10 ⁻³ ) ÷ Toner weight (where toner weight = weight before suction (g) −weight after suction (g))

(Strength evaluation)
30 g of ferrite particles were put into a sample mill (“SK-M10 type” manufactured by Kyoritsu Riko Co., Ltd.), and a crushing test was performed at a rotational speed of 14,000 rpm for 60 seconds. Thereafter, the rate of change between the cumulative value of the particle size of 22 μm or less before the crushing test and the cumulative value of the particle size of 22 μm or less after the crushing was calculated as the fine powder increase rate and used as an index of particle strength. The cumulative value of ferrite particles having a particle size of 22 μm or less was measured using a laser diffraction particle size distribution measuring device (“Microtrack Model 9320-X100” manufactured by Nikkiso Co., Ltd.). The unit is volume%.

(Particle size distribution)
The cumulative particle size distribution of the ferrite particles was measured using a laser diffraction type particle size distribution measuring device (“Microtrack Model 9320-X100” manufactured by Nikkiso Co., Ltd.), and D ₁₀ , D ₅₀ , and D ₉₀ were measured. The unit is volume%.

  As is clear from Table 1, in the carriers using the ferrite particles of Examples 1 to 4 according to the present invention, the charge amount did not decrease even after printing for 200 k, and the image quality was good. Moreover, the fine powder increase rate as an index of particle strength was as small as 0.4% or less, and the particle strength was sufficient. Moreover, the particle size distribution of the ferrite particles accounted for 99% by volume in the range of 20 μm to 60 μm.

  On the other hand, in the carrier using the ferrite particles of Comparative Examples 1 to 6 in which all or any of the maximum height Rz of the particles, the average length RSm of the particles, and the variation σ of RSm is out of the definition of the present invention. The charge amount after 200 k printing was 17 μC / g or less, which was much lower than the initial charge amount, and the image quality was not good. In addition, the fine powder increase rate as an index of particle strength was as large as 0.9% or more, and cracking or chipping of particles occurred.

  Since the ferrite particle according to the present invention has a specific uneven shape uniformly formed on the surface, when used as a carrier core material of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, the deterioration of the carrier due to use is greatly suppressed. Can be used for a long time. Moreover, stable charging performance is maintained, and the particles are useful without cracking or chipping.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ferrite particle 2 Carrier 11 Convex part 12 Concave part 21 Resin

That is, the ferrite particles according to the present invention have a composition formula M _X Fe _3-X O ₄ (where M is at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Mg, Mn, Ca, Ti, Cu, Zn, Ni, The main component is a material represented by 0 <X <1), Sr element is contained in an amount of 0.2 mol% to 1.0 mol% in terms of SrO, and the maximum height Rz of the particles is in the range of 1.2 μm to 1.6 μm. , and the ranges average length RSm of 5.5μm~6.3μm particles, variation in RSm sigma is Ri range der of 2.0Myuemu～2.4Myuemu, characterized in that it contains the Sr ferrite .

Claims (4)

Compositional formula M _X Fe _3-X O ₄ (where M is at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Mg, Mn, Ca, Ti, Cu, Zn, Ni, 0 <X <1) Ferrite particles mainly composed of materials,
Sr element is contained 0.2 mol% to 1.0 mol% in terms of SrO,
The maximum height Rz of the particles is in the range of 1.2 μm to 1.6 μm,
The average length RSm of the particles is in the range of 5.5 μm to 6.3 μm,
A ferrite particle having a variation σ of RSm in the range of 2.0 μm to 2.4 μm.   The ferrite particle according to claim 1, wherein M in the composition formula is Mn.   3. A carrier for electrophotographic development, wherein the surface of the ferrite particles according to claim 1 or 2 is coated with a resin.   An electrophotographic developer comprising the electrophotographic developer carrier according to claim 3 and a toner.