INTERMEDIATE TRANSFER MEMBER
In order to provide a highly durable intermediate transfer member utilized for an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, with which generation of rubbing scratches and cracks is suppressed, and no filming is generated, and a method of manufacturing the intermediate transfer member, disclosed is an intermediate transfer member for an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, possessing a support and provided thereon, an elastic layer and a surface layer in this order, wherein the elastic layer has an elastic modulus of 10-200 MPa, and the thickness thereof is 50 μm to 500 μm.
1 - 9 . (canceled)
10 . An intermediate transfer member for an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, comprising a support and provided thereon, an elastic layer and a surface layer in this order,
wherein the elastic layer has an elastic modulus of 10-200 MPa, and a thickness of 50-500 μm.
11 . The intermediate transfer member of claim 10 ,
wherein the surface layer has a hardness of 0.2-10 GPa, an elastic modulus of 1.0-50 GPa, a thickness of 100-1000 nm, and a ratio of an elastic modulus of the surface layer to another elastic modulus of the elastic layer is 10-5000.
12 . The intermediate transfer member of claim 10 ,
wherein the surface layer comprises two layers composed of a lower layer and an upper layer, the lower layer having a hardness of 0.2-2.0 GPa, an elastic modulus of 1.0-10.0 GPa and a thickness of 100-1000 μm, the upper layer adjacent to the lower layer, having a hardness of 2.0-10.0 GPa, an elastic modulus of 10.0-50.0 GPa and a thickness of 10-50 nm.
13 . The intermediate transfer member of claim 10 ,
wherein the elastic layer comprises a layer formed of at least one selected from the group consisting of chloroprene rubber, nitrile rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, silicone rubber, urethane rubber and an ethylene-propylene copolymer.
14 . The intermediate transfer member of claim 10 ,
wherein the substrate comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of polyimide, polycarbonate, polyphenylene sulfide and polyethylene terephthalate.
15 . The intermediate transfer member of claim 10 ,
wherein the surface layer comprises an inorganic compound, the inorganic compound comprising at least one selected from the group consisting of metal oxide, metal nitride and metal oxide-nitride.
16 . The intermediate transfer member of claim 15 ,
wherein the inorganic compound comprises metal oxide, metal nitride or metal oxide-nitride formed from at least one selected from the group consisting of Al, Si and Ti.
17 . The intermediate transfer member of claim 15 ,
wherein the inorganic compound is silicon oxide or silicon oxide comprising a carbon.
18 . The intermediate transfer member of claim 10 ,
wherein the surface layer comprises a layer formed via an atmospheric pressure plasma CVD method