Provided is a process cartridge including: an electrophotographic photoreceptor; a charging unit configured to charge the electrophotographic photoreceptor through abutment against the electrophotographic photoreceptor; a developing unit configured to develop an electrostatic latent image formed on the electrophotographic photoreceptor with a toner to form a toner image; and a cleaning unit configured to remove the toner on the electrophotographic photoreceptor by bringing a blade into abutment against the electrophotographic photoreceptor, wherein the toner includes a toner base containing a coloring agent and a binder resin, and has a surface layer containing an organosilicon polymer having a specific sticking ratio to a toner base, and wherein the electrophotographic photoreceptor includes a supporting member and a surface layer, and the surface layer has a specific universal hardness value and a specific elastic deformation ratio (We).

Provided is an image forming apparatus capable of forming a high quality electrophotographic image. The image forming apparatus includes toner in which an organosilicon polymer is stuck to a toner base at a predetermined sticking ratio, an electrophotographic photoreceptor having a surface layer having a predetermined hardness and a predetermined elastic deformation ratio, and an intermediate transfer body having a surface having a predetermined hardness, and also includes a unit that provides a circumferential velocity difference between the electrophotographic photoreceptor and the intermediate transfer body.

The invention relates to an electrophotographic photoreceptor which is excellent in abrasion resistance and electrical properties by using a fluororesin and a polymer containing a structure represented by a specific formula, and has a long life span, an electrophotographic photoreceptor cartridge and an image forming apparatus including the electrophotographic photoreceptor, and a dispersant which is excellent in dispersibility of a fluororesin particle, and the electrical properties, and the compatibility with a binder resin.

An electrophotographic photosensitive member includes a conductive substrate and a photosensitive layer. The photosensitive layer is a single-layer photosensitive layer and contains a charge generating material, a hole transport material, an electron transport material, and a binder resin. The binder resin has a viscosity average molecular weight of at least 25,000 and no greater than 50,000. A strain at break of the photosensitive layer is at least 4.9% and no greater than 13.0%. A scratch resistant depth of the photosensitive layer is no greater than 0.50 m.

Provided is a positively charged electrophotographic photoconductor, a manufacturing method thereof, and an electrophotographic apparatus using the same. The positively charged electrophotographic photoconductor includes an electroconductive support and a single layer-type photosensitive layer provided thereon including a charge generation material, a hole transport material, an electron transport material, and a mixed binder resin. Alternately, the positively charged electrophotographic photoconductor includes an electroconductive support; a charge transport layer provided on the electroconductive support and containing at least a hole transport material, and a binder resin; and a charge generation layer provided on the charge transport layer and including at least a charge generation material, a hole transport material, an electron transport material, and a mixed binder resin. In either embodiment, the mixed binder resin contains at least two resins including a polycarbonate-based resin selected to provide the mixed binder resin with a water vapor permeability ranging from 5 to 13 g/m.sup.2.Math.day.

An image forming method includes forming an image with a toner using a photoconductor in which an intermediate layer and a photosensitive layer including a charge generating layer and a charge transport layer are formed overlying an electroconductive substrate, wherein the ionization potential of the surface of the photoconductor and the ionization potential of the surface of the toner satisfy the following relations 1 and 2,
|Ip (the surface of the photoconductor)Ip (the surface of the toner)|0.18 (eV) Relation 1
5.45 (eV)Ip (the surface of the photoconductor)5.53 (eV) Relation 2 where Ip (the surface of the photoconductor) represents the ionization potential of the surface of the photoconductor and Ip (the surface of the toner) represents the ionization potential of the surface of the toner.

Provided is an image-forming apparatus including: an electrophotographic photosensitive member including a support, a photosensitive layer, and a protective layer in the stated order; a charging unit; an exposing unit; a developing unit; a transferring unit; and a cleaning unit configured to clean off the toner, which remains on the electrophotographic photosensitive member after the transfer of the toner image from the electrophotographic photosensitive member by the transferring unit, with a cleaning blade, wherein the electrophotographic photosensitive member includes, on a surface thereof, a fatty acid metal salt-supplying unit configured to supply a fatty acid metal salt having 16 or more and 18 or less carbon atoms, and wherein the protective layer has a triphenylamine structure, one of an acryloyloxy group and a methacryloyloxy group, and a specific structure.

The present invention provides an electrophotographic photosensitive member sequentially including: a support; a photosensitive layer; and a protection layer formed on the support, wherein the protection layer has a triarylamine structure and a specific cyclic structure, and a specific A-value obtained by measurement using total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy is 0.010 or more and 0.050 or less.

An electrophotographic photosensitive member includes a conductive substrate and a single-layer photosensitive layer. The photosensitive layer contains a charge generating material, a hole transport material, an electron transport material, an additive, and a binder resin. An optical response time is in a range from 0.05 milliseconds to 0.85 milliseconds. The optical response time is a time from irradiation of a surface of the photosensitive layer charged to +800 V with pulse light having a wavelength of 780 nm to surface potential decay of the photosensitive layer from +800 V to +400 V. An optical intensity of the pulse light is set so that the surface potential of the photosensitive layer becomes +200 V from +800 V after 400 milliseconds from pulse light irradiation of the surface of the photosensitive layer charged to the +800 V. The additive includes either of both an ultraviolet absorbing agent and an antioxidant.

An organic electroluminescent device includes an anode and a cathode that are a pair of electrodes, at least one of the electrodes being transparent or translucent; and an organic compound layer interposed between the electrodes, the organic compound layer including at least one layer containing a cured film obtained from a composition that contains an amine compound having six or more crosslinkable groups. The cured film has a residual film ratio of 90% or more after a condition described below, and a rate of change in surface roughness Ra of the cured film before and after the condition described below is 0.99 or more: condition: placing toluene on the cured film and leaving toluene thereon for 30 seconds.