Patent ID: 9523928
Filing Date: 2016-12-20
CPC Classification: G03G

Claim Text:
1. A method of forming an overcoat layer, comprising: providing a substrate having an imaging structure formed thereon, the imaging structure comprising (i) a charge transport layer and a charge generating layer, or (ii) an imaging layer comprising both charge generating material and charge transport material; depositing an overcoat composition on the imaging structure, the overcoat composition comprising a charge transport molecule, a fluorinated building block, a leveling agent, a liquid carrier and optionally a first catalyst, the fluorinated building block being a fluorinated alkyl monomer substituted at the α and ω positions with a hydroxyl, carboxyl, carbonyl or aldehyde functional group or the anhydrides of any of those functional groups; and curing the overcoat composition to form an overcoat layer that is a fluorinated structured organic film, the curing comprising treating an outer surface of the overcoat composition with at least one cross-linking process, the cross-linking process forming a cross-linking gradient in the overcoat layer, wherein if the overcoat composition comprises the first catalyst, there is an insufficient amount of the first catalyst to fully cross-link the overcoat layer, and further wherein the at least one cross-linking process is selected from the group consisting of (i) applying a liquid catalyst to the surface and heating, the liquid catalyst comprising an acid solution, (ii) exposing the surface to plasma, and (iii) exposing the surface to hydrogen bombardment.