WO2001079316A1 - Organosol gel a liaisons hydrogene - Google Patents

Organosol gel a liaisons hydrogene Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2001079316A1
WO2001079316A1 PCT/US2001/010069 US0110069W WO0179316A1 WO 2001079316 A1 WO2001079316 A1 WO 2001079316A1 US 0110069 W US0110069 W US 0110069W WO 0179316 A1 WO0179316 A1 WO 0179316A1
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Prior art keywords
organosol
liquid
toner
gel
core
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PCT/US2001/010069
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English (en)
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WO2001079316A8 (fr
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James A. Baker
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Imation Corp.
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Publication of WO2001079316A1 publication Critical patent/WO2001079316A1/fr
Publication of WO2001079316A8 publication Critical patent/WO2001079316A8/fr

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    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C08—ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON
    • C08F—MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS OBTAINED BY REACTIONS ONLY INVOLVING CARBON-TO-CARBON UNSATURATED BONDS
    • C08F291/00—Macromolecular compounds obtained by polymerising monomers on to macromolecular compounds according to more than one of the groups C08F251/00 - C08F289/00
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C08—ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON
    • C08F—MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS OBTAINED BY REACTIONS ONLY INVOLVING CARBON-TO-CARBON UNSATURATED BONDS
    • C08F263/00—Macromolecular compounds obtained by polymerising monomers on to polymers of esters of unsaturated alcohols with saturated acids as defined in group C08F18/00
    • C08F263/02—Macromolecular compounds obtained by polymerising monomers on to polymers of esters of unsaturated alcohols with saturated acids as defined in group C08F18/00 on to polymers of vinyl esters with monocarboxylic acids
    • C08F263/04—Macromolecular compounds obtained by polymerising monomers on to polymers of esters of unsaturated alcohols with saturated acids as defined in group C08F18/00 on to polymers of vinyl esters with monocarboxylic acids on to polymers of vinyl acetate
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C08—ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON
    • C08F—MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS OBTAINED BY REACTIONS ONLY INVOLVING CARBON-TO-CARBON UNSATURATED BONDS
    • C08F265/00—Macromolecular compounds obtained by polymerising monomers on to polymers of unsaturated monocarboxylic acids or derivatives thereof as defined in group C08F20/00
    • C08F265/04—Macromolecular compounds obtained by polymerising monomers on to polymers of unsaturated monocarboxylic acids or derivatives thereof as defined in group C08F20/00 on to polymers of esters
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C08—ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON
    • C08F—MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS OBTAINED BY REACTIONS ONLY INVOLVING CARBON-TO-CARBON UNSATURATED BONDS
    • C08F290/00—Macromolecular compounds obtained by polymerising monomers on to polymers modified by introduction of aliphatic unsaturated end or side groups
    • C08F290/08—Macromolecular compounds obtained by polymerising monomers on to polymers modified by introduction of aliphatic unsaturated end or side groups on to polymers modified by introduction of unsaturated side groups
    • C08F290/12—Polymers provided for in subclasses C08C or C08F
    • C08F290/126—Polymers of unsaturated carboxylic acids or derivatives thereof
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C08—ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON
    • C08L—COMPOSITIONS OF MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS
    • C08L51/00—Compositions of graft polymers in which the grafted component is obtained by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds; Compositions of derivatives of such polymers
    • C08L51/003—Compositions of graft polymers in which the grafted component is obtained by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds; Compositions of derivatives of such polymers grafted on to macromolecular compounds obtained by reactions only involving unsaturated carbon-to-carbon bonds

Definitions

  • This invention relates to liquid ink compositions, in particular, to pigments dispersed in gel organosols to provide improved ink compositions and liquid toners for use in ink transfer, ionographic, electrographic and electrophotographic printing processes.
  • Liquid inks are widely used in a variety of printing processes, for example offset, intaglio, rotogravure, ink jet, and electrographic printing. Many of the desired characteristics of the pigment dispersions used in the liquid inks are the same for each of the respective processes even though the final ink formulations may be substantially different. For example, the stability of the pigment dispersion both on the shelf and under shear conditions is an important consideration regardless of the final use of the liquid ink. The art continuously searches for more stable pigment dispersions to provide more flexibility in ink formulations that in turn yields better efficiency and waste reduction in the various printing processes.
  • Electrographic printing refers to a printing process that uses an applied electric field and charged particles to produce a printed image on a receptor material.
  • the art generally refers to the charged particles as toners.
  • Electrographic printing generally includes electrostatographic printing, ionographic printing, electrophotographic printing and the like.
  • the toners may be in the form of dry particles or particles dispersed in a carrier liquid. Particles dispersed in a liquid medium for imaging purposes are generally referred to as liquid inks, liquid toners, or liquid developers.
  • the electrophotographic process includes the steps of forming a latent electrostatic image on a charged photoconductor by exposing the photoconductor to radiation in an imagewise pattern, developing the image by contacting the photoconductor with a liquid developer, and finally transferring the image to a receptor.
  • the final transfer step may be performed either directly or indirectly through an intermediate transport member.
  • the developed image is usually subjected to heat and or pressure to permanently fuse the image to the receptor.
  • Dry toner compositions suffer from a number of disadvantages.
  • dry toners are known to be difficult to control during the latent image development and transfer processes; this leads to toner scatter within the printer device and may create excessive amounts of dust and abrasive wear of the printer components.
  • Some dry toner compositions must also be fixed by fusing at elevated temperature which requires a large source of energy and may limit the choices of receptor materials to which the developed latent image may be transferred.
  • dry toners must be triboelectrically charged, which makes the printing process very sensitive to both the temperature and humidity of the ambient air, and may result in printing delays due to charge equilibration.
  • the limited particle size of the toner is another disadvantage of dry toners. If the particle size is small, the dry toner can become airborne and create a potential health hazard due to inhalation of the particles. On the other hand, the larger particle sizes make it difficult to obtain high resolution images.
  • Many of the disadvantages accompanying the use of dry toner compositions have been avoided by the use of liquid developers or toners. For example, liquid toners contain smaller particles than dry toners, resulting in higher resolution images.
  • liquid toners are not triboelectrically charged; therefore, they are much less sensitive to changes in ambient temperature and humidity. Since the toner particles in a liquid developer are contained within a fluid phase, toner scatter and dust accumulation do not occur within the printer. In addition, the particles being contained within a liquid matrix will not become airborne thus eliminating the risk of inhalation of the particles.
  • Liquid toners typically comprise an electrically insulating liquid that serves as a carrier for a dispersion of charged particles known as toner particles composed of a colorant and a polymeric binder.
  • a charge control agent is often included as a component of the liquid developer in order to regulate the polarity and magnitude of the charge on the toner particles.
  • Liquid toners can be categorized into two primary classes. For convenience, the two classes will be referred to as conventional liquid toners and organosol toners.
  • liquid toners which make use of self-stable graft copolymers dispersed in an organic solvent (organosols) as polymeric binders to promote self-fixing of a developed latent image.
  • organosols organic solvent
  • U. S. Patent Nos. 3,753,760; 3,900,412; 3,991,226; 4,476,210; 4,789,616; 4,728,983; 4,925,766; 4,946,753; 4,978,598 and 4,988,602 describe compositions and uses of graft copolymer organosols.
  • Exemplary liquid electrophotographic, pigmented inks made using self- stable graft copolymer organosols are illustrated by Kosel inU.S. 3,900,412.
  • Self-stable organosols are colloidal (0.1-1 micron diameter) particles of polymeric binder that are typically synthesized by nonaqueous dispersion polymerization in a low dielectric hydrocarbon solvent. These organosol particles are sterically-stabilized with respect to aggregation by the use of a physically-adsorbed or chemically-grafted soluble polymer. Details of the mechanism of such steric stabilization are provided in Napper, D.H., Polymeric Stabilization of Colloidal Dispersions, Academic Press, New York, NY, 1983. Procedures for effecting the synthesis of self-stable organosols are known to those skilled in the art and are described in Dispersion Polymerization in Organic Media. K.E. J.
  • the most commonly used non-aqueous dispersion polymerization method is a free radical polymerization carried out when one or more ethylenically-unsaturated (typically acrylic) monomers, soluble in a hydrocarbon medium, are polymerized in the presence of a preformed amphipathic polymer.
  • the preformed amphipathic polymer commonly referred to as the stabilizer, has two distinct ends, one essentially insoluble in the hydrocarbon medium, the other freely soluble.
  • the amphipathic polymer then either adsorbs onto or covalently bonds to the core, which core continues to grow as a discrete particle.
  • the particles continue to grow until monomer is depleted; the adsorbed amphipathic polymer "shell” acts to sterically-stabilize the growing core particles with respect to aggregation.
  • the resulting core/shell polymer particles comprise a self- stable, nonaqueous colloidal dispersion (organosol) comprised of distinct spherical particles in the size (diameter) range 0.1-0.5 microns.
  • the resulting organosols can be subsequently converted to liquid toners by simple incorporation of the colorant (pigment) and charge director, followed by high shear homogenization, ball-milling, attritor milling, high energy bead (sand) milling, or other means known in the art for effecting particle size reduction in a dispersion.
  • the input of mechanical energy to the dispersion during milling acts to break down aggregated pigment particles into primary particles (0.05-1.0 micron diameter) and to "shred" the organosol into fragments that adhere to the newly-created pigment surface, thereby acting to sterically-stabilize the pigment particles with respect to aggregation.
  • the charge director may physically or chemically adsorb onto the pigment, the organosol, or both.
  • the result is a sterically-stabilized, charged, nonaqueous pigment dispersion in the size range 0.1-2.0 microns, with typical toner particle diameters between 0.1-0.5 microns.
  • a sterically-stabilized dispersion is ideally suited for use in high resolution printing.
  • Rapid self-fixing is a critical requirement for liquid toner performance to avoid printing defects (such a smearing or trailing-edge tailing) and incomplete transfer in high speed printing.
  • a description of these types of defects and methods of preventing them using film forming compositions are described in U. S . Patent Nos. 5,302,482; 5,061,583; 4,925,766; 4,507,377; and 4,480,022.
  • tack of the image on the final receptor Another important consideration in formulating a liquid toner is the tack of the image on the final receptor. If the image has a residual tack, then the image may become embossed or picked off when placed in contact with another surface. This is especially a problem when printed sheets are placed in a stack. If the image is tacky, it may transfer to the backside of the adjacent sheet. To address this concern, a film laminate or protective layer is typically placed over the surface of the image. This adds both extra cost of materials and extra process steps to apply the protective layer. It is further known in the art that film-forming liquid toners fabricated using self-stable organosols generally exhibit excellent aggregation stability; however, the sedimentation stability of such inks is poor.
  • organosol inks Once the components of an organosol ink have settled, they are generally difficult, if not impossible, to redisperse to a degree of dispersion equivalent to the original, unsettled ink. This situation arises because self- stable organosol inks settle into closely packed, dilatant sediments, and irreversible film formation can occur in these sediments when the volume fraction of organosol in the sediment exceeds the critical volume fraction required for film formation to occur (generally greater than 70 volume percent organosol). Hence, there is a need for liquid ink compositions that will overcome this poor sedimentation and redispersion behavior of organosol inks.
  • U.S. Patent Nos. 4,374,918; 4,363,863; 4,306,009; GB 2,066,493; and GB 2,065,320 describe liquid developers incorporating polymers having borderline solubility in the carrier solvent.
  • a weakly crosslinked stabilizing gel and a separate latex (or gelatex) are used as a dispersant and/or fixative.
  • the gel and latex are separate molecular species in the ink formulation. That is, the weakly crosslinked gel and latex are not covalently bonded to each other. Separate molecular components can lead to preferential depletion of one of the two components during extended printing thus adversely effecting print quality.
  • the gel organosols disclosed in these patents are graft copolymers dispersed in an aliphatic hydrocarbon carrier solvent.
  • the gel organosols comprising graft copolymers in which a high molecular weight polymeric steric stabilizer (graft stabilizer) is covalently bonded to an insoluble, high molecular weight thermoplastic polymeric core, have the ability to form a three dimensional network of controlled rigidity.
