Super low melt toner having crystalline aromatic ethers

摘要

A toner includes a polymeric resin, optionally a colorant, and a small molecule crystalline aromatic ether having a molecular weight less than 1,000 g/mol. The polymeric resin may be an amorphous resin and a mixture of the amorphous resin and the crystalline aromatic ether may be characterized by a reduction in glass transition temperature from that of the resin and by the lack of a melting point for the crystalline aromatic ether as determined by differential scanning calorimetry, the enthalpy of fusion for the crystalline aromatic ether in the mixture being measured to be less than 10% of the enthalpy of fusion of the crystalline aromatic ether in pure form. Furthermore, the toner may be configured to have a crease fix minimum fusing temperature (MFT) less than or equal to the crease fix MFT of a benchmark ultra-low-melt emulsion aggregation toner. Suitable crystalline aromatic ethers may include benzyl 2-naphthyl ether.

主权项

1. A toner comprising:
a polymeric resin comprising a combination of a low molecular weight linear amorphous resin and a high molecular weight linear amorphous resin in a weight ratio range of from about 70:30 to about 30:70, wherein the low molecular weight linear amorphous resin has a weight-average molecular weight of approximately 10 kg/mol to approximately 20 kg/mol, and high molecular weight linear amorphous resin has a weight-average molecular weight of approximately 90 kg/mol to approximately 160 kg/mol; optionally a colorant; and a small molecule crystalline aromatic ether having a molecular weight less than 1,000 g/mol having the formula:
R1—O—[(CH2)2O]p—R2, wherein R1 and R2 are independently selected from the group consisting of an alkyl group, an arylalkyl group, an alkylaryl group, and an aromatic group, wherein at least one of R1 and R2 is an aromatic group, and wherein p is 0 or 1, further wherein the small molecule crystalline aromatic ether is about 5% to about 25% by dry weight of the toner particles.