Cleaning device comprising in-situ metal oxide dispersion

摘要

A cleaning device used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus that provides excellent wear resistance and mechanical robustness. In particular, the cleaning device is a crosslinked elastomeric polyurethane cleaning blade that includes at least an end region contacting the surface of an imaging member to remove debris therefrom and comprising spherical silica nanoparticles dispersion present in the cleaning blade matrix by in-situ condensation precipitation process.

主权项

1. An apparatus for removing debris from a surface, comprising:
a cleaning blade including at least an end region contacting the surface to remove debris therefrom, wherein the cleaning blade comprises crosslinked elastomeric polyurethane; and nanoparticles in the cleaning blade, further wherein the nanoparticles are produced through an in-situ condensation precipitation process comprising
hydrolyzing tetraethylorothosilicate in the presence of a stoichiometric amount of water to give a hydrolyzed tetraethylorthosilicate, andcontacting the cleaning blade with the hydrolyzed tetraethylorthosilicate;wherein the nanoparticles are homogeneously dispersed in the cleaning blade.