  • the gels are formed by manipulating the solubility parameter difference between the graft stabilizer and the carrier solvent to a range of 2.5-3.0 MPa 1/2 .
  • the gel structures were found to improve liquid ink performance, particularly pigmented liquid electrographic/electrophotographic ink performance, by increasing the sedimentation stability and redispersability of the colorants without compromising print quality, charge stability, or ink transfer performance.
  • image durability refers to the resistance of the printed images to damage by blocking when printed sheets are stacked, erasure resistance, scratch resistance, and abrasion resistance.
  • images printed with liquid toners are less durable than images printed using dry toners.
  • the lower durability of liquid ink printed images may result from a variety of reasons known to those skilled in the art. These include the relatively lower thickness of printed ink films made using liquid toners, the relatively lower adhesive strength of some liquid toners to their print receptors, and the relatively lower cohesive strength of some printed liquid toners due to the comparatively lower glass transition temperature of the polymeric binders used in these liquid inks.
  • U.S. 5,886,067 describes improved durability liquid inks comprising a controlled crystallinity organosol that is not a gel organosol.
  • the controlled crystallinity organosol comprises an insoluble core and a soluble graft stabilizer prepared from a side-chain or main chain crystallizing polymeric moiety that independently and reversibly crystallizes at or above 22°C.
  • Such controlled crystallinity organosols impart improved blocking resistance, erasure resistance, and abrasion resistance to liquid inks containing the organosol.
  • Suitable crystallizing polymeric moieties for incorporation into a graft stabilizer include >C ⁇ 4 acrylic and methacrylic esters which do not form gel organosols based upon solubility parameter difference between graft stabilizer and carrier solvent.
  • the invention features a rapidly self-fixing ink with improved sedimentation and redispersion characteristics useful as a liquid toner in ionographic or electrographic (electrophotographic or electrostatic) imaging and printing processes.
  • the ink is comprised of a polymeric binder in the form of a graft copolymer hydrogen-bonded gel dispersed in an organic solvent or solvent blend having a Kauri-Butanol (KB) number less than 30, and optionally contains one or more colorants.
  • the colorants may take the form of dyes or pigments.
  • One or more charge controlling additives may optionally be added to the ink formulation.
  • Kauri-Butanol refers to an ASTM Test Method Dl 133-54T.
  • the Kauri- Butanol Number (KB) is a measure of the tolerance of a standard solution of kauri resin in 1 -butanol to an added hydrocarbon diluent and is measured as the volume in milliliters (mL) at 25°C of the solvent required to produce a certain defined degree of turbidity when added to 20 g of a standard kauri- 1-butanol solution.
  • Hildebrand Solubility Parameter (MPa 1/2 ) 2.0455[6.3 + 0.03KB (mL)].
  • the graft copolymer is comprised of a soluble or marginally insoluble high molecular weight (co)polymeric steric stabilizer ("graft stabilizer") covalently bonded to an insoluble, high molecular weight thermoplastic (co)polymeric backbone (“organosol core").
  • graft stabilizer soluble or marginally insoluble high molecular weight polymeric steric stabilizer
  • organosol core insoluble, high molecular weight thermoplastic (co)polymeric backbone
  • the gel is formed by incorporating a low percentage of polar monomers in the graft stabilizer, in the organosol core, or in both the graft stabilizer and organosol core.
  • the polar monomers form weak, reversible intermolecular hydrogen bonds between dispersed graft copolymer particles, thereby forming a gel organosol.
  • the gel organosols provide a new approach to improving the sedimentation and redispersion properties of pigmented inks.
  • the method of inducing gelation does not require manipulation of the relative difference in solubility parameter between the graft stabilizer and the carrier solvent into a range (solubility parameter difference greater than 2.5 MPa 1/2 ) that acts to reduce agglomeration stability of the graft copolymer. This allows the ink formulator increased flexibility in selection of monomer components of the graft stabilizer, as well as greater flexibility in carrier fluid selection.
  • side-chain crystallizable monomers that have a high degree of solubility in the carrier solvent may be incorporated into the graft stabilizer without sacrificing gelation characteristics.
  • crystallizable polymeric moieties to improve the durability of non-gel organosol inks has been disclosed in U.S.
  • the hydrogen-bonded gel organosols are particularly useful for their ability to form a three dimensional gel of controlled rigidity which can be reversibly reduced to a fluid state by shearing or heating the organosol or an ink composition containing the organosol.
  • the gels impart useful properties to the liquid ink, notably improved sedimentation stability of the colorant, without compromising print quality or ink transfer performance.
  • the inks formulated with the gels also exhibit improved redispersion characteristics upon settling, and do not form dilatant sediments such as those formed by non-gelled organosol inks. These characteristics of gel inks facilitate preparation and use of high solids ink concentrates (greater than 2% by weight solids, more preferably greater than 10% by weight solids), thus providing an increased number of printed pages or images from a given volume of ink.
  • liquid inks will be described below with respect to electrophotographic printing; however, it is to be understood that these liquid inks are not limited in their utility and may also be employed in other electrographic printing processes, high speed printing presses, photocopying apparatus, microfilm reproduction devices, facsimile printing, ink jet printer, instrument recording devices, and the like.
  • a liquid ink composition comprising a colorant and a gel organosol dispersed in a liquid or liquid blend having a Kauri-Butanol (KB) number less than 30.
  • the liquid ink composition is resistant to sedimentation and is capable of rapidly self-fixing, which is particularly useful in electrophotographic, ionographic, or electrostatic imaging and conventional printing processes.
  • the gel is an amphipathic copolymeric gel comprised of a soluble or marginally insoluble high molecular weight (co)polymeric steric stabilizer which is slightly crosslinked and covalently bonded to an insoluble, thermoplastic (co)polymeric core.
  • the covalently bonded graft steric stabilizer is crosslinked to such an extent that it behaves as an extremely high molecular weight copolymer near its incipient phase separation point in the dispersant liquid.
  • the crosslinked graft stabilizer remains in a freely flowing, easily handled solution until the graft stabilizer is covalently bonded to the insoluble core, at which point a gel organosol is formed.
  • Gel organosols are dispersions in which the attractive interactions between the elements of the dispersed phase are so strong that the whole system develops a rigid network structure and, under small stresses, behaves elastically.
  • the characteristic of organosol gelation is visibly apparent to one skilled in the art.
  • the crosslinked gel organosols rapidly gel to form a voluminous polymer sediment and a substantially clear supernatant layer of carrier liquid upon standing.
  • Gelation of the graft copolymer organosol is induced by forming hydrogen bonds between a plurality of graft stabilizer chains that are subsequently or concomitantly grafted to an insoluble core.
  • the hydrogen-bonding polymerizable compounds may be incorporated in the organosol core, in the organosol shell, or in both the core and the shell. It is also possible to prepare two separate and distinct graft copolymer compositions, each including one or more hydrogen-bonding polymerizable compounds in the core, shell, or both. In this embodiment, gelation would not occur until the two organosols were blended together.
  • the strength of the gel can be readily manipulated by controlling the extent to which the graft stabilizer is crosslinked. Greater gel strength (greater sedimentation resistance) is obtained by increasing the crosslink density (percentage of hydrogen-bonding polymerizable compound) of the graft copolymer. Superior stability of the dispersed toner particles with respect to aggregation is obtained when at least one of the polymers or copolymers (denoted as the stabilizer) is an amphipathic substance containing at least one oligomeric or polymeric component of molecular weight at least 500 that is solvated by the carrier liquid. In other words, the selected stabilizer, if present as an independent molecule, would have some finite solubility in the carrier liquid.
  • the solubility of a material in a given solvent may be predicted from the absolute difference in Hildebrand solubility parameter of the solute relative to the solvent.
  • the solutes will exist as true solutions or in a highly solvated state when the absolute difference in Hildebrand solubility parameter is less than approximately 1.5 MPa 1/2 .
  • the solute will phase separate from the dispersant, forming a solid, insoluble, non-flowing, non-gelled mass.
  • Those solutes having an absolute difference in Hildebrand solubility parameters between 1.5 MPa 1 2 and 3.0 MPa 12 are considered to be weakly solvated or marginally insoluble.
  • solubility parameters of the graft stabilizers, as well as the carrier liquids in which the stabilizers are dispersed are calculated using values for the Hildebrand solubility parameter of the monomers used to prepare the graft stabilizer and solvents obtained using the group contribution method developed by Small, P. A, J. Appl. Chem.. 3, 71 (1953) using Small's group contribution values listed in Table 2.2 on page V ⁇ 7525 in the Polymer Handbook. 3rd Ed., J. Brandrup & E. H. Immergut, Eds. John Wiley, NY, pp 519-557 (1989).
  • the Hildebrand solubility parameter for a copolymer may be calculated using a volume fraction weighting of the individual Hildebrand solubility parameters for each monomer comprising the copolymer.
  • the Hildebrand solubility parameter for a mixture may be calculated using a volume fraction weighting of the individual Hildebrand solubility parameters for each component of the mixture.
  • the Hildebrand solubility parameter for a mixture of solvents or polymerizable compounds may be calculated using a volume fraction weighting of the individual Hildebrand solubility parameters for each chemical compound comprising the solvent mixture.
  • Table I lists the Hildebrand solubility parameters for some common carrier liquids used in an electrophotographic toner and the Hildebrand solubility parameters and glass transition temperatures for some common monomers used in synthesizing organosols.
  • the carrier liquid may be selected from a wide variety of materials which are known in the art, but preferably has a Kauri-Butanol number less than 30.
  • the liquid is typically oleophilic, chemically stable under a variety of conditions, and electrically insulating. Electrically insulating refers to a liquid having a low dielectric constant and a high electrical resistivity. Preferably, the liquid has a dielectric constant of less than 5, more preferably less than 3. Electrical resistivities of carrier liquids are typically greater than 10 9 Ohm-cm, more preferably greater than 10 10 Ohm-cm.
  • the carrier liquid preferably also is relatively nonviscous to allow movement of the charged particles during development, and is sufficiently volatile to permit its removal from the final imaged substrate, but sufficiently non-volatile to minimize evaporative losses in the developer.
  • the carrier liquid should be chemically inert with respect to the materials or equipment used in the liquid electrophotographic process, particularly the photoreceptor and its release surface.
  • suitable carrier liquids include aliphatic hydrocarbons (n-pentane, hexane, heptane, and the like), cycloaliphatic hydrocarbons (cyclopentane, cyclohexane, and the like), aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene, toluene, xylene, and the like), halogenated hydrocarbon solvents (chlorinated alkanes, fluorinated alkanes, chlorofluorocarbons, and the like), silicone oils, and blends of these solvents.
  • aliphatic hydrocarbons n-pentane, hexane, heptane, and the like
  • cycloaliphatic hydrocarbons cyclopentane, cyclohexane, and the like
  • aromatic hydrocarbons benzene, toluene, xylene, and the like
  • halogenated hydrocarbon solvents chlorinated alkanes, fluorinated alkanes, chloroflu
  • Prefereed carrier liquids include branched paraffinic solvent blends such as those commercially available under the trade designations ISOPAR G, ISOPAR H, ISOPAR K, ISOPAR L, ISOPAR M and ISOPAR V (available from Exxon Corporation, NJ), and most preferred carriers are the aliphatic hydrocarbon solvent blends such as those commercially available under the trade designations NORPAR 12, NORPAR 13 and NORPAR 15 (available from Exxon Corporation, NJ).
  • the organosol is a graft copolymer prepared by chemically bonding a generally soluble (co)polymer to a generally insoluble (co)polymer resin core.
  • grafting methods include random grafting of polyfunctional free radicals; ring-opening polymerizations of cyclic ethers, esters, amides or acetals; epoxidations; reactions of hydroxyl or amino chain transfer agents with terminally-unsaturated end groups; esterification reactions (i.e., glycidyl methacrylate undergoes tertiary-amine catalyzed esterification with methacrylic acid); and condensation polymerization.
  • the composition of the graft stabilizer is normally selected such that the
  • Hildebrand Solubility Parameter of the graft stabilizer (shell) closely matches that of the carrier liquid in order to ensure that the stabilizer will be sufficiently solvated to dissolve in the carrier solvent.
