An image carrier unit includes an image carrier that makes a rotation and has a photosensitive layer on an outer surface, the photosensitive layer containing a binding resin and at least one type of charge transporting material and covering the surface, and a cleaning blade that has a contact part contacting the surface of the image carrier and removes residue on the surface of the image carrier accompanying the rotation of the image carrier. A photosensitive ratio of a first product to a second product is 183.0 or higher and 233.9 or lower, the first product is obtained from a weight-average molecular weight (A) of the binder resin multiplied by an added ratio (B) of the binder resin in the photosensitive layer, and the second product is obtained from a weight-average molecular weight (C) of the charge transporting material multiplied by an added ratio (D) of the charge transporting material.

Provided is an electrophotographic photosensitive member including a support and a photosensitive layer, wherein the photosensitive layer contains two kinds of benzimidazoperylene compounds as electron transporting substances.

A method of forming an overcoat layer. The method comprises providing a substrate having an imaging structure formed thereon, the imaging structure comprising (i) a charge transport layer and a charge generating layer, or (ii) an imaging layer comprising both charge generating material and charge transport material. An overcoat composition is deposited on the imaging structure, the overcoat composition comprising a charge transport molecule, a fluorinated building block, a leveling agent, a liquid carrier and optionally a first catalyst. The fluorinated building block is a fluorinated alkyl monomer substituted at the and positions with a hydroxyl, carboxyl, carbonyl or aldehyde functional group or the anhydrides of any of those functional groups. The overcoat composition is cured to form an overcoat layer that is a fluorinated structured organic film, the curing comprising treating an outer surface of the overcoat composition with at least one cross-linking process. The crosslinking process forms a cross-linking gradient in the overcoat layer. If the overcoat composition comprises the first catalyst, there is an insufficient amount of the first catalyst to fully cross-link the overcoat layer.

A method of forming an overcoat layer. The method comprises providing a substrate having an imaging structure formed thereon, the imaging structure comprising (i) a charge transport layer and a charge generating layer, or (ii) an imaging layer comprising both charge generating material and charge transport material. An overcoat composition is deposited on the imaging structure, the overcoat composition comprising a charge transport molecule, a fluorinated building block, a leveling agent, a liquid carrier and optionally a first catalyst. The fluorinated building block is a fluorinated alkyl monomer substituted at the and positions with a hydroxyl, carboxyl, carbonyl or aldehyde functional group or the anhydrides of any of those functional groups. The overcoat composition is cured to form an overcoat layer that is a fluorinated structured organic film, the curing comprising treating an outer surface of the overcoat composition with at least one cross-linking process. The crosslinking process forms a cross-linking gradient in the overcoat layer. If the overcoat composition comprises the first catalyst, there is an insufficient amount of the first catalyst to fully cross-link the overcoat layer.