An electrophotographic photosensitive member includes a surface layer containing a charge transporting material and a specific polyester resin having a structure including a specific branched chain.

The present invention relates to an electrophotographic photoreceptor comprising: a conductive support; and a photosensitive layer on the conductive support, wherein the photosensitive layer contains a charge transport substance, a binder resin, and a compound which has a molecular weight of equal to or less than 350, and is represented by General Formula (1).

Provided are an electrophotographic photosensitive member which satisfies wear resistance and electrical characteristics, and in which image deletion is satisfactorily suppressed, and a process cartridge and an electrophotographic apparatus each including the electrophotographic photosensitive member. The electrophotographic photosensitive member comprises a surface layer which includes a polymerized product of a hole transporting substance having a reactive functional group, in which a structure other than the reactive functional group of the hole transporting substance is one of: a structure consisting of a carbon atom and a hydrogen atom; and a structure consisting of a carbon atom, a hydrogen atom and an oxygen atom, and the structure other than the reactive functional group of the hole transporting substance comprises a specific conjugate structure.

An electrophotographic photoreceptor includes at least a photosensitive layer and a protective layer sequentially layered on a conductive support, wherein the protective layer contains a cured product of a curable composition containing p-type semiconductor fine particles, an n-type organic semiconductor, and a polymerizable compound.

An electrophotographic photoreceptor includes an intermediate layer, a photosensitive layer, and a surface layer laminated on a conductive support in this order, wherein a cured product of a polymerizable monomer contains an electron transport agent and n-type metal oxide fine particles to which a reactive organic group is bonded in the surface layer.

A method of producing an electrophotographic photoreceptor composed of a photosensitive layer provided on a conductive substrate, includes, in the formation of an outermost layer, controlling slope k of a straight line obtained by plotting the average film density of outermost layer and boiling point of solvent used for the formation of the outermost layer along the ordinate and the abscissa, respectively, to be 1.50E-4 (g/cm.sup.3.Math. C.) or greater, and adjusting the difference in film density of the outermost layer between the surface side and the side close to the conductive substrate to be 0.030 g/cm.sup.3 or less. The electrophotographic photoreceptor has reduced image defects even after long-term use and has excellent wear performance.

An electrophotographic photoreceptor includes a conductive substrate; a photosensitive layer provided on the conductive substrate; and an undercoating layer that is provided between the conductive substrate and the photosensitive layer and includes a charge transport material containing at least one of imide compounds represented by Formula (1) or (2):

##STR00001## (in Formulas (1) and (2), R.sup.10, R.sup.11, R.sup.20 or R.sup.21 independently represents a group represented by Formula (3) or (4) where X represents a monovalent organic group having at least one of an alkyl group, an alkylene group, an ether group, an ester group, and a keto group, a halogen atom, a nitro group, an aralkyl group, or an aryl group, Y represents a sulfur atom or an oxygen atom, n represents an integer of 0 to 2, and when n represents 2, two X's may be the same or different), and an imide compound is represented by Formula (1A) where Ar represents an aromatic group having 6 to 18 carbon atoms except for a tetravalent perylene group, X.sup.1 and X.sup.2 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or a substituted or unsubstituted carbon atom, Y.sup.1 and Y.sup.2 each independently represent an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, a selenium atom, or NH, and R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a monovalent organic group:

##STR00002##

An electrophotographic photoreceptor includes a conductive substrate; a photosensitive layer provided on the conductive substrate; and an undercoating layer that is provided between the conductive substrate and the photosensitive layer and includes a charge transport material containing at least one of imide compounds represented by Formula (1) or (2):

##STR00001## (in Formulas (1) and (2), R.sup.10, R.sup.11, R.sup.20, or R.sup.21 independently represents a group represented by Formula (3) or (4) where X represents a monovalent organic group having at least one of an alkyl group, an alkylene group, an ether group, an ester group, and a keto group, a halogen atom, a nitro group, an aralkyl group, or an aryl group, Y represents a sulfur atom or an oxygen atom, n represents an integer of 0 to 2, and when n represents 2, two X's may be the same or different), and an imide compound is represented by Formula (1A) where Ar represents an aromatic group having 6 to 18 carbon atoms except for a tetravalent perylene group, X.sup.1 and X.sup.2 each independently represent a nitrogen atom or a substituted or unsubstituted carbon atom, Y.sup.1 and Y.sup.2 each independently represent an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, a selenium atom, or NH, and R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a monovalent organic group:

##STR00002##

An electrophotographic photosensitive member includes a conductive substrate and a photosensitive layer. The photosensitive layer is a single-layer photosensitive layer. The photosensitive layer contains a charge generating material, a hole transport material, an electron transport material, a binder resin, and an additive. The additive contains a carboxylic acid anhydride. A reduction potential of the carboxylic acid anhydride is at least 1.40 V versus a reference electrode (Ag/Ag.sup.+). The carboxylic acid anhydride is contained in an amount of at least 0.02 parts by mass and no greater than 10.00 parts by mass relative to 100 parts by mass of the binder resin.

An electrophotographic photosensitive member includes a conductive substrate and a single-layer photosensitive layer. The photosensitive layer contains at least a charge generating material and a compound represented by general formula (1). In general formula (1), R.sup.1 represents an aryl group having a carbon number of at least 6 and no greater than 22 and optionally having an alkyl group having a carbon number of at least 1 and no greater than 10, an alkyl group having a carbon number of at least 3 and no greater than 20, an aralkyl group having a carbon number of at least 7 and no greater than 20, a cycloalkyl group having a carbon number of at least 3 and no greater than 20, or an alkoxy group having a carbon number of at least 1 and no greater than 6. Chemical groups R.sup.2 each represent a halogen atom. ##STR00001##