  • Virtually any polymerizable compound that exhibits a Hildebrand Solubility Parameter difference less than 3.0 MPa 1/2 relative to the carrier liquid may be used in forming a graft stabilizer.
  • polymerizable compounds that exhibit a Hildebrand Solubility Parameter difference greater than 3.0 MPa 1/2 relative to the carrier liquid may be used in forming a copolymeric graft stabilizer, provided that the effective Hildebrand Solubility Parameter difference for the stabilizer is less than 3.0 MPa 1/2 relative to the carrier liquid.
  • the absolute difference in Hildebrand Solubility Parameter between the graft stabilizer (shell) and the carrier liquid is preferably less than 2.6 MPa 1/2 .
  • Preferred polymerizable compounds useful in forming the graft stabilizer are the C 6 -C 30 acrylic and methacrylic esters.
  • suitable polymerizable compounds for use in the graft stabilizer composition include monomers such as hexyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, decyl acrylate, dodecyl (lauryl) acrylate, octadecyl (stearyl) acrylate, behenyl acrylate, hexyl methacrylate, 2- ethylhexyl(methacrylate), decyl acrylate, dodecyl (lauryl) methacrylate, octadecyl (stearyl) methacrylate and other alkyl acrylates and methacrylates.
  • the polymerizable compounds are also crystallizable compounds having crystallization (melting) temperatures above room temperature (25°C).
  • crystallizable, polymerizable compounds are particularly useful in forming graft stabilizers that yield organosols and inks exhibiting improved image durability, including blocking and erasure resistance.
  • Crystallizable, polymerizable compounds suitable for incorporation into a graft stabilizer include >C ⁇ acrylic and methacrylic esters.
  • Preferable crystallizable, polymerizable compounds include octadecyl acrylate and behenyl acrylate.
  • melamine and melamine formaldehyde resins include phenol formaldehyde resins, epoxy resins, polyester resins, styrene and styrene/acrylic copolymers, acrylic and methacrylic esters, cellulose acetate and cellulose acetate-butyrate copolymers, and poly(vinyl butyral) copolymers.
  • Preferred molecular weight ranges for the graft stabilizer are 5,000-1,000,000
  • the polydispersity of the graft stabilizer also has an affect on imaging and transfer performance of the liquid toners. Generally, it is desirable to maintain the polydispersity (the ratio of the weight-average molecular weight to the number average molecular weight) of the graft stabilizer below 15, more preferably below 5, most preferably below 2.5.
  • Hydrogen-bonding polymerizable compounds include those in which a single compound comprises both a covalently bound hydrogen atom capable of acting as a Bronsted acid proton donor, and an electronegative atom capable of donating an electron pair to a proton, thereby forming the hydrogen bond.
  • hydrogen-bonding polymerizable compounds include those in which a single compound comprises either a covalently bound hydrogen atom capable of acting as a Bronsted acid and donating a proton, or an electronegative atom capable of donating an electron pair to a proton.
  • conjunctively associating, hydrogen-bonding, polymerizable compounds Conjunctively associating, hydrogen-bonding, polymerizable compounds may be further identified as either proton donors or electron pair donors. In order to form intermolecular hydrogen bonds, it is necessary to incorporate both a proton donor and an electron pair donor conjunctively associating, polymerizable compound in the graft copolymer.
  • gelation is induced by incorporating a single self- associating, hydrogen-bonding, polymerizable compound the graft copolymer organosol.
  • the hydrogen-bonding polymerizable compound may be incorporated in the organosol core, in the organosol shell (graft stabilizer), or in both the organosol core and shell.
  • the hydrogen-bonding polymerizable compound is incorporated in the organosol shell.
  • two or more different conjunctively associating, hydrogen-bonding, polymerizable compounds are incorporated in the organosol core, in the organosol shell (graft stabilizer), or in both the organosol core and shell.
  • the hydrogen-bonding polymerizable compounds are both incorporated in the organosol shell.
  • two distinct organosols are prepared.
  • One organosol comprises one or more proton donor, conjunctively associating, hydrogen-bonding polymerizable compounds in the organosol core, in the organosol shell (graft stabilizer), or in both the organosol core and shell.
  • the other organsol comprises one or more electron pair donor, conjunctively associating, hydrogen-bonding polymerizable compounds in the organosol core, in the organosol shell (graft stabilizer), or in both the organosol core and shell.
  • This approach has the advantage that gelation will not occur until the two organosols are blended together, or until inks comprising the two distinct organosols are blended together. This permits easy handling of two self-stable organosols until the organosols are combined with a colorant, to make a gel ink.
  • Suitable self-associating, hydrogen-bonding, polymerizable compounds include acrylic acid, 2-acrylamido-2-methyl propane sulfonic acid, allyl alcohol, allyl amine, allyl ehtylamine, allyl hydroxyethyl ether, p-amino styrene, t-butylamino methacrylate, cinnamyl alcohol , crotonic acid, diallyl amine, 2,3-dihydroxy propyl acrylate, dipentaerythritol monohydroxypentaacrylate, 4-hydroxybutyl acrylate, 4- hydroxybutyl methacrylate, 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, 2- hydroxypropyl acrylate, 2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate, 4-hydroxy styrene, itaconic acid, maleic acid, methallylamine, pentaerythritol tetraacrylate, pent
  • Suitable conjunctively associating, hydrogen-bonding, polymerizable compounds that can act as electron pair donors include all self-associating, hydrogen- bonding, polymerizable compounds, as well as allyl mercaptan, allyl dimethylamine, N-allyl piperidine, 1,3-butanediol diacrylate, 1,4-butanediol diacrylate, 2-butoxyethyl acrylate, 2-butoxyethyl methacrylate, bis diallylamino methane, N,N-diallylmelamine, diethylaminoethyl acrylate, diethylaminoethyl methacrylate, diethylene glycol diacrylate, diethylene glycol dimethacrylate, 2-diisopropylamino ethyl methacrylate, 2-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, 2-dimethylamino methyl styrene, 3- dimethylamino ne
  • the extent of gelation of the hydrogen-bonded gel organosol may be controlled by manipulating the concentration of hydrogen-bonding polymerizable compound incorporated into the graft copolymer. Generally, a higher concentration of hydrogen-bonding polymerizable compound leads to a higher apparent crosslink density and therefore a stronger gel. However, too high a concentration of hydrogen- bonding polymerizable monomer will cause the graft copolymer to solidify into a very high molecular weight, insoluble polymer which is not suitable for incorporation into a crosslinked gel organosol.
  • the preferable amount of hydrogen-bonding polymerizable compound comprising the graft copolymer will depend upon the desired gel strength, as well as whether the hydrogen-bonding polymerizable compound is incorporated in the graft copolymer shell only, the graft copolymer core only, or both the shell and the core.
  • the hydrogen-bonding polymerizable compound is incorporated only in the shell, it is preferably incorporated in the range of 0.1-17% w/w, more preferably 1- 12% w/w, most preferably 3-6% w/w based on the graft stabilizer weight.
  • the hydrogen-bonding polymerizable compound When the hydrogen-bonding polymerizable compound is incorporated only in the core, it is preferably incorporated in the range of 0.1-20% w/w, more preferably 1-12% w/w, most preferably 3-7% w/w based on the core weight. When the hydrogen-bonding polymerizable compound is incorporated both in the shell and the core, it is preferably incorporated in the range of 0.1-12% w/w, more preferably 1-8% w/w, most preferably 3-5% w/w based on the total graft copolymer weight.
  • the organosol is a graft copolymer dispersion formed by covalently bonding the graft stabilizer to an insoluble resin core.
  • the grafting reaction generally occurs between a grafting site incorporated into the graft stabilizer and a reaction site in the polymerizing or polymerized core.
  • the grafting reaction proceeds by reaction of an isocyanate to a hydroxyl group to form a urethane linkage between the stabilizer and the core.
  • the grafting site is preferably formed by incorporating hydroxyl groups into the graft stabilizer during a first free radical polymerization and catalytically reacting all or a portion of these hydroxyl groups with an ethylenically unsaturated aliphatic isocyanate (e.g. meta- isopropenyldimethylbenzyl isocyanate [TMI] or isocyanatoethylmethacrylate [JEM]) to form a urethane linkage during a subsequent non-free radical reaction step.
  • an ethylenically unsaturated aliphatic isocyanate e.g. meta- isopropenyldimethylbenzyl isocyanate [TMI] or isocyanatoethylmethacrylate [JEM]
  • the graft stabilizer is then covalently bonded to the nascent insoluble acrylic (co)polymer core via reaction of the unsaturated vinyl group of the grafting site with ethylenically- unsaturated core monomers (e.g. vinyl esters, particularly acrylic and methacrylic esters with carbon numbers ⁇ 6 or vinyl acetate; vinyl aromatics, such as styrene; acrylonitrile; N-vinyl pyrrolidone; vinyl chloride and vinylidene chloride) during a subsequent free radical polymerization step.
  • ethylenically- unsaturated core monomers e.g. vinyl esters, particularly acrylic and methacrylic esters with carbon numbers ⁇ 6 or vinyl acetate; vinyl aromatics, such as styrene; acrylonitrile; N-vinyl pyrrolidone; vinyl chloride and vinylidene chloride
  • Suitable monomers containing anchoring groups include: adducts of alkenylazlactone comonomers with an unsaturated nucleophile containing hydroxy, amino, or mercaptan groups, such as 2- hydroxyethylmethacrylate, 3-hydroxypropylmethacrylate, 2-hydroxyethylacrylate, pentaerythritol triacrylate, 4-hydroxybutyvinylether, 9-octadecen-l-ol, cinnamyl alcohol, allyl mercaptan, methallylamine; and azlactones, such as 2-alkenyl-4,4- dialkylazlactone of the structure
  • R 1 H, or alkyl having 1 to 5 carbons, preferably one carbon
  • R 2 and R 3 are independently lower alkyl groups having 1 to 8 carbons, preferably 1 to 4 carbons.
  • the grafting mechanism is accomplished by grafting an ethylenically-unsaturated isocyanate (e.g., dimethyl-m-isopropenyl benzylisocyanate, available from American Cyanamid) to hydroxyl groups previously incorporated into the graft stabilizer precursor (e.g., hydroxy ethyl methacrylate).
  • the insoluble organosol core is the dispersed phase of the graft copolymer dispersion.
  • the core polymer is generally made in situ by copolymerization with the stabilizer monomer.
  • the solubility parameter of the core is generally chosen such that it differs substantially from that of the dispersion medium in order to ensure that the core monomers will phase separate during dispersion polymerization (forming the core).
  • Virtually any monomer or combination of monomers may be used in forming the organosol core, provided that the core as a whole is insoluble in the carrier liquid.
  • the Hildebrand solubility parameter difference between the core as a whole and the carrier liquid exceeds 3.0 MPa 1 2 .
  • polymerizable compounds suitable for use in the organosol core include C 1 -C5 acrylate and methacrylate esters such as, methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, butyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, ethyl methacrylate), butyl methacrylate, styrene, and vinyl acetate.
  • Monomers that individually are very soluble in the dispersant medium may also be incorporated into the core in small amounts with monomers which, when polymerized, are not very soluble in the carrier liquid.
  • the effect of incorporating a monomer having good solubility in the carrier liquid into the organosol core will generally be to cause carrier liquid absorption or swelling of the core. This can be particularly useful when higher core T g 's are desired, for example, to improve image durability, but when rapid self-fixing of the ink is still required in the imaging process.
  • the carrier liquid By increasing the affinity of the core for the carrier liquid, the carrier liquid will be imbibed into the core and may act to plasticize the core, permitting rapid self- fixing of an ink comprising a high core T g organosol even at temperatures below the normal minimum film-forming temperature.
  • the Hildebrand solubility parameter difference between the core as a whole and the carrier liquid exceeds 3.0 MPa 1/2 .
  • the amount of soluble monomer incorporated into the core typically ranges between 1-30% w/w, more preferably 5- 20% w/w.
