Cleaning blade for electrostatographic apparatus

Abstract

A cleaning blade member including a polymer substrate and a fluorinated polyurethane ceramer coating surface layer. The polymer substrate may comprise polyurethane. The fluorinated polyurethane ceramer coating may comprise a fluorinated polyurethane silicate hybrid organic-inorganic network formed as a reaction product of a fluorinated polyurethane having terminal reactive alkoxysilane groups with a tetraalkoxysilane compound. The fluorinated polyurethane ceramer coating may be coated on the polymer substrate of the cleaning blade without any primer layer therebetween. Also described is an electrostatographic apparatus comprising a toner-contacting member and such a fluorinated ceramer coated cleaning blade for the toner-contacting member. The toner-contacting member may comprise an endless transport web. The fluorinated ceramer enhances the ability of particles to be released from the surface therefore reducing contamination generated due to particles attached to the surface. Coating of a cleaning blade made of polyurethane with such fluorinated ceramer resulted in improved cleaning performance.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.