Inkjet recording medium and method of producing same

1. An inkjet recording medium comprising an ink-receiving layer, the ink-receiving layer comprising fumed silica, a hydroxycarboxylic acid ester having an I/O value of 1.5 or more as determined in accordance with an organic conceptual diagram, and a polyvinyl alcohol, and an amount of the hydroxycarboxylic acid ester with respect to 1 kg of the fumed silica in the ink-receiving layer being from 0.1 moles to 2 moles.

2. The inkjet recording medium of claim 1 , wherein the hydroxycarboxylic acid ester comprises at least one of a lactic acid ester or a glycolic acid ester.

3. The inkjet recording medium of claim 1 , wherein the hydroxycarboxylic acid ester comprises an alkyl ester formed from an alcohol having 1 to 4 carbon atoms and one of a lactic acid or a glycolic acid.

4. A method for forming the inkjet recording medium of claim 1 , the method comprising:

adding the hydroxycarboxylic acid ester having an I/O value of 1.5 or more as determined in accordance with an organic conceptual diagram and the polyvinyl alcohol to a silica dispersion comprising the fumed silica to prepare a coating liquid in which the amount of the hydroxycarboxylic acid ester is from 0.1 moles to 2 moles with respect to 1 kg of the fumed silica; and

applying the coating liquid to a support to form an ink-receiving layer.

5. An inkjet recording medium comprising a support and an ink-receiving layer provided on the support, the ink-receiving layer comprising a chloride ion-containing zirconium salt, a water-soluble aluminum salt, a hydroxy acid derivative, inorganic fine particles, and a water-soluble resin.

6. The inkjet recording medium of claim 5 , wherein the ink-receiving layer further comprises a basic compound.

7. The inkjet recording medium of claim 5 , wherein the mass ratio of the content of the hydroxy acid derivative to the content of the chloride ion-containing zirconium salt is from 0.01 to 5.

8. The inkjet recording medium of claim 5 , wherein the chloride ion-containing zirconium salt is zirconyl hydroxychloride or zirconium oxychloride.

9. The inkjet recording medium of claim 5 , wherein the mass ratio of the content of the chloride ion-containing zirconium salt to the content of the inorganic fine particles (chloride ion-containing zirconium salt/inorganic fine particles) is from 0.001 to 0.1.

10. The inkjet recording medium of claim 5 , wherein the mass ratio of the content of the water-soluble aluminum salt to the content of the inorganic fine particles is from 0.001 to 0.1.

11. The inkjet recording medium of claim 5 , wherein the ink-receiving layer further comprises an ammonium salt.

12. The inkjet recording medium of claim 5 , wherein the ink-receiving layer further comprises a basic compound, and the ratio of the content of the basic compound relative to the total solid content of the ink-receiving layer is from 0.1% by mass to 5% by mass.

13. The inkjet recording medium of claim 5 , wherein the hydroxy acid derivative is a monovalent or divalent carboxylic acid having 2 to 10 carbon atoms and 1 to 4 hydroxyl groups or an ester of the monovalent or divalent carboxylic acid.

14. The inkjet recording medium of claim 5 , wherein the hydroxy acid derivative comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of lactic acid, glycolic acid, quinic acid, 2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)propionic acid, 2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)butanoic acid, and glyceric acid, and esters thereof.

15. A method for preparing the inkjet recording medium of claim 5 , the method comprising:

applying a coating liquid comprising the chloride ion-containing zirconium salt, the water-soluble aluminum salt, the hydroxy acid derivative, the inorganic fine particles, and the water-soluble resin to a support to form a coating layer; and

applying a solution containing a basic compound to the coating layer, either (1) simultaneously with the application of the coating liquid or (2) before the applied coating liquid exhibits a falling-rate drying during drying of the applied coating liquid.