Prolonged exposure of a commercial organic photoconductor in a plasma environment corresponding to an industrial electrophotographic process caused the formation of a parasitic surface layer with properties that are different from the original photoconductor. The parasitic film consists of a heavily oxidized surface region and oxygen-free subsurface layer with a chemical composition similar to the original photoconductor but having a significantly different bonding arrangement. The formation of this film has been correlated with damage induced by the energetic particles and UV photons originating from the electrophotographic plasma discharge. An in-depth understanding of the formation and the properties of this parasitic layer could provide an effective means to overcome its detrimental impact on printing cost and quality.
K. Nauka, Seongsik Chang, Hou Ng, "Surface Modification of an Organic Photoconductor in an Electrophotographic Charging Environment" in Journal of Imaging Science and Technology, 2010, pp 50304-1 - 50304-5, https://doi.org/10.2352/J.ImagingSci.Technol.2010.54.5.050304