Provided is an electrophotographic photosensitive member that suppresses image smearing at the time of its repeated use, and expresses satisfactory wear resistance and electric characteristics. The electrophotographic photosensitive member includes a support and a photosensitive layer in the stated order, wherein a surface layer of the electrophotographic photosensitive member contains a copolymer of a hole-transportable compound having a chain-polymerizable functional group and a specific compound having maleimide groups.

A surface layer of an electrophotographic photosensitive member contains a cured product of a composition containing a hole transport compound having an acryloyloxy group or a methacryloyloxy group, and a compound having a specific structure.

An electrophotographic photosensitive member (1) includes a conductive substrate (2) and a photosensitive layer (3). The photosensitive layer (3) is a single-layer photosensitive layer (3c) and contains a charge generating material, a hole transport material, an electron transport material, and a binder resin. The binder resin includes a polyarylate resin represented by general formula (1).

##STR00001##

In general formula (1), Q.sup.1, Q.sup.2, Q.sup.3, and Q.sup.4 each represent a methyl group or a hydrogen atom. r, s, t, and u each represent a number greater than or equal to 15 and less than or equal to 35. X and Y each represent a divalent group represented by chemical formula (2A), chemical formula (2B), chemical formula (2C), or chemical formula (2D)

##STR00002##

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.

An electrophotographic photoreceptor includes a conductive support, a charge generation layer disposed on the conductive support, and a charge transport layer disposed on the charge generation layer. The charge generation layer includes a charge generating material and a vinyl copolymer. The vinyl copolymer includes a structural unit including a chlorine atom, a structural unit including an acyloxy group, and a structural unit including two or more carboxyl groups. The proportion of the structural unit including an acyloxy group to all of the structural units is 13.4 mol % or more and 20.0 mol % or less. The charge transport layer includes a charge transporting material and a binder resin.

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 having a protective layer wherein the density unevenness among output images is reduced with abrasion resistance maintained is provided. The present invention is an electrophotographic photosensitive member having a support, a photosensitive layer and a protective layer in this order, wherein the protective layer has a triarylamine structure and a cyclic structure represented by the formula (1) or (2):

##STR00001##

and an A value expressed by expression (4), A=S1/S2, wherein, in expression (4), S1 is a peak area based on in-plane deformation vibration of terminal olefin (CH.sub.2), and S2 is a peak area based on stretching vibration of CO among peak areas of a spectrum obtained by measuring a surface of the protective layer by total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy using Ge as an internal reflection element and using a measurement condition of 45 as an incidence angle is from 0.065 to 0.100.

An electrophotographic photosensitive member includes a conductive substrate and a photosensitive layer. The photosensitive layer includes a charge generating layer and a charge transport layer. The charge generating layer contains a charge generating material. The charge transport layer contains a hole transport material and a binder resin. The charge transport layer further contains an electron acceptor compound. The hole transport material includes a compound represented by general formula (1). In general formula (1), R.sup.1, R.sup.2, R.sup.3, R.sup.4, R.sup.5, R.sup.6, R.sup.7, R.sup.8, R.sup.9, and R.sup.10 each represent, independently of one another, a hydrogen atom or a methyl group. ##STR00001##

A surface layer of an electrophotographic photosensitive member contains a cured product of a composition containing a hole transport compound having an acryloyloxy group or a methacryloyloxy group, and a compound having a specific structure.

The present invention provides: an electrophotographic photosensitive member which can achieve both of abrasion resistance and electrical characteristics; a production method of the electrophotographic photosensitive member; and a process cartridge and an electrophotographic apparatus having the electrophotographic photosensitive member. A surface layer of the electrophotographic photosensitive member includes a cured product and a specific amount of an alcohol or carboxylic acid having a specific structure, wherein the cured product is a polymerized product of a hole transporting compound having an acryloyloxy group or a methacryloyloxy group.