Pressure members comprising CNT/PFA nanocomposite coatings

A fusing apparatus comprising:

• a fuser member;
• and
• a pressure member configured to form a contact nip with the fuser member to fuse toner images on a print medium that passes through the contact nip, wherein the pressure member comprises:
• a substrate, and
• an outermost layer disposed over the substrate, wherein the outermost layer comprises a plurality of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with each CNT surrounded by a shell comprising an elastomeric material and uniformly distributed in a fluoroplastic material to provide the outermost layer a toughness of at least about 3,000 in.-lbs./in.3, the elastomeric material being selected from a group consisting of a fluoroelastomer, a perfluoroelastomer, a silicone, a fluorosilicone, a polysulfide, a polyphosphazene and a mixture thereof, wherein the elastomeric material is at least partially crosslinked to form the shell independent of the fluoroplastic material, and
• wherein the fluoroplastic material is different from the elastomeric material, the fluoroplastic material is selected from the group consisting of polyfluoroalkoxypolytetrafluoroethylene (PFA), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), fluorinated ethylenepropylene copolymer (FEP), and a combination thereof.

An image forming apparatus comprising:

• a photoreceptor for receiving an electrostatic latent image thereon;
• a development component for applying toner to the photoreceptor to develop the electrostatic latent image, thereby forming a developed image on the photoreceptor;
• a transfer component to transfer the developed image from the photoreceptor to a print medium;
• and
• a fusing apparatus comprising a fuser member and a pressure member configured for forming a contact nip between the fuser member and the pressure member for fusing toner images on the print medium passing through the contact nip, wherein the pressure member comprises,
• an outermost layer comprises a plurality of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with each CNT surrounded by a shell comprising an elastomeric material and uniformly distributed in a fluoroplastic material to provide the outermost layer a tensile strength of at least about 3000 psi, an ultimate elongation of at least about 100%, and a toughness of at least about 3,000 in.-lbs./in.3, the elastomeric material being selected from a group consisting of a fluoroelastomer, a perfluoroelastomer, a silicone, a fluorosilicone, a polysulfide, a polyphosphazene and a mixture thereof, wherein the elastomeric material is at least partially crosslinked to form the shell independent of the fluoroplastic material, and
• wherein the fluoroplastic material is different from the elastomeric material, the fluoroplastic material comprising a repeating unit corresponding to a monomer that is selected from a group consisting of tetrafluoroethylene (TFE), hexafluoropropylene (HFP), perfluoropropyl vinyl ether (PPVE), perfluoroethyl vinyl ether (PEVE), perfluoromethyl vinyl ether (PMVE), chlorotrifluoroethylene (CTFE), vinyl fluoride (VF), and vinylidene fluoride (VDF), and a combination thereof.