Carboxylic acid or acid salt functionalized polyester polymers
View Patent ↗The present disclosure describes a polyester that contains plural pendant adjacent carboxylic acid or acid salt side groups for use in making a toner for use in imaging devices.
1. A toner particle comprising a polyester polymer, the polyester polymer consisting of 25 units, wherein a unit consists of an acid residue and an alcohol residue, wherein two adjacent units each consist of a single pendant carboxylic acid side group or a single pendant carboxylic acid salt side group on the acid residue of each said unit, and the remaining 23 units are non-functionalized and wherein the polyester polymer of 25 units forms a micelle of at least about 60 Å at 330K.
2. The toner particle of claim 1 further comprising an amorphous resin, a crystalline resin or both.
3. The toner particle of claim 2 , wherein the resins are branched or crosslinked.
4. The toner particle of claim 2 , wherein the amorphous resin has a T g of from about 40° C. to about 75° C.
5. The toner particle of claim 2 , wherein the crystalline resin has a number average molecular weight of from about 1,000 to about 60,000.
6. The toner particle of claim 1 , wherein the polyester polymer provides an interfacial tension of at least 35 mJ/m 2 at 330K.
7. The toner particle of claim 1 , wherein the polyester polymer provides an interfacial tension of at least 25 mJ/m 2 at 360K.
8. The toner particle of claim 1 , wherein the polyester polymer forms micelles of at least about 45 Å at 360K.
9. The toner particle of claim 1 , wherein the adjacent units are at a terminus of the polyester polymer.
10. A toner particle comprising a self-assembling micelle, the micelle consisting essentially of a polyester polymer consisting of 25 units, wherein a unit consists of an acid residue and an alcohol residue, wherein two adjacent units each consist of a single pendant carboxylic acid side group or a single pendant carboxylic acid salt side group on the acid residue of each said unit, and the remaining 23 units are non-functionalized, and the micelle is stable at temperatures from about 20° C. to about 90° C.
11. The toner particle of claim 10 , wherein the self-assembling micelle has a solids loading of from about 3 wt % to about 15 wt %.
12. The toner particle of claim 10 , wherein the self-assembling micelle has a diameter of at least about 55 Å at 360K.
13. The toner particle of claim 10 , wherein the self-assembling micelle forms upon cooling from an elevated temperature being from about 1K to about 35K above the polymer T g .
14. A toner composition comprising:
toner particles comprising a polyester polymer, the polyester polymer consisting of 25 units, wherein a unit consists of an acid residue and an alcohol residue, wherein two adjacent units each consist of a single pendant carboxylic acid side group or a single pendant carboxylic acid salt side group on the acid residue of each said unit, and the remaining 23 units are non-functionalized and wherein the polyester polymer of 25 units forms a micelle of at least about 60 Å at 330K;
a colorant; and
one or more toner additives.
15. The toner composition of claim 14 , wherein the one or more toner additives are selected from the group consisting of a wax, a surfactant, a silica, a titania and mixtures thereof.
16. The toner composition of claim 14 , wherein the toner particles further comprise an amorphous resin, a crystalline resin or both.
17. The toner composition of claim 16 , wherein the resins are branched or crosslinked.
18. The toner composition of claim 14 , wherein the polyester polymer provides an interfacial tension of at least 35 mJ/m 2 at 330K or an interfacial tension of at least 25 mJ/m 2 at 360K.
19. The toner composition of claim 14 being an emulsion aggregation toner composition.
20. A developer comprising the toner particle of claim 1 .