Toner and method of producing toner

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017160658-A1
Application number	US-201615366123-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Dec 1, 2016
Priority date	Dec 4, 2015
Publication date	Jun 8, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

A toner comprising a toner particle that contains a binder resin and a wax, wherein in a cross sectional image of the toner observed with a transmission electron microscope, the toner satisfies the following formulas (1) and (2)
18.0%≧ As ≧1.5%  (1)

10.0≧ Ac/As ≧2.0  (2)

where As represents the proportion for the area taken up by the wax present in the surface layer region having distance 1.0 μm in a radial direction inward from the surface of the toner, and Ac represents the proportion for the area taken up by the wax present in the inner region positioned further inside than the surface layer region.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A toner comprising a toner particle containing a binder resin and a wax, wherein
in a cross sectional image of the toner observed with a transmission electron microscope, the toner satisfies the following formulas (1) and (2)
18.0%≧ As≧ 1.5%  (1)

10.0≧ Ac/As≧ 2.0  (2)

where,
As represents a proportion for an area taken up by the wax present in a surface layer region relative to the area of the surface layer region, the surface layer region having distance 1.0 μm in a radial direction inward from a surface of the toner, and
Ac represents a proportion for an area taken up by the wax present in an inner region relative to the area of the inner region, the inner region positioned further inside than the surface layer region.

2 . The toner according to claim 1 , wherein the weight-average particle diameter (D4) of the toner is at least 4 μm and not more than 10 μm.

3 . The toner according to claim 1 , wherein the As is at least 2.0% and not more than 15.0%.

4 . The toner according to claim 1 , wherein a content of the wax is at least 1.0 mass parts and not more than 20.0 mass parts per 100 mass parts of the binder resin.

5 . The toner according to claim 1 , wherein the solubility parameter SP 1 of the binder resin and the solubility parameter SP 2 of the wax satisfy the following formula (3):
|SP1−SP2|≧1.10  (3).

6 . The toner according to claim 1 , wherein the wax comprises a hydrocarbon wax.

7 . The toner according to claim 1 , wherein the wax present in the surface layer region is present as a plurality of domains.

8 . A method of producing a toner comprising a toner particle that contains a binder resin and a wax, the toner production method comprising a following exposure treatment step (A) or (B):
(A) a step of obtaining a toner particle by exposing a pretreatment toner particle containing the binder resin and the wax to carbon dioxide, (B) a step of obtaining a toner by exposing a pretreatment toner containing an external additive and a toner particle containing the binder resin and the wax to carbon dioxide,
wherein
a temperature of the carbon dioxide in the exposure treatment step is at least 10° C. and not more than 60° C. and a pressure thereof is at least 1.0 MPa and not more than 3.5 MPa, and
when a cross sectional image of the toner yielded through the exposure treatment step is observed with a transmission electron microscope, the toner satisfies the following formula (1):
18.0%≧ As≧ 1.5%  (1)

where As represents a proportion for an area taken up by the wax present in a surface layer region relative to the area of the surface layer region, the surface layer region having distance 1.0 μm in a radial direction inward from a surface of the toner.

9 . The method of producing the toner according to claim 8 , wherein an acid value of the binder resin is not more than 15.0 mg KOH/g.

10 . The method of producing the toner according to claim 8 , wherein the toner satisfies the following formula (2):
10.0≧ Ac/As≧ 2.0  (2)

where Ac represents a proportion for an area taken up by the wax present in an inner region relative to the area of the inner region, the inner region positioned further inside than the surface layer region.

11 . The method of producing the toner according to claim 8 , wherein a weight-average molecular weight (Mw) of the binder resin is at least 10,000 and not more than 50,000.

12 . The method of producing the toner according to claim 8 , wherein the binder resin comprises a styrene-acrylic resin.

13 . The method of producing the toner according to claim 8 , wherein a content of the wax is at least 1.0 mass parts and not more than 20.0 mass parts per 100 mass parts of the binder resin.

14 . The method of producing the toner according to claim 8 , wherein the solubility parameter SP 1 of the binder resin and the solubility parameter SP 2 of the wax satisfy the following formula (3):
|SP1−SP2|≧1.10  (3).

15 . The method of producing the toner according to claim 8 , wherein the wax comprises a hydrocarbon wax.

16 . The method of producing the toner according to claim 8 , wherein a time in the exposure treatment step is at least 5 minutes and not more than 180 minutes.

17 . The method of producing the toner according to claim 8 , comprising:
a step of obtaining a toner particle containing the binder resin and the wax through a granulation step of forming droplets in an aqueous medium.

18 . The method of producing the toner according to claim 8 , comprising a step of obtaining the toner particle that contains the binder resin and the wax, the step comprising:
(a) a step of preparing a polymerizable monomer composition that contains the wax and a polymerizable monomer that constitute the binder resin; (b) a step of dispersing the polymerizable monomer composition in an aqueous medium to form droplets of the polymerizable polymer composition; and (c) a step of polymerizing the polymerizable monomer in the droplets.

Assignees

• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Nakagawa Yoshihiro
• Isono Naoya
• Takada Harumi
• TAGAWA Reo

Classifications

• G03G9/0825

  characterised by their structure; characterised by non-homogenuous distribution of components (microcapsular toners G03G9/093) · CPC title

• G03G9/0812 Primary

  Pretreatment of components · CPC title

• G03G9/0918

  Phthalocyanine dyes · CPC title

• G03G9/0806

  whereby chemical synthesis of at least one of the toner components takes place · CPC title

• G03G9/08711

  with esters of acrylic or methacrylic acid · CPC title