  • Examples of soluble polymerizable compounds suitable for use in the organosol core include C ⁇ -Cso acrylate and methacrylate esters such as cyclohexyl acrylate, hexyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, decyl acrylate, dodecyl (lauryl) acrylate, octadecyl (stearyl) acrylate, behenyl acrylate, cyclohexyl methacrylate, hexyl methacrylate, 2-ethylhexyl(methacrylate), decyl acrylate, dodecyl (lauryl) methacrylate, octadecyl (stearyl) methacrylate, and other acrylates and methacrylates which meet the solubility parameter requirements described above.
  • C ⁇ -Cso acrylate and methacrylate esters such as cyclohexyl acrylate, hexyl
  • the Tg of the core is ⁇ 30°C to allow an ink composition containing the resin as a major component to undergo rapid film formation (rapid self-fixing) in printing or imaging processes carried out at temperatures greater than the core TRON preferably at or above 23 °C. Rapid self-fixing assists in avoiding printing defects (such as smearing or trailing-edge tailing) and incomplete transfer in high speed printing.
  • rapid self-fixing assists in avoiding printing defects (such as smearing or trailing-edge tailing) and incomplete transfer in high speed printing.
  • the use of low T g thermoplastic polymeric binders to promote film formation is described in Z.W. Wicks, Film Formation. Federation of Societies for Coatings Technologies, p 8 (1986).
  • the overprinting capability of a toner is related to the ability of the polymer particles to deform and coalesce into a resinous film during the air drying cycle of the electrophoretically deposited toner particles.
  • the coalescent particles permit the electrostatic latent image to discharge during the imaging cycle so another image can be overprinted.
  • non-coalescent particles retain their shape even after being air dried on the photoreceptor. The points of contact are then few compared to a homogeneous or continuous film-forming latex, and as a result, some of the charges are retained on the unfused particles, repelling the next toner.
  • a toner layer made of polymer particles having a core with a Tg>30°C may be made to coalesce into a film at room temperature if the stabilizer/core ratio is high enough.
  • the choice of stabilizer/(core + stabilizer) ratios in the range 20 wt.% to 80 wt.% can give coalescence at room temperature with core T g values in a corresponding range 25°C to 105°C.
  • the preferred range of stabilizer/(core + stabilizer) ratio is 10 to 40 wt.%.
  • the integrity of the toned image during partial removal of the solvent also depends upon the core Tg, with lower Tg promoting film strength and image integrity at the cost of additional image tack.
  • An organosol core Tg below room temperature is preferred to ensure that the toner will in fact film form.
  • the minimum film forming temperatures are between about 5-45°C and the organosol core Tg is below room temperature to allow the toner to form a film and maintain good image integrity during solvent removal and good cohesive strength during image transfer from the photoconductor onto either a transfer medium or receptor.
  • organosol core Tg is selected to be as high as possible in order to reduce residual tack and maximize image durability.
  • Tg glass transition temperature
  • the organosol core comprises approximately 30-95% of the organosol on a weight basis.
  • the core's Tg will typically dominate over the stabilizer's Tg and the organosol Tg may be taken as a first approximation to be the core Tg.
  • a simple algebraic method based upon a composition-weighted sum of inverse Tg's (using absolute temperatures) can be used to calculate the effective Tg of a copolymer blend used to make-up an organosol core. Similar arguments allow an assumption that the solubility parameter of the stabilizer will generally control the stability of the organosol. Therefore, the stabilizer solubility parameter is preferably selected to closely match that of the dispersant for maximum aggregation stability.
  • polymerizable compounds such as methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, and vinyl acetate are most suitable for incorporation into an organosol core comprising a single polymerizable compound exclusive of the grafting compound (Tg between -30 and
  • the core comprises a copolymer of at least one high glass transition temperature polymerizable compound, such as methyl methacrylate, ethyl methacrylate, or butyl methacrylate, and at least one low glass transition polymerizable compound such as ethyl acrylate or butyl acrylate.
  • a high glass transition temperature polymerizable compound such as methyl methacrylate, ethyl methacrylate, or butyl methacrylate
  • at least one low glass transition polymerizable compound such as ethyl acrylate or butyl acrylate.
  • the prefened polymerizable compounds for use in making a copolymer core in NORPAR 12 carrier liquid are methyl methacrylate and ethyl acrylate, since these monomers individually or in any weight ratio exceed the 3.0 MPa 1 2 Hildebrand solubility parameter difference relative to NORPAR 12 and will therefore readily form an insoluble core in this carrier liquid upon polymerization.
  • ethyl acrylate and methyl methacrylate permit the variation of the core T g anywhere within the range -24°C to 105°C merely by varying the relative weight ratios of the two monomers in the core.
  • a preferred organosol core composition contains about 75 weight percent ethyl acrylate and 25 weight percent methyl methacrylate, yielding a calculated core Tg of -1°C. This permits the toners to rapidly self-fix under normal room temperature or higher development conditions and also produce tack-free fused images that resist blocking at room temperature.
  • polymers which may be used either alone or in conjunction with the aforementioned materials include melamine and melamine formaldehyde resins, phenol formaldehyde resins, epoxy resins, polyester resins, styrene and styrene/acrylic copolymers, acrylic and methacrylic esters, cellulose acetate and cellulose acetate- butyrate copolymers, and poly(vinyl butyral) copolymers.
  • the core/shell ratio is too high, there may be insufficient graft stabilizer present to sterically-stabilize the organosol with respect to aggregation. If the core/shell ratio is too low, the polymerization may have insufficient driving force to form a distinct particulate phase resulting in a copolymer solution, not a self-stable organosol dispersion.
  • the optimal weight ratio of the resin core to the stabilizer shell is on the order of 1/1 to 15/1, preferably between 2/1 and 10/1, and most preferably between 4/1 and 8/1.
  • the particle size of the organosol also influences the imaging, drying, and transfer characteristics of the liquid inks.
  • the primary particle size (determined with dynamic light scattering) of the organosol is between about 0.05 and 5.0 microns, more preferably between 0.15 and 1 micron, most preferably between 0.20 and 0.50 micron.
  • a liquid ink utilizing the aforementioned gel organosol comprises colorant particles embedded in the thermoplastic organosol resin.
  • Useful colorants are well known in the art and include materials such as dyes, stains, and pigments.
  • Preferred colorants are pigments that may be incorporated into the polymer resin, are nominally insoluble in and nonreactive with the carrier liquid, and are useful and effective in making visible the latent electrostatic image. Examples of suitable colorants include: phthalocyanine blue (C.I. Pigment Blue 15:1, 15:2, 15:3, 15:4 and 16), monoarylide yellow (C.I. Pigment Yellow 1, 3, 65, 73 and 74), diarylide yellow (C.I.
  • Pigment Yellow 12, 13, 14, 17 and 83 arylamide (Hansa) yellow (C.I. Pigment Yellow 10, 97, 105 and 111), Pigment Yellow 138, azo red (C.I. Pigment Red 3, 17, 22, 23, 38, 48:1, 48:2, 52:1, 81, 81:1, 81:2, 81:3 and 179), quinacridone magenta (Cl. Pigment Red 122, 202 and 209), and black pigments such as finely divided carbon (CABOT MONARCH 120, CABOT REGAL 300R, CABOT REGAL 350R, VULCAN X72) and the like.
  • CABOT MONARCH 120 CABOT REGAL 300R
  • CABOT REGAL 350R CABOT REGAL 350R
  • VULCAN X72 VULCAN X72
  • the organosol without an added colorant (dye or pigment) to provide a clear protective overcoat for an underlying image on a permanent receptor.
  • the transparent ink may be applied, for example, using well-known coating or electrographic development processes, onto either a temporary imaging receptor or permanent imaging receptor.
  • the transparent organosol is applied to a permanent image receptor, the organosol should be coated onto the surface of the receptor and any underlying image in order to perform as a protective overcoat.
  • the organosol is applied to a temporary image receptor, consideration must be given to the reversal of layers that occurs during offset transfer processes.
  • the transparent organosol may be necessary to coat or develop the transparent organosol as the first layer on a photoreceptive element upon which a multi-colored image is constructed in order to insure that the transparent organosol acts as a protective topcoat upon offset transfer of the image to a permanent image receptor.
  • the optimal weight ratio of resin (organosol) to colorant in the toner particles is on the order of 1/1 to 20/1, preferably between 3/1 and 10/1, and most preferably between 5/1 and 8/1.
  • the total dispersed material in the carrier liquid typically represents 0.5 to 70 weight percent, preferably between 1 and 25 weight percent, most preferably between 2 and 17 weight percent of the total liquid developer composition.
  • the gel organosols have been used to fabricate liquid electrophotographic toners that exhibit excellent imaging characteristics in liquid immersion development.
  • the gel organosol liquid toners exhibit low bulk conductivity, low free phase conductivity, and low charge/mass and high mobility, all of which are desirable characteristics for producing high resolution, background-free images with high optical density.
  • the low bulk conductivity, low free phase conductivity, and low charge/mass of the toners allow them to achieve high developed optical density over a wide range of solids concentrations, thus improving their extended printing performance relative to conventional toners.
  • color liquid toners made according to this invention on development form transparent films that transmit incident light, consequently allowing the photoconductor layer to discharge.
  • the toners have low T g values with respect to most available toner materials. This enables the toners to form films at room temperature. It is not necessary for any specific drying procedures or heating elements to be present in the apparatus. Normal room temperature (19-20°C) is sufficient to enable film forming, as is the ambient internal temperature of the apparatus during operation, which tends to be at a higher temperature (e.g., 25-40°C) even without specific heating elements. It is possible to have the apparatus operate at an internal temperature of 40°C or less at the toning station and immediately thereafter where a fusing operation would ordinarily be located.
  • the gel organosol liquid toners also exhibit improved transfer characteristics relative to conventional inks used in the art, particularly with offset transfer processes.
  • the rapid-fixing characteristics of the toners permit their use in liquid development/dry adhesive offset transfer imaging processes, such as the processes described in U.S. 5,650,253 and 5,916,718. Dry adhesive transfer eliminates the need for coronas or other charging devices to electrostatically assist transfer of a wet image from the imaging surface to the prefened substrate. In addition, dry adhesive transfer of the toner further reduces carry-out of excessive solvent vapors with the image, as would occur with conventional electrostatically-assisted transfer processes.
  • An electrophotographic liquid toner may be formulated by incorporating a charge control agent into the liquid ink.
  • the charge control agent also known as a charge director, provides uniform charge polarity of the toner particles.
  • the charge director may be incorporated into the toner particles using a variety of methods such as chemically reacting the charge director with the toner particle, chemically or physically adsorbing the charge director onto the toner particle (resin or pigment), or chelating the charge director to a functional group incorporated into the toner particle.
  • a prefened method is via a functional group built into the graft stabilizer.
  • the charge director imparts an electrical charge of selected polarity onto the toner particles. Any number of charge directors described in the art may be used.
  • the charge director may be introduced in the form of metal salts consisting of polyvalent metal ions and organic anions as the counterion.
  • Suitable metal ions include Ba(H), Ca(JJ), Mn(H), Zn(U , Zr(TV), Cu(U), Al(m), CTQS), Fe(H), Fe(UI), Sb(JJI), Bi(QI), Co(H), I ⁇ (m), Pb(II), Mg(JJ), Mo(IU), Ni(U), Ag(I), Sr(D), Sn(TV), V(V), Y(UJ), and Ti(JN).
  • Suitable organic anions include carboxylates or sulfonates derived from aliphatic or aromatic carboxylic or sulfonic acids, preferably aliphatic fatty acids such as stearic acid, behenic acid, neodecanoic acid, diisopropylsalicylic acid, octanoic acid, abietic acid, naphthenic acid, octanoic acid, lauric acid, tallic acid, and the like.
  • Prefened positive charge directors are the metallic carboxylates (soaps) described in U.S.
  • prefened charge direction levels for a given toner formulation will depend upon a number of factors, including the composition of the graft stabilizer and organosol, the molecular weight of the organosol, the particle size of the organosol, the core/shell ratio of the organosol, the pigment used in making the toner, and the ratio of organosol to pigment.
  • prefened charge direction levels will also depend upon the nature of the electrophotographic imaging process, particularly the design of the developing hardware and photoreceptive element. Those skilled in the art, however, know how to adjust the level of charge direction based on the listed parameters to achieve the desired results for their particular application.
  • the conductivity of a liquid toner has been well-established in the art as a measure of the effectiveness of a toner in developing electrophotographic images.
