Adhesion and Adhesion Distribution in a Model Toner System

摘要

In this work, we report the use of a micro-cantilever to measure the rolling resistance of toner particles on a silicon wafer, as a mean to model the Van Waals adhesion between a toner particle and a surface. Results show that there exists a distribution of adhesion in a given toner sample. For a batch of well-blended toner with 100% surface additive coverage, we observe relatively low adhesion with a narrow distribution of adhesion, which is in contrast to the base polymer particle where the adhesion is high and the distribution is broad. For toner with 10% surface area coverage, we observe a very broad distribution of adhesion. The adhesion ranges from high, comparable to the base polymer, to low, comparable to a toner with 100% additive coverage. The results suggest that there is a variation of adhesion on the toner surface for toner with <100% surface area coverage. When the additive covered toner surface is landed on the Si wafer, low adhesion is resulted. When the bare toner surface is landed on the Si wafer, relatively high adhesion is obtained. The use of this rolling resistance technique to determine the distribution of adhesion within a toner sample is discussed.