Production of carbon black acrylic composite as an electrophotographic toner using emulsion aggregation method: Investigation the effect of agitation rate

Toner as a composite of colorant, polymer and additives is a primary component of electrophotographic printing and copying processes. It can be produced by conventional mechanical milling or by more recently developed chemical polymerization methods. The emulsion aggregation is a popular chemical method that allows tight control on the size, size distribution and shape of the synthesized toner particles. These characteristics are important for producing high quality, high-resolution printed images. This research investigated the effect of agitation speed on toner synthesis using emulsion aggregation method. Particle size analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and field emission scanning electron microscopy were used to study the size, shape, and morphology of toner particles. It was found that toner particles synthesized using emulsion aggregation method is spherical in shape and decrease in size as agitation speed increases. Differential scanning calorimetry and spectrophotometric analyses results showed that the toner synthesized by this method had appropriate thermal and colorimetric characteristics as compared to an industrial toner. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.