  • a range of values from 1.OxlO "11 mho/cm to 10.0x10 "11 mho/cm has been disclosed as advantageous in U.S. 3,890,240.
  • High conductivities generally indicate inefficient association of the charges on the toner particles and are seen in the low relationship between cunent density and toner deposited during development.
  • -Low conductivities indicate little or no charging of the toner particles and lead to very low development rates.
  • the use of charge director compounds to ensure sufficient charge associated with each particle is a common practice.
  • a measure of the required properties is the ratio between the conductivity of the carrier liquid as it appears in the liquid toner and the conductivity of the liquid toner as a whole. This ratio is preferably less than 0.6, more preferably less than 0.4, and most preferably less than 0.3.
  • any number of methods may be used for effecting particle size reduction of the pigment in preparation of the gel liquid toners.
  • Some suitable methods include high shear homogenization, ball-milling, attritor milling, high energy bead (sand) milling, basket milling, or other means known in the art.
  • the ink is milled in an attritor, vertical bead mill, or basket mill to avoid overshearing the organosol, which can cause an undesirable reduction in ink stability and adversely affect charge characteristics such as ink conductivity.
  • an electrostatic image is formed on the surface of a photoreceptive element or dielectric element.
  • the photoreceptive element or dielectric element may be an intermediate transfer dram or belt, or the substrate for the final toned image itself, as described by Schmidt, S. P. and Larson, J. R. in Handbook of Imaging Materials Diamond, A. S., Ed: Marcel Dekker: New York; Chapter 6, pp 227-252, and U.S. Patent Nos. 4,728,983, 4,321,404, and 4,268,598.
  • a latent image is typically formed by (1) placing a charge image onto the dielectric element (typically the receiving substrate) in selected areas of the element with an electrostatic writing stylus or its equivalent to form a charge image, (2) applying toner to the charge image, and (3) fixing the toned image.
  • An example of this type of process is described in U.S. Patent No. 5,262,259.
  • Images formed by the present invention may be of a single color or a plurality of colors. Multicolor images can be prepared by repetition of the charging and toner application steps. Examples of electrophotographic methods suitable for producing full color reproductions are described by U.S. PatentNos.
  • the electrostatic image is typically formed on a dram or belt coated with a photoreceptive element by (1) uniformly charging the photoreceptive element with an applied voltage, (2) exposing and discharging portions of the photoreceptive element with a radiation source to form a latent image, (3) applying a toner to the latent image to form a toned image, and (4) transferring the toned image through one or more steps to a final receptor sheet.
  • electrophotography is preferably carried out by dissipating charge on a positively charged photoreceptive element.
  • Toner is then applied to the regions in which the positive charge was dissipated using a liquid toner immersion development technique. This development may be accomplished by using a uniform electric field produced by a development electrode spaced near the photoreceptive element surface.
  • a bias voltage is applied to the electrode intermediate to the initially charged surface voltage and the exposed surface voltage level. The voltage is adjusted to obtain the required maximum density level and tone reproduction scale for halftone dots without any background deposited. Liquid toner is then caused to flow between the electrode and the photoreceptive element.
  • the charged toner particles are mobile in the field and are attracted to the discharged areas on the photoreceptive element while being repelled from the undischarged non-image areas. Excess liquid toner remaining on the photoreceptive element is removed by techniques well known in the art. Thereafter, the photoreceptive element surface may be force dried or allowed to dry at the ambient conditions.
  • U.S. 5,650,253 basically involves the steps of (i) applying a uniform positive charge of approximately 700 volts on the surface of a photoreceptive element, (ii) exposing and partially discharging the surface of the photoreceptive element with a laser scanning device in an image-wise pattern to create a latent image, (iii) applying a liquid color toner to the latent image to form both a toned image and a uniform surface charge on the photoreceptive element, (iv) removing excess liquid toner, (v) drying the toned image, and (vi) transferring the toned image either directly or indirectly onto a final receptor. To form multi-colored images, steps (i) through (iv) are repeated until all the desired colors are formed on the photoreceptive element prior to transferring the images either directly or indirectly onto a final receptor.
  • U.S. 5,916,718 is similar to that of U.S. 5,650,253, except that processes (ii) through (v) are repeated in forming a multi-colored image. Unlike conventional electrophotographic processes, this process of forming multi- colored images may be accomplished without erasing the residual charge and recharging the surface of the photoreceptive element prior to scanning and developing a subsequent image.
  • the liquid toner of the present invention provides sufficient charge in the imaged areas to allow the creation of a subsequent latent image without erasing and recharging the surface.
  • 5,916,718 may be carried out in a manner such that steps ( ⁇ )-(vi) are repeated in forming a multicolored image, in which case the multi-colored image may be built up on an intermediate transfer element, or may be built up on the final image receptor.
  • steps ( ⁇ )-(vi) are repeated in forming a multicolored image, in which case the multi-colored image may be built up on an intermediate transfer element, or may be built up on the final image receptor.
  • These methods make use of an offset transfer process incorporating as an element an intermediate transfer roller which is coated with a silicone or fluorosilicone elastomer composition, which is heated to between 80-100°C, and which applies a force of approximately 40-80 lbf across the entire contact zone with the photoreceptor.
  • a suitable coating composition for the transfer roller is the Dow Corning 94-003 fluorosilicone elastomer heated to between 85-95°C.
  • Prefened elastomeric coating compositions are disclosed in U.S. 5,965,
  • the substrate for receiving the image from either the photoreceptive element in electrophotographic printing or the dielectric element in electrostatic printing can be any commonly used receptor material, such as paper, coated paper, polymeric films and primed or coated polymeric films, particularly adhesive coated polymeric films.
  • Suitable polymeric films include polyesters, plasticized and compounded polyvinyl chloride (PVC), acrylics, polyurethanes, polyethylene/acrylic acid copolymers, ethylene/meth-acrylic acid copolymers (e.g., available under the trade designation SURLYN from DuPont) and polyvinyl butyrals.
  • PVC polyvinyl chloride
  • acrylics acrylics
  • polyurethanes polyurethanes
  • polyethylene/acrylic acid copolymers ethylene/meth-acrylic acid copolymers
  • SURLYN trade designation SURLYN from DuPont
  • polyvinyl butyrals commercially available composite materials such as those having the trade designations SCOTCHCAL, SCOTCHL
  • the transfer of the formed image from the surface of photoreceptor or dielectric element to the final receptor or transfer medium may be enhanced by the incorporation of a release-promoting material within the dispersed particles used to form the image.
  • a release-promoting material within the dispersed particles used to form the image.
  • the incorporation of a silicone-containing material or a fluorine- containing material in the outer (shell) layer of the particle facilitates the efficient transfer of the image.
  • the toners may be applied to the surface of the dielectric element or photoreceptive element in any order, but for colorimetric reasons, bearing in mind the inversion that occurs on transfer, it is sometimes prefened to apply the images in a specified order depending upon the transparency and intensity of the colors.
  • a prefened order for direct imaging or double transfer process is yellow, magenta, cyan, and black; for a single transfer process, the prefened order is black, cyan, magenta, and yellow. Yellow is generally imaged first to avoid contamination from other toners and black is generally imaged last due to the black toner acting as a filter of the radiation source.
  • Overcoating of the transfened image may optionally be carried out to protect the image from physical damage and/or actinic damage.
  • compositions for overcoatings are well known in the art and typically comprise a clear film-forming polymer dissolved or suspended in a volatile solvent.
  • An ultraviolet light absorbing agent may optionally be added to the coating composition.
  • Lamination of protective layers to the image-bearing surface is also well known in the art and may be used with this invention
  • liquid toners preferably have conductance values in the range of 50 to 1200 picomho-cm "1 at their working concentrations.
  • Liquid toners prepared according to the present invention preferably have conductance values of from 50 to 500 picomho-cm "1 for a dispersion containing 3% by weight solids.
  • Toners are usually prepared in a concentrated form to conserve storage space and reduce transportation costs. In order to use the toners in the printer, the concentrate is diluted with additional carrier liquid to give what is termed the working strength liquid toner.
  • the hydrogen-bonded gel organosol provides an efficient method for formulating a high solids ink.
  • the hydrogen-bonded gel organosol will phase separate into two phases, one phase comprising primarily a portion of the carrier liquid and the other phase a concentrated gel organosol dispersion. Once separated, the gel organosol can be simply redispersed with mixing or by removal of the separated carrier liquid form a concentrate of the dispersion.
  • a high solids ink for printing or replenishment may be produced by allowing the organosol to gel and then decanting or siphoning off the supernatant liquid, thus forming a concentrate of the gel polymer in the dispersant liquid.
  • the carrier liquid may be removed either prior to or after the addition of the pigment and or charge director and either before or after milling the toner.
  • the catalysts used in the examples are Azobisisobutyronitrile (designated as
  • ATJBN available under the trade designation VAZO-64 from DuPont Chemicals, Wilmington, DE
  • DBTDL Dibutyl TinDilaurate
  • the monomers are all available from Scientific Polymer Products, Inc., Ontario, NY unless designated otherwise.
  • TMI Dimethyl-m-isopropenyl benzylisocyanate
  • EA Ethyl Acrylate
  • EHMA 2-Ethylhexyl Methacrylate
  • Glycidyl methacrylate Glycidyl methacrylate
  • HEMA 2-Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate
  • LMA Lauryl Methacrylate or Dodecyl Methacrylate
  • MAA Methacrylic acid
  • MMA Methyl Methacrylate
  • ODA Octadecyl Acrylate or Stearyl Acrylate
  • Percent solids of the graft stabilizer solutions, and the organosol and ink dispersions, were determined gravimetrically using an infrared lamp drying oven attachment to a precision analytical balance (Mettler Instruments Inc., Hightstown, NJ). Approximately two grams of sample were used in each determination of percent solids using this sample drydown method.
  • graft stabilizer molecular weight is normally expressed in terms of the weight average molecular weight (M w ), while molecular weight polydispersity is given by the ratio of the weight average molecular weight to the number average molecular weight (M w M n ).
  • M w weight average molecular weight
  • M n number average molecular weight
  • Absolute M w was determined using a Dawn DSP-F light scattering detector (Wyatt Technology Corp, Santa Barbara, CA), while polydispersity was evaluated by ratioing the measured M w to a value of Mn determined with an Optilab 903 differential refractometer detector (Wyatt Technology Corp, Santa Barbara, CA).
  • Organosol particle size was determined by dynamic light scattering on a diluted toner sample (typically ⁇ 0.0001 g ml) using a Malvern Zetasizer HI Photon Conelation Spectrometer (Malvern Instraments Inc, Southborough, MA). The dilute samples were ultrasonicated for one minute at 100 watts and 20 kiloHz (kHz) prior to measurement. Dynamic light scattering provides a fast method of determining the particle translational diffusion coefficent, which can be related to the z-average particle diameter without detailed knowledge of the optical and physical properties (i.e. refractive index, density and viscosity) of the organosol.
  • optical and physical properties i.e. refractive index, density and viscosity
  • the characterization of a liquid toner requires the measurement of a number of physical and chemical properties of the toner, as well as direct evaluation of image quality obtained by developing the toner in a LEP imaging mechanism.
  • the measured toner characteristics can be roughly broken down into size-related properties (particle size), charge-related properties (bulk and free phase conductivity, dynamic mobility and zeta potential, and charge/developed reflectance optical density (Q ROD), a parameter which is directly proportional to the toner charge/mass.
  • Toner particle size distributions were determined using a Horiba LA-900 laser diffraction particle size analyzer (Horiba Instruments, J-nc, Irvine, CA). Toner samples were diluted approximately 1/500 by volume and sonicated for one minute at 150 watts and 20 kHz prior to measurement. Toner particle size was expressed on a number-average basis in order to provide an indication of the fundamental (primary) particle size of the ink particles.
  • the liquid toner conductivity (bulk conductivity, kb) was determined at approximately 18 Hz using a Scientifica model 627 conductivity meter (Scientifica Instruments, Inc., Princeton, NJ).
  • the free (dispersant) phase conductivity (k f ) in the absence of toner particles was also determined.
