Toner fuser member with release layer formed from silsesquioxane-epoxy resin composition

1. A toner fuser member comprising:

a substrate; and

disposed on said substrate, a toner release surface layer formed from a composition that comprises a silsesquioxane and a curable epoxy resin that is crosslinked by a crosslinking agent comprising a diimide or a dianhydride, said composition forming on curing an interpenetrating polymer network of said silsesquioxane and said cured epoxy resin.

2. The toner fuser member of claim 1 , wherein said curable epoxy resin comprises a glycidyl end-capped polyether.

3. The toner fuser member of claim 2 , wherein said curable epoxy resin comprises a crosslinked, glycidyl end-capped bisphenolic polymer having the formula

where R 1 and R 2 are each independently H or an alkyl group containing 1 to about 4 carbon atoms, and R 3 and R 4 are each independently H, F, or an alkyl group containing 1 to about 4 carbon atoms, Z is a carbonyl cross-linking group, and x is an integer from 1 to about 10.

4. The toner fuser member of claim 1 , wherein said crosslinking agent comprises pyromellitic anhydride.

5. The toner fuser member of claim 3 , wherein said composition comprises said glycidyl end-capped bisphenolic polymer and said crosslinking agent in a weight ratio of about 2:1 to about 5:1.

6. The toner fuser member of claim 5 , wherein said toner composition comprises said glycidyl end-capped bisphenolic polymer and said crosslinking agent in a weight ratio of about 3.3:1.

7. The toner fuser member of claim 1 , wherein said composition contains said silsesquioxane and said curable epoxy resin in a silsesquioxane: epoxy resin weight ratio of about 12:1 to about 2:1.

8. The toner fuser member of claim 7 , wherein said composition contains said silsesquioxane and said curable epoxy resin in a silsesquioxane: epoxy resin weight ratio of about 6:1 to about 4:1.

9. The toner fuser member of claim 1 , wherein said composition further comprises a filler selected from the group consisting of SiO 2 , TiO 2 , ZnO, SnO 2 , Al 2 O 3 , and mixtures thereof.

10. The toner fuser member of claim 9 , wherein said composition comprises said filler in an amount of about 1 wt. % to about 30 wt. %.

11. The toner fuser member of claim 10 , wherein said filler is SiO 2 in an amount of about 1 wt. % to about 7 wt. %.

12. The toner fuser member of claim 1 , wherein said silsesquioxane has a C:Si ratio greater than about 2:1.

13. The toner fuser member of claim 1 , wherein said silsesquioxane has a T 2 /T 3 ratio of from about 0.5:1 to about 0.1:1.

14. The toner fuser member of claim 1 , wherein said silsesquioxane is formed from a mixture comprising methyltrimethoxysilane.

15. The toner fuser member of claim 1 , wherein said member is a fuser belt.

16. The toner fuser member of claim 15 , wherein said fuser belt comprises a substrate formed of metal.

17. The toner fuser member of claim 16 , wherein said metal is selected from the group consisting of steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, and nickel.

18. The toner fuser member of claim 15 , wherein said fuser belt comprises a substrate formed of a thermoset organic polymeric material.

19. The toner fuser member of claim 18 , wherein said thermoset organic polymeric material is selected from the group consisting of a polyimide, a polyamide, a polyamide-imide, a polycarbonate, and a polyester.

20. The fuser member of claim 19 , wherein said thermoset organic polymeric material comprises a polyimide.

21. The toner fuser member of claim 1 , wherein said surface layer has a thickness of about 1 μm to about 20 μm.

22. The toner fuser member of claim 21 , wherein said thickness is about 3 μm to about 15 μm.

23. The toner fuser member of claim 1 , wherein said substrate is unprimed.