Provided is a process cartridge being detachably attachable onto a main body of an electrophotographic apparatus. The process cartridge includes an electrophotographic photosensitive member, a developing roller, and a toner-supplying roller. The developing roller and the toner-supplying roller are configured to be opposite to each other at a contact position between the developing roller and the toner-supplying roller, and to be rotated while R represented by the following formula (E1) satisfies 1.2R1.5: R=V.sub.RS/V.sub.D Formula (E1) (in the formula (E1), V.sub.RS represents an absolute value of a peripheral velocity [m/s] of the toner-suppling roller, and V.sub.D represents an absolute value of a peripheral velocity [m/s] of the developing roller). The electrophotographic photosensitive member includes a surface layer containing a polycarbonate resin including a structural unit represented by the formula (A1).

An electrophotographic photosensitive member with suppressed potential variation even in the case that a protective layer including a cured material of a composition having a polymerizable functional group is used is provided. An electrophotographic photosensitive member including a support, a charge generation layer, a charge transport layer containing a charge transporting material, and a protective layer, in the order presented, wherein the charge transport layer contains a polycarbonate resin having a structure selected from a group A and a structure selected from a group B, and the protective layer includes a cured material of a composition containing a compound having at least a functional group selected from chain-polymerizable functional groups and sequential polymerizable functional groups.

An electrophotographic photoreceptor comprising at least a photosensitive layer on a conductive substrate, wherein the photosensitive layer is a laminate having a charge transport layer and a charge generation layer, the charge transport layer contains four or more types of compounds each having a maximum absorption wavelength falling within a wavelength range of from 300 nm to 600 nm in a tetrahydrofuran solution at 25? C., and maximum absorption wavelengths falling within the wavelength range of at least four types of the compounds of said four or more types of the compounds are separated from each other by 10 nm or more.

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer; a charging member to charge the surface of the image bearer; an irradiating member to irradiate the surface of the image bearer to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the image bearer; an developing member to develop the electrostatic latent image with a toner to form a visible toner image on the surface of the image bearer; and a transferring member to transfer the toner image onto a transfer material. The image bearer includes a charge generation layer including an asymmetrical disazo pigment and a metal-free phthalocyanine pigment, and a charge transport layer. The irradiating member forms the electrostatic latent image at an irradiation energy greater than a half decay exposure of the image bearer and not greater than 2.5 times of the half decay exposure. The image bearer is not discharged every image forming process.

An image forming method in which a surface layer of an electrophotographic photosensitive member contains a compound having a specific structure in an amount of 0.1% to 10% by mass based on the total mass of the surface layer, and in a charged region of the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member charged in a charging step, a non-image forming region in which an electrostatic latent image is not formed is not irradiated with destaticizing light or is irradiated with reduced destaticizing light.

An electrophotographic photosensitive member has a support, a charge generation layer, and a charge transport layer in this order, the charge transport layer containing a charge transport material. The charge transport layer is a surface layer of the electrophotographic photosensitive member and contains a polycarbonate resin having a structural unit selected from group A and a structural unit selected from group B (groups A and B defined in the disclosure).

Provided are a process cartridge and an image-forming method each of which has a satisfactory cleaning property even at the initial stage of the use of a brand-new process cartridge or electrophotographic apparatus, and hence can suppress a reduction in image quality due to the contamination of a charging member. The charge transporting layer of an electrophotographic photosensitive member contains a specific polyarylate resin or polycarbonate resin, and a toner contains a specific fine particle on the surface of a toner particle.

A diamine compound is represented by general formula (1). In the general formula (1), R.sub.1, R.sub.2, R.sub.3, R.sub.4, R.sub.5, R.sub.6, R.sub.7, R.sub.8, R.sub.9, and R.sub.10 each represent, independently of one another, a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, an optionally substituted alkyl group having a carbon number of at least 1 and no greater than 6, an optionally substituted alkoxy group having a carbon number of at least 1 and no greater than 6, or an optionally substituted aryl group having a carbon number of at least 6 and no greater than 14. m represents an integer of at least 1 and no greater than 3. n represents an integer of at least 0 and no greater than 2. ##STR00001##

A charge transporting layer of an electrophotographic photosensitive member contains a polysiloxane resin having a terminal structure represented by the formula (1), at least one selected from the group consisting of a polycarbonate resin A having a structural unit represented by the formula (A) and a polyarylate resin B having a structural unit represented by the formula (B), and a charge transporting substance, wherein the content of the siloxane structure in the polysiloxane resin is not less than 0.5% by mass and not more than 10% by mass based on the total mass of whole resin in the charge transporting layer.

An electrophotographic photoreceptor includes an electroconductive substrate, a photosensitive layer provided on the electroconductive substrate, and an inorganic surface layer provided on the photosensitive layer, wherein a layer constituting an outermost surface of the photosensitive layer contains from 30% by weight to 70% by weight of silica particles and contains a biphenyl copolymerization type polycarbonate resin including a structural unit represented by the formula (PCA) and a structural unit represented by the formula (PCB) at a copolymerization ratio (PCA:PCB (molar ratio)) of 10:90 to 50:50: ##STR00001## wherein, R.sup.P1, R.sup.P2, R.sup.P3, and R.sup.P4 each represent a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, an alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, a cycloalkyl group having 5 to 7 carbon atoms, or an aryl group having 6 to 12 carbon atoms, and X.sup.P1 represents a phenylene group, a biphenylene group, a naphthylene group, an alkylene group, or a cycloalkylene group.