Radiation imagery chemistry: process – composition – or product th – Electric or magnetic imagery – e.g. – xerography,... – Radiation-sensitive composition or product
Reexamination Certificate
2001-04-13
2002-09-03
Chapman, Mark (Department: 1756)
Radiation imagery chemistry: process, composition, or product th
Electric or magnetic imagery, e.g., xerography,...
Radiation-sensitive composition or product
Reexamination Certificate
active
06444386
ABSTRACT:
Illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,287,737, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, is a photoconductive imaging member comprised of a supporting substrate, a hole blocking layer thereover, a photogenerating layer and a charge transport layer, and wherein the hole blocking layer is comprised of a crosslinked polymer generated, for example, from the reaction of a silyl-functionalized hydroxyalkyl polymer of Formula (I) with an organosilane of Formula (II) and water
wherein, for example, A, B, D, and F represent the segments of the polymer backbone; E is an electron transporting moiety; Z is selected from the group consisting of chloride, bromide, iodide, cyano, alkoxy, acyloxy, and aryloxy; a, b, c, and d are mole fractions of the repeating monomer units such that the sum of a+b+c+d is equal to 1; R is alkyl, substituted alkyl, aryl, or substituted aryl, with the substituent being halide, alkoxy, aryloxy, and amino; and R
1
, R
2
, and R
3
are independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl, aryl, alkoxy, aryloxy, acyloxy, haogen, cyano, and amino, subject to the provision that two of R
1
, R
2
, and R
3
are independently selected from the group consisting of alkoxy, aryloxy, acyloxy, and halide.
The appropriate components and processes of the above copending application may be selected for the present invention in embodiments thereof.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention is generally directed to imaging members, and more specifically, the present invention is directed to multilayered photoconductive imaging members with a hole blocking layer comprised of an interpenetrating polymer network comprised of a hydroxyfunctionalized polymer intertwined or intimately dispersed in with a crosslinked polysiloxane network derived from an organosilane reagent, such as alkoxysilane, aminoalkylalkoxysilane, acyloxysilane, cyanosilane, and the like, in the presence of an optional silane crosslinking catalyst of, for example, alkylamine or carboxylic acid. The hole blocking layer is preferably in contact with the supporting substrate and is preferably situated between the supporting substrate and the photogenerating layer, which is comprised of the photogenerating pigments of U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,811, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, especially Type V hydroxygallium phthalocyanine. The imaging members of the present invention in embodiments exhibit excellent cyclic/environmental stability, and substantially no adverse changes in their performance over extended time periods, since the imaging members comprise a mechanically robust and solvent resistant hole blocking layer, enabling the coating of a subsequent photogenerating layer thereon without structural damage, and which blocking layer can be easily coated on the supporting substrate by various coating techniques of, for example, dip or slot-coating. The aforementioned photoresponsive, or photoconductive imaging members can be negatively charged when the photogenerating layers are situated between the hole transport layer and the hole blocking layer deposited on the substrate.
Processes of imaging, especially xerographic imaging and printing, including digital, are also encompassed by the present invention. More specifically, the layered photoconductive imaging members of the present invention can be selected for a number of different known imaging and printing processes including, for example, electrophotographic imaging processes, especially xerographic imaging and printing processes wherein charged latent images are rendered visible with toner compositions of an appropriate charge polarity. The imaging members as indicated herein are in embodiments sensitive in the wavelength region of, for example, from about 500 to about 900 nanometers, and in particular from about 650 to about 850 nanometers, thus diode lasers can be selected as the light source. Moreover, the imaging members of this invention are useful in color xerographic applications, particularly high-speed color copying and printing processes.
PRIOR ART
Layered photoresponsive imaging members have been described in numerous U.S. patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,265,990, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, wherein there is illustrated an imaging member comprised of a photogenerating layer, and an aryl amine hole transport layer. Examples of photogenerating layer components include trigonal selenium, metal phthalocyanines, vanadyl phthalocyanines, and metal free phthalocyanines. Additionally, there is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,121,006, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, a composite xerographic photoconductive member comprised of finely divided particles of a photoconductive inorganic compound dispersed in an electrically insulating organic resin binder.
The use of perylene pigments as photoconductive substances is also known. There is thus described in Hoechst European Patent Publication 0040402, DE3019326, filed May 21, 1980, the use of N,N′-disubstituted perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxyldiimide pigments as photoconductive substances. Specifically, there is, for example, disclosed in this publication N,N′-bis(3-methoxypropyl)perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxyl-diimide dual layered negatively charged photoreceptors with improved spectral response in the wavelength region of 400 to 700 nanometers. A similar disclosure is presented in Ernst Gunther Schlosser, Journal of Applied Photographic Engineering, Vol. 4, No. 3, page 118 (1978). There are also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,871,882, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, photoconductive substances comprised of specific perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic acid derivative dyestuffs. In accordance with this patent, the photoconductive layer is preferably formed by vapor depositing the dyestuff in a vacuum. Also, there are disclosed in this patent dual layer photoreceptors with perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic acid diimide derivatives, which have spectral response in the wavelength region of from 400 to 600 nanometers. Further, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,555,463, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, there is illustrated a layered imaging member with a chloroindium phthalocyanine photogenerating layer. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,587,189, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, there is illustrated a layered imaging member with, for example, a perylene, pigment photogenerating component. Both of the aforementioned patents disclose an aryl amine component, such as N,N′-diphenyl-N,N′-bis(3-methyl phenyl)-1,1′-biphenyl-4,4′-diamine dispersed in a polycarbonate binder, as a hole transport layer. The above components, such as the photogenerating compounds, and the aryl amine charge transport can be selected for the imaging members of the present invention in embodiments thereof.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,769, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, there are illustrated photoconductive imaging members with blocking layers of certain polyurethanes. Advantages of the hole blocking layer of the present invention over that of the '769 patent include, for example, excellent resistance to solvent degradation, superior electron transport and hole blocking, and ease of fabrication of the blocking layers, and wherein the blocking layer can be comprised of a crosslinked polymer network impregnated with a water-miscible hydroxy-functionalized polymer, thus enabling the addition of water to the blocking layer coating solution without causing, or minimizing phase separation during the coating process. Water can be an important reagent in alkoxysilane condensation reactions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a feature of the present invention to provide imaging members with many of the advantages illustrated herein such as a rapid curing of the hole blocking layer during device fabrication, for example of about equal to, or less than about one minute, for examp
Cherniack Helen R.
Fuller Timothy J.
Hsiao Cheng-Kuo
Liu Ping
Ong Beng S.
Chapman Mark
Palazzo E. D.
Xerox Corporation
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