  • Toner particles were removed from the liquid milieu by centrifugation at 5°C for 1-2 hours at 6,000 rpm (6,110 relative centrifugal force) in a JouanMR1822 centrifuge (Winchester, VA). The supernatant liquid was then carefully decanted, and the conductivity of this liquid was measured using a Scientifica Model 627 conductance meter. The percentage of free phase conductivity relative to the bulk toner conductivity was then determined as:
  • Toner particle electrophoretic mobility was measured using a Matec MBS-8000 Electrokinetic Sonic Amplitude Analyzer (Matec Applied Sciences, Inc., Hopkinton, MA). Unlike electrokinetic measurements based upon microelectrophoresis, the MBS-8000 instrament has the advantage of requiring no dilution of the toner sample in order to obtain the mobility value. Thus, it was possible to measure toner particle dynamic mobility at solids concentrations actually prefened in printing. The MBS-8000 measures the response of charged particles to high frequency (1.2 MHz) alternating (AC) electric fields.
  • the relative motion between charged toner particles and the surrounding dispersion medium generates an ultrasonic wave at the same frequency of the applied electric field.
  • the amplitude of this ultrasonic wave at 1.2 MHz can be measured using a piezoelectric quartz transducer; this electrokinetic sonic amplitude (ESA) is directly proportional to the low field AC electrophoretic mobility of the particles.
  • ESA electrokinetic sonic amplitude
  • the particle zeta potential can then be computed by the instrament from the measured dynamic mobility and the known toner particle size, dispersant liquid viscosity, and liquid dielectric constant.
  • Toner charge/mass is an important, albeit difficult to determine parameter useful in predicting the development characteristics (e.g. optical density, overtoiling uniformity) for liquid toners.
  • the difficult in determining charge/mass for liquid toners arises from the low developed toner mass (typically 50-200 micro grams/cm 2 ) associated with the desired developed optical densities (typically > 1.2 reflectance optical density units).
  • a related parameter that is directly proportional to toner charge/mass is the toner charge/developed optical density. This parameter was determined by plating ink particles in distinct bands covering a range of known plating potentials onto a dielectric sheet coated with a silicone release layer while simultaneously monitoring the total cunent flow with a sensitive electrometer.
  • the resulting plated toner layer was then air dried and transfened using an offset transfer process to plain paper.
  • the reflectance optical density of the completely transfened toner film on paper was determined using a Greteg SPM50 reflectance optical densitometer (Greteg Instraments Inc., Regensdorf, Wegerland).
  • graft stabilizer preparations it will be convenient to summarize the compositional details of each particular graft stabilizer or graft stabilizer precursor by ratioing the weight percentage of monomers employed in the synthesis.
  • a graft stabilizer designated LMA/HEMA-TMI (96/1/3-4.7 %w/w) is made from a graft stabilizer precursor which is a copolymer consisting of 96% weight percent LMA and 3% weight percent HEMA, to which is covalently bonded a grafting site consisting of 4.7 weight percent TMI based on the total weight of the graft stabilizer precursor.
  • a 3000 ml 3 -necked round bottom flask equipped with a condenser, a thermocouple connected to a digital temperature controller, a nitrogen inlet tube connected to a source of dry nitrogen, and a magnetic stiner was charged with a mixture of 1448 g of NORPAR 12 solvent, 485 g of LMA, 16 g of 96% HEMA, and 5 g of AT-BN. While magnetically stirring the mixture, the reaction flask was purged with dry nitrogen for 30 minutes at a flow rate of approximately 2 liters/min. A hollow glass stopper was then inserted into the open end of the condenser and the nitrogen flow rate was reduced to approximately 0.5 liters/min. The mixture was heated to 70°C with stirring, and the mixture was allowed to polymerize at 70°C for 16 hours, at which time the conversion was quantitative.
  • the mixture was heated to 90°C and held at that temperature for 1 hour to destroy any residual ATBN, then was cooled back to 70°C.
  • the nitrogen inlet tube was then removed, and 7.8 g of 95% DBTDL were added to the mixture, followed by 23.5 g of TMI.
  • the TMI was added drop wise over the course of approximately 5 minutes while magnetically stirring the reaction mixture.
  • the nitrogen inlet tube was replaced, the hollow glass stopper in the condenser was removed, and the reaction flask was purged with dry nitrogen for 30 minutes at a flow rate of approximately 2 liters/min.
  • the hollow glass stopper was reinserted into the open end of the condenser and the nitrogen flow rate was reduced to approximately 0.5 liters/min.
  • the mixture was allowed to react at 70°C for 6 hours, at which time the conversion was quantitative.
  • the mixture was then cooled to room temperature.
  • the cooled mixture was a viscous, transparent liquid containing no visible insoluble matter.
  • the percent solids of the liquid mixture was determined as 24.71 % using the infrared drying method described above. Subsequent determination of molecular weight was made using GPC method described above.
  • the copolymer had a M w of 174,504 Da and a M w /Mn of 4.24.
  • the product is a copolymer of LMA and HEMA having random side chains of TMI and is designated herein as LMA/HEMA-TMI (97/3-4.7% w/w).
  • Example 2 Using the method and apparatus of Example 1, 1026 g of NORPAR 12 solvent, 340 g of LMA, 11 g of 96% HEMA, and 1.4 g of ADBN were combined in a 2000 ml 3-necked round bottom flask. The resulting mixture reacted at 70°C for 16 hours. The mixture was heated to 90°C for 1 hour to destroy any residual AIBN, then was cooled back to 70°C. To the cooled mixture was then added 5.4 g of 95% DBTDL and 16.5 g of TMI. The TMI was added drop wise over the course of approximately 5 minutes while magnetically stirring the reaction mixture. Following the procedure of Example 1, the mixture was reacted at 70°C for approximately 6 hours, at which time the conversion was quantitative. The mixture was then cooled to room temperature. The cooled mixture was a highly viscous, transparent liquid containing no visible insoluble matter.
  • the percent solids of the liquid mixture was determined as 25.61% using the infrared drying method described above. Subsequent determination of molecular weight was made using GPC method described above.
  • the copolymer had a M w of 357,597 Da and a M w M n of 4.46.
  • the product is a copolymer of LMA and HEMA having random side chains of TMI and is designated herein as LMA HEMA- TMI(97/3-4.7% w/w).
  • the mixture was allowed to react for approximately 16 hours, at which time the conversion of monomer to polymer was quantitative.
  • the mixture was heated to 90°C for 1 hour to destroy any residual AIBN, then was cooled to room temperature.
  • the bottle was then opened and 0.6 g of 95% DBTDL and 1.8 g of TMI were added to the cooled mixture.
  • the bottle was purged for 1 minute with dry nitrogen at a rate of approximately 1.5 liter/minute, then sealed with screw cap fitted with a Teflon liner. The cap was secured in place using electrical tape.
  • the sealed bottle was then inserted into a metal cage assembly and installed on the agitator assembly of the Atlas Launder-Ometer.
  • the Launder-Ometer was operated at its fixed agitator speed of 42 rpm with a water bath temperature of 70°C. The mixture was allowed to react for 6 hours, at which time the conversion was quantitative. The cooled mixture was a viscous, slightly cloudy solution liquid containing phase separated polymers. 1 The percent solids of the liquid mixture was determined as 25.67 % using infrared drying method described above. The molecular weight was not determined because the graft stabilizer phase separated.
  • the product is copolymer of EHMA and HEMA containing random side chains of TMI and is designated herein as EHMA HEMA-TMI (97/6-4.7% w/w).
  • Example 2 Using the method and apparatus of Example 1, 1448 g of NORPAR 12 solvent, 485 g of LMA, 31 g of 96% HEMA, and 5 g of ACBN were combined in a reaction flask. The resulting mixture reacted at 70°C for 16 hours. The mixture was heated to 90°C for 1 hour to destroy any residual AJ-BN, then was cooled back to 70°C. To the cooled mixture was then added 7.8 g of 95% DBTDL and 23.5 g of TMI. The TMI was added drop wise over the course of approximately five minutes while magnetically stirring the reaction mixture. Following the procedure of Example 1, the mixture was reacted at 70°C for approximately 6 hours, at which time the conversion was quantitative. The mixture was then cooled to room temperature. The cooled mixture was a viscous, transparent liquid containing no visible insoluble matter.
  • the percent solids of the liquid mixture was determined as 26.50% using the infrared drying method described above. Subsequent determination of molecular weight was made using GPC method described above.
  • the copolymer had a M w of 222,401 Da and a M w /M n of 4.52.
  • the product is a copolymer of LMA and HEMA having random side chains of TMI and is designated herein as LMA/HEMA- TMI(97/6-4.7% w/w).
  • Example 5 Using the method and apparatus of Example 3, 110 g of NORPAR 12 solvent,
  • the percent solids of the liquid mixture was determined as 26.01% using infrared drying method described above. Subsequent determination of molecular weight was made using the GPC method described above.
  • the copolymer had a M w of 233,060 Da and M w /M n of 5.96.
  • the product is copolymer of LMA and HEMA containing random side chains of TMI and is designated herein as LMA/HEMA- TMI (97/10-4.7% w/w).
  • Example 3 Using the method and apparatus of Example 3, 105 g of NORPAR 12 solvent, 36 g of LMA, 5.5 g of 96% HEMA, and 0.4 g of AIBN were combined in a reaction bottle. The resulting mixture reacted at 70°C for 16 hours. The mixture was heated to 90°C for 1 hour to destroy any residual AIBN, then was cooled back to 70°C. To the cooled mixture was then added 0.6 g of 95% DBTDL and 1.8 g of TMI. Following the procedure of Example 3, the mixture was reacted at 70°C for approximately 6 hours, at which time the conversion was quantitative. The mixture was then cooled to room temperature. The cooled mixture was an opaque white dispersion.
  • the percent solids of the liquid mixture was determined as 28.51 % using infrared drying method described above. Subsequent determination of molecular weight was made using the GPC method described above.
  • the copolymer had a M w of228,374 Da and M w /Mschreib of6.34.
  • the product is copolymer of LMA and HEMA containing random side chains of TMI and is designated herein as LMA/HEMA-TMI (97/15-4.7% w/w).
  • Example 3 Using the method and apparatus of Example 3, 107 g of NORPAR 12 solvent, 36 g of ODA, 3.63 g of 96% HEMA, and 0.4 g of AJBN were combined in a reaction bottle. The resulting mixture reacted at 70°C for 16 hours. The mixture was heated to 90°C for 1 hour to destroy any residual AIBN, then was cooled back to 70°C. To the cooled mixture was then added 0.6 g of 95% DBTDL and 1.8 g of TMI. Following the procedure of Example 3, the mixture was reacted at 70°C for approximately 6 hours, at which time the conversion was quantitative. The mixture was then cooled to room temperature. The cooled mixture was an opaque white dispersion.
  • the percent solids of the liquid mixture was determined as 28.14 % using the infrared drying method described above. Subsequent determination of molecular weight was made using the GPC method described above.
  • the copolymer had a M w of 137,776 Da and M w /Mlois of 6.18.
  • the product is a copolymer of ODA and HEMA having random side chains of TMI and is designated herein as ODA/HEMA- TMI(97/10-4.7% w/w).
  • Example 2 Using the method and apparatus of Example 1, 1448 g of NORPAR 12 solvent, 485 g of LMA, 16 g of 96% HEMA, 15 g of GMA, and 5 g of ATBN were combined in a reaction flask. The resulting mixture reacted at 70°C for 16 hours. The mixture was heated to 90°C for 1 hour to destroy any residual AIBN, then was cooled back to 70°C. To the cooled mixture was then added 7.8 g of 95% DBTDL and 23.5 g of TMI. The TMI was added drop wise over the course of approximately 5 minutes while magnetically stirring the reaction mixture. Following the procedure of Example 1, the mixture was reacted at 70°C for approximately 6 hours, at which time the conversion was quantitative. The mixture was then cooled to room temperature.
  • the cooled mixture was a viscous, transparent liquid containing no visible insoluble matter.
  • the percent solids of the liquid mixture was determined as 26.43% using the infrared drying method described above. Subsequent determination of molecular weight was made using GPC method described above.
  • the copolymer had a M w of 251,447 Da and a M w /Mn of 4.75.
