Objective of the present investigation was the development of a scratch resistant and anti-abrasion layer for organic photo-conductors which does not influence the electrophotographic properties like charge transporting properties and print quality A new class of hybrid polymers based on classical sol/gel materials has been developed. This two component material with covalently bonded functionalized silica nano particles in an epoxy matrix made of poly-functional epoxy components produces closed networks and exhibits excellent durability against liquid toner materials. By employing this material as a top coat on OPC drums, hardness and scratch resistance can be improved without having significant impact on printing properties such as the replication of single dots in high resolution digital printing.
Wolfgang Witt, Christoph Roth, Olaf Gelsen, Regina Lischewski, Hans-Josef Humpert, Michael Dohle, "Silica Sol/Gel Based Nano Structured Hard Coats for Organic Photoconductors" in Proc. IS&T Int'l Conf. on Digital Printing Technologies and Digital Fabrication (NIP23), 2007, pp 440 - 443, https://doi.org/10.2352/ISSN.2169-4451.2007.23.1.art00100_1