Patent ID: 8268399

Claim:
A contact leveling surface for an ink jet imaging member comprising: a coating disposed on a contact leveling substrate, wherein the coating comprises a polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane of the formula wherein R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , and R 8 are each, independently of the other, selected from a fluorine-substituted group comprising: (a) alkyl, including linear, branched, saturated, unsaturated, cyclic, acyclic, substituted, and unsubstituted alkyl groups, and wherein hetero atoms may optionally be present in the alkyl group; (b) aryl, including substituted and unsubstituted aryl groups, and wherein hetero atoms may optionally be present in the aryl group; (c) arylalkyl, including unsubstituted and substituted arylalkyl groups, wherein the alkyl portion of the arylalkyl group can be linear, branched, saturated, unsaturated, cyclic, or acyclic, and wherein hetero atoms may optionally be present in either or both of the alkyl portion and the aryl portion of the arylalkyl group; (d) alkylaryl, including unsubstituted and substituted alkylaryl groups, wherein the alkyl portion of the alkylaryl group can be linear, branched, saturated, unsaturated, cyclic, or acyclic, and wherein hetero atoms may optionally be present in either or both of the alkyl portion and the aryl portion of the alkylaryl group; (e) siloxyl, including linear, branched, cyclic, acyclic, substituted, and unsubstituted, siloxyl groups, and wherein hetero atoms may optionally be present; (f) silyl, including linear, branched, cyclic, acyclic, substituted, and unsubstituted, silyl groups, and wherein hetero atoms may optionally be present; (g) silane, including linear, branched, cyclic, acyclic, substituted, and unsubstituted, silane groups, and wherein hetero atoms may optionally be present; and (h) a functional group selected from hydroxyl, amine, carboxylic acid, epoxide, fluoroalkyl, halide, imide, acrylate, methacrylate, nitrile, sulfonate, thiol, silanol, and combinations thereof, wherein two or more R groups can be joined together to form a ring; and wherein the coating is either a neat fluoroalkyl-substituted polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane that is free of a polymeric binder or wherein the coating comprises a fluoroalkyl-substituted polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane and a polymeric binder selected from the group consisting of fluoroelastomers, fluoropolymers, polycarbonate, polymethylmethacrylate, polystyrene, polyimide, and polyurethane.