  • the product is a terpolymer containing LMA, GMA, and HEMA having random side chains of TMI and is designated herein as LMA/HEMA/GMA-TMI(97/3/3-4.7% w/w).
  • Example 2 Using the method and apparatus of Example 1, 1448 g of NORPAR 12 solvent, 485 g of LMA, 16 g of 96% HEMA, 15 g of MAA, and 5 g of ATBN were combined in a reaction flask. The resulting mixture reacted at 70°C for 16 hours. The mixture was heated to 90°C for 1 hour to destroy any residual AIBN, then was cooled back to 70°C. To the cooled mixture was then added 7.8 g of 95% DBTDL and 23.5 g of TMI. The TMI was added drop wise over the course of approximately 5 minutes while magnetically stirring the reaction mixture. Following the procedure of Example 1, the mixture was reacted at 70°C for approximately 6 hours, at which time the conversion was quantitative. The mixture was then cooled to room temperature. The cooled mixture was a viscous, transparent liquid containing no visible insoluble matter.
  • the percent solids of the liquid mixture was determined as 26.28% using the infrared drying method described above. Subsequent determination of molecular weight was made using GPC method described above.
  • the copolymer had a M w of 213 ,719 Da and a M w /M n of 5.51.
  • the product is a terpolymer containing LMA, MAA and HEMA having random side chains of TMI and is designated herein as LMA/HEMA/MAA-TMI(97/3/3-4.7% w/w).
  • Example 10 Using the method and apparatus of Example 3, 109 g of NORPAR 13 solvent, 109 g of NORPAR 13 solvent,
  • the percent solids of the liquid mixture was determined as 25.67 % using the infrared drying method described above. Subsequent determination of molecular weight was made using the GPC method described above.
  • the copolymer had a M w of 203,207 Da and a M w /M n of 4.67.
  • the product is copolymer of LMA and HEMA containing random side chains of TMI and is designated herein as LMA HEMA-TMI (97/6-4.7% w/w).
  • HEMA in Shell/Core refers to the weight percent of HEMA in the organosol shell, core, or both in excess of 3 weight percent.
  • Table UL Summary of Organosols For Examples from 11 to 24
  • the Launder-Ometer was operated at its fixed agitation speed of 42 rpm with a water bath temperature of 70°C. The mixture was allowed to react for 16 hours, at which time the resulting organosol was cooled to room temperature. The cooled mixture was an opaque white dispersion that formed a weak gel over the course of approximately 1 week.
  • the percent solids of this organosol dispersion was determined as 12.54% using the infrared drying method described above. Subsequent determination of average particle size was made using the dynamic light scattering method described above.
  • the organosol had a z-average diameter of 107.4 nm with a standard deviation of 11.5 nm.
  • This organosol is designated LMA/HEMA-TMI//EA/MMA/HEMA (97/3-4.7//75/25/5% w/w)
  • Example 12 Using the method and apparatus of Example 11, 123.97 g of NORPAR 12 solvent, 12 g of EA, 4 g of MMA, 1.67 g of 96% HEMA, 8.10 g of the graft stabilizer mixture from Example 1 at 24.71% polymer solids, and 0.27 g of AIBN were combined in a reaction flask. The resulting mixture was heated to 70°C and reacted for 16 hours, at which time the resulting organosol was cooled to room temperature. The cooled mixture was an opaque white dispersion that slowly formed a weak gel over the course of approximately 3 days.
  • the percent solids of this organosol dispersion was determined as 12.90 % using the infrared drying method described above. Subsequent determination of average particle size was made using the dynamic light scattering method described above.
  • the organosol had a z-average diameter of 90.2 nm with a standard deviation of 20.8 nm. This organosol is designated LMA/HEMA-TMI /EA/MMA/HEMA (97/3-4.7//75/25/10% w/w).
  • Example 11 Using the method and apparatus of Example 11, 122.3 g of NORPAR 12 solvent, 12 g of EA, 4 g of MMA, 3.33 g of 96% HEMA, 8.10 g of the graft stabilizer mixture from Example 1 at 24.71% polymer solids, and 0.27 g of AJBN were combined in a reaction flask. The resulting mixture was heated to 70°C and reacted for 16 hours, at which time the resulting organosol was cooled to room temperature. The cooled mixture was an opaque white dispersion that coagulated. This organosol is designated LMA/HEMA-TMI /EA/MMA/HEMA (97/3-4.7//75/25/20% w/w).
  • Example 14 Using the method and apparatus of Example 11, 126.04 g of NORPAR 12 solvent, 4 g of EA, 12 g of MMA, 7.69 g of the graft stabilizer mixture from Example 5 at 26.01% polymer solids, and 0.27 g of AIBN were combined in a reaction flask. The resulting mixture was heated to 70°C and reacted for 16 hours, at which time the resulting organosol was cooled to room temperature. The cooled mixture was an opaque white dispersion that rapidly formed a strong gel within 1 hour.
  • the percent solids of this organosol dispersion was determined as 11.77 % using the infrared drying method described above. Subsequent determination of average particle size was made using the dynamic light scattering method described above.
  • the organosol had a z-average diameter of 206.9 nm with a standard deviation of 16.3 nm. This organosol is designated LMA HEMA-TMI /MMA/EA/HEMA (97/10-4.7//25/75% w/w).
  • Example 11 Using the method and apparatus of Example 11, 253.43 g of NORPAR 12 solvent, 24 g of EA, 8 g of MMA, 14.03 g of the graft stabilizer mixture from Example 6 at 28.51% polymer solids, and 0.27 g of AIBN were combined in a 16 ounce bottle. The resulting mixture was heated to 70°C and reacted for 16 hours, at which time the resulting organosol was cooled to room temperature. The cooled mixture was an opaque white dispersion that rapidly formed a strong gel within 1 hour. The percent solids of this organosol dispersion was determined as 11.76 % using the infrared drying method described above. Subsequent determination of average particle size was made using the dynamic light scattering method described above. The organosol had a z-average diameter of 305.3 nm with a standard deviation of 21.2 nm. This organosol is designated LMA HEMA-TMI /MMA EA/HEMA
  • a hollow glass stopper was then inserted into the open end of the condenser and the nitrogen flow rate was reduced to approximately 0.5 liters/min.
  • the mixture was heated to 70°C with stirring and reacted for 16 hours, at which time the resulting organosol was cooled to room temperature.
  • the conversion was quantitative.
  • n-heptane Approximately 200 g of n-heptane were added to the cooled organosol, and the resulting mixture was stripped of residual monomer using a rotary evaporator equipped with a dry ice/acetone condenser and operating at a temperature of 90°C and a vacuum of approximately 15 mm Hg.
  • the stripped organosol was cooled to room temperature, yielding an opaque dispersion that rapidly formed a strong gel over the course of 1 hour, with a clear supernatant liquid phase above the gel.
  • the percent solids of this organosol dispersion was determined as 12.10% using the infrared drying method described above. Subsequent determination of average particle size was made using the dynamic light scattering method described above.
  • the organosol had a z-average diameter of 183.0 nm with a standard deviation of 24.7 nm. This organosol is designated LMA/HEMA-TMI /MMA EA/HEMA (97/6/-4.7//75/25/5% w/w).
  • Example 17 Using the method and apparatus of Example 11, 124.52 g of NORPAR 12 solvent, 12 g of EA, 4 g of MMA, 1.67 g of 96% HEMA, 7.55 g of the graft stabilizer mixture from Example 4 at 26.50 % polymer solids, and 0.27 g of AIBN were combined in an 8 ounce reaction bottle. The resulting mixture was heated to 70°C and reacted for 16 hours, at which time the resulting organosol was cooled to room temperature. The cooled mixture was an opaque white dispersion that coagulated. This organosol is designated LMA/HEMA-TMI /MMA/EA/HEMA (97/6/- 4.7//75/25/10% w/w).
  • Example 11 125.21 g of NORPAR 12 solvent, 12 g of EA, 4 g of MMA, 0.83 g of 96% HEMA, 7.69 g of the graft stabilizer mixture from Example 5 at 26.01 % polymer solids, and 0.27 g of AIBN were combined in an 8 ounce reaction bottle. The resulting mixture was heated to 70°C and reacted for 16 hours, at which time the resulting organosol was cooled to room temperature. The cooled mixture was an opaque white dispersion that coagulated. This organosol is designated LMA/HEMA-TMI /MMA/EA HEMA (97/10/- 4.7//75/25/5% w/w).
  • Example 11 Using the method and apparatus of Example 11, 250.21 g of NORPAR 12 solvent, 24 g of EA, 8 g of MMA, 1.67 g of 96% HEMA, 15.58 g of the graft stabilizer mixture from Example 3 at 25.67 % polymer solids, and 0.27 g of ATBN were combined in a 16 ounce reaction bottle. The resulting mixture was heated to 70°C and reacted for 16 hours, at which time the resulting organosol was cooled to room temperature. The cooled mixture was an opaque white dispersion that rapidly formed a very strong gel within 1 hour.
  • the percent solids of this organosol dispersion was determined as 12.18% using the infrared drying method described above. Subsequent determination of average particle size was made using the dynamic light scattering method described above.
  • the organosol had a z-average diameter of 197.8 nm with a standard deviation of 19.4 nm. This organosol is designated EHMA/HEMA-TMI MMA/EA/HEMA (97/6/-4.7//75/25/5% w/w).
  • Example 11 Using the method and apparatus of Example 11, 84.31 g of NORPAR 12 solvent, 7.68 g of EA, 2.56 g of MMA, 0.54 g of 96% HEMA, 4.74 g of the graft stabilizer mixture from Example 7 at 28.14 % polymer solids, and 0.18 g of AIBN were combined in an 8 ounce reaction bottle. The resulting mixture was heated to 70°C and reacted for 16 hours, at which time the resulting organosol was cooled to room temperature. The cooled mixture was an opaque white dispersion that slowly formed a very weak gel over the course of approximately 1 week.
  • the percent solids of this organosol dispersion was determined as 11.32% using the infrared drying method described above. Subsequent determination of average particle size was made using the dynamic light scattering method described above.
  • the organosol had a z-average diameter of 178.0 nm with a standard deviation of 8.1 nm. This organosol is designated ODA HEMA-TMI /MMA EA HEMA (97/10/-4.7//75/25/5% w/w).
  • Example 11 125.33 g of NORPAR 12 solvent, 12 g of EA, 4 g of MMA, 0.83 g of 96% HEMA, 7.57 g of the graft stabilizer mixture from Example 8 15 26.43 % polymer solids, and 0.27 g of AIBN were combined in an 8 ounce reaction bottle. The resulting mixture was heated to 70°C and reacted for 16 hours, at which time the resulting organosol was cooled to room temperature. The cooled mixture was an opaque white dispersion that rapidly formed a strong gel within 1 hour.
  • the percent solids of this organosol dispersion was determined as 12.21% using the infrared drying method described above. Subsequent determination of average particle size was made using the dynamic light scattering method described above.
  • the organosol had a z-average diameter of 372.1 nm with a standard deviation of 31.6 nm. This organosol is designated LMA/HEMA/GMA-TMI //MMA/EA/HEMA (97/3/3-4.7//75/25/5% w/w).
  • Example 22 Using the method and apparatus of Example 11, 125.29 g of NORPAR 12 solvent, 12 g of EA, 4 g of MMA, 0.83 g of 96% HEMA, 6.61 g of the graft stabilizer mixture from Example 9 at 26.28 % polymer solids, and 0.27 g of AIBN were combined in an 8 ounce reaction bottle. The resulting mixture was heated to 70°C and reacted for 16 hours, at which time the resulting organosol was cooled to room temperature. The cooled mixture was an opaque white dispersion that rapidly formed a strong gel within 1 hour.
  • the percent solids of this organosol dispersion was determined as 11.79 % using the infrared drying method described above. Subsequent determination of average particle size was made using the dynamic light scattering method described above.
  • the organosol had a z-average diameter of 340.4 nm with a standard deviation of25.2 nm. This organosol is designated LMA/HEMA/MAA-TMI //MMA/EA/HEMA (97/3/3-4.7//75/25/5% w/w).
