A photoconductor that includes, for example, a supporting substrate, an optional ground plane layer, an optional hole blocking layer, an optional adhesive layer, a photogenerating layer, and a charge transport layer, and where the charge transport layer contains a mixture of a charge transport component and a polycarbonate AP.

An electrophotographic photosensitive member, in which occurrences of image defects are suppressed, and a method for manufacturing the electrophotographic photosensitive member are provided. In addition, a process cartridge and an electrophotographic apparatus, which include the electrophotographic photosensitive member, are provided. The surface layer of the electrophotographic photosensitive member contains a cured material, and the cured material is a copolymer of a hole transport compound having a chain-polymerizable functional group and a vinyl ester compound containing a long-chain alkyl group.

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 photosensitive member includes a conductive substrate and a photosensitive layer. The photosensitive layer is a single layer and contains a charge generating material, a hole transport material, an electron transport material, and a polyarylate resin. The polyarylate resin includes repeating units represented by formulas (1), (2), and (3).

##STR00001##

A ratio n.sub.1/n.sub.2 of the number n.sub.1 of repeats of the repeating unit represented by formula (1) to the number n.sub.2 of repeats of the repeating unit represented by formula (2) is at least 1.0.

At least one resin selected from the group consisting of aromatic polycarbonates and polyarylates has a bond between polymer chains formed by Diels-Alder reaction.

An electrophotographic belt in which bleeding of a cation component to the outer surface is suppressed after long-term storage after long-term repeated image output. The electrophotographic belt has a layer that includes a thermoplastic resin composition including a thermally melt-kneaded product of a thermoplastic polyester resin, a cation having a hydroxyl group, an anion, and a compound having at least two amide groups in one molecule.

Provided are an electrophotographic apparatus and a process cartridge each capable of suppressing the occurrence of a black spot (white background contamination) in an output image under a low-temperature and low-humidity environment. The electrophotographic apparatus includes: an electrophotographic photosensitive member including a support, a photosensitive layer, and a protective layer in the stated order; an exposing device; a developing device; and a cleaning device, wherein the protective layer has a triarylamine structure and a specific structure at a ratio in a specific range, and a toner contains toner particles each containing at least a resin, and an external additive. The toner has a volume-average particle diameter of 7 μm or more. The external additive contains a compound containing a titanium atom. The ratio of the mass of the compound containing a titanium atom to the total mass of the toner is 0.6 mass % or more.

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)|5.53 (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 photosensitive member includes a photosensitive layer of a single layer. The photosensitive layer contains a charge generating material, a hole transport material, an electron transport material, and a binder resin. An optical response time is 0.05 milliseconds or longer and 0.85 milliseconds or shorter. 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 decay of a surface potential of the photosensitive layer from +800 V to +400 V. The pulse light has an intensity that allows the surface potential of the photosensitive layer to decay to +200 V from +800 V after 400 milliseconds elapse from the irradiation of the surface of the photosensitive layer charged to +800 V with the pulse light. The photosensitive layer has a Martens hardness at 50 C. of at least 160 N/mm.sup.2.

Provided are an electrophotographic apparatus and a process cartridge each capable of suppressing the occurrence of a black spot (white background contamination) in an output image under a low-temperature and low-humidity environment. The electrophotographic apparatus includes: an electrophotographic photosensitive member including a support, a photosensitive layer, and a protective layer in the stated order; an exposing device; a developing device; and a cleaning device, wherein the protective layer has a triarylamine structure and a specific structure at a ratio in a specific range, and a toner contains toner particles each containing at least a resin, and an external additive. The toner has a volume-average particle diameter of 7 m or more. The external additive contains a compound containing a titanium atom. The ratio of the mass of the compound containing a titanium atom to the total mass of the toner is 0.6 mass % or more.