Production of black toner through emulsion aggregation of magnetite, carbon black, and styrene-acrylic co-polymer: Investigation on the effect of variation in components

Abstract

Toner composite is an important element in laser printing and copying processes which is included magnetite, carbon black and binder. The emulsion aggregation is a popular method for toner preparation that allows tight control on toner properties. This study was done to determine the effects of the basic ingredients (magnetite, carbon black, and styrene-acrylic copolymer) that affect the properties of toner composites. Particle size analysis (PSA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) were used to study particle size, shape, and morphology of the toner composites. It was found that using carbon black, magnetite and styrene-acrylic copolymer with small particle size produced toner composite with small particle size. It was also shown that using a styrene-acrylic copolymer with high viscosity resulted in smaller and narrower particle distribution in the resultant toner. The results determined by SEM confirmed that carbon black, magnetite and styrene-acrylic copolymer particle size did not affect the toner’s shape, and that it remained spherical.