  • Example 11 Using the method and apparatus of Example 11, 250.17 g of NORPAR 12 solvent, 24 g of EA, 8 g of MMA, 1.57 g of 96% HEMA, 15.62 g of the graft stabilizer mixture from Example 2 at 25.61 % polymer solids, and 0.54 g of AIBN were combined in a 16 ounce reaction bottle. The resulting mixture was heated to 70°C and reacted for 16 hours, at which time the resulting organosol was cooled to room temperature. The cooled mixture was an opaque white dispersion that rapidly formed a strong gel within 1 hour. The percent solids of this organosol dispersion was determined as 12.09 % using the infrared drying method described above.
  • the organosol had a z-average diameter of 309.1 nm with a standard deviation of 73.0 nm.
  • This organosol is designated LMA HEMA-TMI / MMA EA/HEMA (97/3-4.7//75/25/5%w/w).
  • Example 11 Using the method and apparatus of Example 11, 241.99 g of NORPAR 12 solvent 21.60 g of EA, 7.20 g of MMA, 1.50 g of 96% HEMA, 15.62 g of the graft stabilizer mixture from Example 10 at 26.61 % polymer solids, and 0.54 g of AIBN were combined in a 16 ounce reaction bottle. The resulting mixture was heated to 70°C and reacted for 16 hours, at which time the resulting organosol was cooled to room temperature. The cooled mixture was an opaque white dispersion that formed a gel over the course of 2 hours.
  • the percent solids of this organosol dispersion was determined as 12.68 % using the infrared drying method described above. Subsequent determination of average particle size was made using the dynamic light scattering method described above.
  • the organosol had a z-average diameter of 179.1 nm with a standard deviation of 12.68 nm.
  • This organosol is designated LMA/HEMA-TMI //MMA/EA HEMA (97/6-4.7//75/25/5% w/w).
  • Approximately 249 g of the organosol at 12.40% (w/w) solids in NORPAR 12 solvent were combined with 44 g of NORPAR 12 solvent, 5 g of Pigment Yellow 83 : SUN 275-0570 (Sun Chemical Company, Cincinnati, OH), and 2.5 g of 6.16% Zirconium HEX-CEM solution (OMG Chemical Company, Cleveland, OH) in an eight ounce glass jar.
  • This mixture was then milled in a 0.5 liter vertical bead mill (Model 6TSG-1/4, Aimex Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan) charged with 390 g of 1.3 mm diameter Potters glass beads (Potters Industries, Inc. Parsippany, NJ). The mill was operated at 2,000 RPM for 1.5 hours without cooling water circulating through the cooling jacket of the milling chamber.
  • Example 27 This is an example of preparing a magenta liquid toner at an organosol/pigment ratio of 6 using the organosol from Example 16. Approximately 249 g of the organosol at 12.40% (w/w) solids in NORPAR 12 solvent were combined with 46 g of NORPAR 12 solvent, 5 g of Pigment Red 81: Max Mark #31354; (Sun Chemical Company, Cincinnati, OH), and 0.21 g of 6.16% Zirconium HEX-CEM solution (OMG Chemical Company, Cleveland, OH) in an eight ounce glass jar.
  • This mixture was then milled in a 0.5 liter vertical bead mill (Model 6TSG- 1/4, Aimex Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan) charged with 390 g of 1.3 mm diameter Potters glass beads (Potters Industries, Inc. Parsippany, NJ). The mill was operated at 2,000 RPM for 1.5 hours without cooling water circulating through the cooling jacket of the milling chamber.
  • the reflection optical density (ROD) was greater than 1.3 at plating voltages greater than 400 volts.
  • Example 28 This is an example of preparing a black liquid toner at an organosol/pigment ratio of 6 using the organosol from Example 16.
  • Approximately 249 g of the organosol at 12.40% (w/w) solids in NORPAR 12 solvent were combined with 42 g of NORPAR 12 solvent, 5 g of Carbon Black: Cabot Monarch 120 (Cabot Corp., Billerica, MA), and 3.34 g of 6.16% Zirconium HEX-CEM solution (OMG Chemical Company, Cleveland, OH) in an eight ounce glass jar.
  • This mixture was then milled in a 0.5 liter vertical bead mill (Model 6TSG-1/4, Aimex Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan) charged with 390 g of 1.3 mm diameter Potters glass beads (Potters Industries, Inc. Parsippany, NJ). The mill was operated at 2,000 RPM for 1.5 hours without cooling water circulating through the cooling jacket of the milling chamber. A portion of this 12% (w/w) solids toner concentrate was diluted to approximately 3% (w/w). This dilute toner sample exhibited the following properties as determined using the test methods described above:
  • Example 29 This example illustrates the preparation of a high solids gel organosol from a preformed lower solids gel organosol.
  • Such high solids organosols can be used to prepare high solids toner concentrates suitable for use as toner replenishers in liquid immersion development.
  • Example 30 This example illustrates the preparation of a high solids gel ink from a preformed lower solids gel ink. This example also illustrates a method for additionally reducing the free phase conductivity of such gel ink concentrates relative to the starting ink. Such high solids inks with reduced free phase conductivity are particularly useful as toner replenisher in liquid immersion development. Approximately 35 g of the black gel ink at 12% solids (16% free phase conductivity) from Example 28 was transfened to a 50 ml centrifuge tube and centrifuged at 5°C for 5 minutes at 7500 rpm in a Jouan MR1822 centrifuge.
  • the ink separated into a lower pigmented gel phase and a clear supernatant liquid phase consisting essentially of NORPAR 12 solvent.
  • the clear supernatant liquid was carefully decanted.
  • a sample of the lower gel phase was removed.
  • the percent solids of this sample of concentrated gel toner was determined using the infrared drying method described above. The gel toner solids had increased from 12.03% to 34.09%.
  • Approximately 10 g of NORPAR 12 solvent was added to this gel toner concentrate.
  • the gel concentrate was mixed by shaking the capped centrifuge tube.
  • the concentrated gel ink readily redispersed upon mixing with the added NORPAR 12 solvent. This sample was centrifuged at 5°C for 1 hour at 7500 rpm in the Jouan MR1822 centrifuge.

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  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • Medicinal Chemistry (AREA)
  • Polymers & Plastics (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Inks, Pencil-Leads, Or Crayons (AREA)
  • Liquid Developers In Electrophotography (AREA)
  • Processes Of Treating Macromolecular Substances (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne des dispersions organosol gel ainsi que des encres couleur à teneur élevée en solides basées sur ces dispersions, mettant en oeuvre un liquide support possédant un nombre de Kauri-Butanol inférieur à 30 et un copolymère greffé comprenant un stabilisant stérique copolymère lié de manière covalente à un noyau de thermoplastique copolymère insoluble dans le support liquide. Le copolymère greffé comprend, en outre, des groupes fonctionnels à liaison hydrogène qui interagissent les uns avec les autres pour former des liaisons de réticulation non covalentes.
PCT/US2001/010069 2000-04-14 2001-03-29 Organosol gel a liaisons hydrogene WO2001079316A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

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US19704900P 2000-04-14 2000-04-14
US60/197,049 2000-04-14

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WO2001079316A8 WO2001079316A8 (fr) 2001-12-20

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Cited By (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US7008745B2 (en) 2003-06-30 2006-03-07 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd Gel organosol including amphipathic copolymeric binder having selected molecular weight and liquid toners for electrophotographic applications
US7014973B2 (en) 2002-11-12 2006-03-21 Samsung Electronics Company Organosol including amphipathic copolymeric binder made with Soluble High Tg Monomer and liquid toners for electrophotographic applications
US7014972B2 (en) 2003-06-30 2006-03-21 Samsung Electronics Company Gel organosol including amphipathic copolymeric binder having hydrogen bonding functionality and liquid toners for electrophotographic applications
US7018767B2 (en) 2003-06-30 2006-03-28 Samsung Electronics Company Gel organosol including amphipathic copolymeric binder having acid/base functionality and liquid toners for electrophotographic applications
US7029814B2 (en) 2003-06-30 2006-04-18 Samsung Electronics Company Gel organosol including amphipathic copolymeric binder having crosslinking functionality and liquid toners for electrophotographic applications
US7052816B2 (en) 2003-01-03 2006-05-30 Samsung Electronics Company Organosol liquid toner including amphipathic copolymeric binder having crosslinkable functionality
US7166405B2 (en) 2002-11-12 2007-01-23 Samsung Electronics Company Organosol including high Tg amphipathic copolymeric binder and liquid toners for electrophotographic applications
US7202003B2 (en) 2004-06-30 2007-04-10 Samsung Electronics Company Dry electrophotographic toners comprising amphipathic copolymers having basic functionality
US7306888B2 (en) 2004-06-30 2007-12-11 Samsung Electronics Company Dry electrophotographic toners comprising amphipathic copolymers having acidic functionality

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US4762764A (en) * 1986-12-23 1988-08-09 Xerox Corporation Liquid developer
EP0343924A2 (fr) * 1988-05-23 1989-11-29 Xerox Corporation Compositions de développateur liquides
EP0376460A1 (fr) * 1988-12-02 1990-07-04 Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing Company Révélateur électrophotographique liquide
EP0727450A1 (fr) * 1995-02-17 1996-08-21 Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing Company Toners liquides utilisants des solvants d'hydrocarbures
WO1997012284A1 (fr) * 1995-09-29 1997-04-03 Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing Company Encres liquides utilisant un organosol a cristallinite controlee
WO1997012285A1 (fr) * 1995-09-29 1997-04-03 Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing Company Encres liquides comprenant un gel organosol
WO1998013731A1 (fr) * 1996-09-26 1998-04-02 Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing Company Encres liquides utilisant un organosol sous forme de gel

Patent Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4762764A (en) * 1986-12-23 1988-08-09 Xerox Corporation Liquid developer
EP0343924A2 (fr) * 1988-05-23 1989-11-29 Xerox Corporation Compositions de développateur liquides
EP0376460A1 (fr) * 1988-12-02 1990-07-04 Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing Company Révélateur électrophotographique liquide
EP0727450A1 (fr) * 1995-02-17 1996-08-21 Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing Company Toners liquides utilisants des solvants d'hydrocarbures
WO1997012284A1 (fr) * 1995-09-29 1997-04-03 Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing Company Encres liquides utilisant un organosol a cristallinite controlee
WO1997012285A1 (fr) * 1995-09-29 1997-04-03 Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing Company Encres liquides comprenant un gel organosol
WO1998013731A1 (fr) * 1996-09-26 1998-04-02 Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing Company Encres liquides utilisant un organosol sous forme de gel

Cited By (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US7014973B2 (en) 2002-11-12 2006-03-21 Samsung Electronics Company Organosol including amphipathic copolymeric binder made with Soluble High Tg Monomer and liquid toners for electrophotographic applications
US7166405B2 (en) 2002-11-12 2007-01-23 Samsung Electronics Company Organosol including high Tg amphipathic copolymeric binder and liquid toners for electrophotographic applications
US7052816B2 (en) 2003-01-03 2006-05-30 Samsung Electronics Company Organosol liquid toner including amphipathic copolymeric binder having crosslinkable functionality
US7008745B2 (en) 2003-06-30 2006-03-07 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd Gel organosol including amphipathic copolymeric binder having selected molecular weight and liquid toners for electrophotographic applications
US7014972B2 (en) 2003-06-30 2006-03-21 Samsung Electronics Company Gel organosol including amphipathic copolymeric binder having hydrogen bonding functionality and liquid toners for electrophotographic applications
US7018767B2 (en) 2003-06-30 2006-03-28 Samsung Electronics Company Gel organosol including amphipathic copolymeric binder having acid/base functionality and liquid toners for electrophotographic applications
US7029814B2 (en) 2003-06-30 2006-04-18 Samsung Electronics Company Gel organosol including amphipathic copolymeric binder having crosslinking functionality and liquid toners for electrophotographic applications
US7202003B2 (en) 2004-06-30 2007-04-10 Samsung Electronics Company Dry electrophotographic toners comprising amphipathic copolymers having basic functionality
US7306888B2 (en) 2004-06-30 2007-12-11 Samsung Electronics Company Dry electrophotographic toners comprising amphipathic copolymers having acidic functionality

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