International Business Machines Corporation

David Berhard Sclove

Robert L Vollmer

Walter P Heil

Thomas Richard Gadek

This invention relates to a method of making an electrophotographic imaging element, the resulting element, and the process of utilizing the element in electrophotographic processes. In its present form the element is generally of the known multi-layered type including a conductive substrate, a layer of charge generating photoconductive material, and a charge transport layer. The charge generating photoconductive layer requires no binder matrix and is comprised primarily of an organic dye material selected from organic primary amine soluble charge generating monoazo and disazo compounds and from organic primary amine soluble charge generating derivatives of squaric acid. The preferred element is produced by dissolving the charge generating material in an organic primary amine solvent or solvent mixture containing an organic primary amine, coating the resulting solution onto a conductive substrate to form a charge generating layer, and then after the solution has dried, overcoating the charge generating layer with a charge transport layer to form an electrophotographic imaging element. In other embodiments polymers or charge transport materials can be incorporated in the solution with the charge generating dye and coated with it to form a composite layer.

Method of making electrophotographic imaging element

Squaric acid is prepared by reacting hexachlorobutadiene with an excess of morpholine in the presence of an aromatic hydrocarbon solvent while maintaining the temperature between 110.degree. C and 120.degree. C, and then converting the resulting 1,1,3-trichloro-2,4,4-trimorpholino-butadiene to 3-morpholinotrichloro-2-cyclobuten-1-one, which in turn is hydrolyzed in the presence of strong acid to produce the desired squaric acid.

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Boulder, CO, United States of America

David Berhard Sclove