JPH10123741A - Electrophotographic photoreceptor, process cartridge and electrophotographic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electrophotographic photoreceptor excellent in mechanical strength and solvent crack resistance, and excellent in electric resistance against discharge due to direct charging. An electrophotographic photosensitive member, a process cartridge, and an electrophotographic apparatus in which a surface layer contains a polymer having structural units represented by formulas (1) and (2). Embedded image (In the formula, R _{1 to} R ₁₇ and R _{21 to} R _{37 each} represent H, a halogen, an alkyl group, a cycloalkyl group, an aryl group, or the like.)

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrophotographic photosensitive member, a process cartridge having the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and an electrophotographic apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to an electrophotographic photosensitive member having a surface layer containing a specific resin, and The present invention relates to a process cartridge having an electrophotographic photosensitive member and an electrophotographic apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An electrophotographic method is disclosed in U.S. Pat.
As shown in JP-A No. 1 (1993), a photoconductive material comprising a support coated with an insulating substance is used in which the electric resistance changes in accordance with the amount of irradiation received during image exposure, and in a dark place. The basic characteristics required of an electrophotographic photoreceptor using this photoconductive material are (1) that it can be charged to an appropriate potential in a dark place, (2) that the potential is less dissipated in a dark place, and (3) And (3) quickly dissipating the charge by light irradiation.

[0003] Conventionally, selenium,
Inorganic photoreceptors having a photosensitive layer mainly containing an inorganic photoconductive compound such as zinc oxide and cadmium sulfide have been widely used. However, these satisfies the conditions (1) to (3), but are not necessarily satisfactory in thermal stability, moisture resistance, durability and productivity.

In order to overcome the disadvantages of inorganic photoconductors, electrophotographic photoconductors containing various organic photoconductive compounds as main components have been actively developed in recent years. For example, US Pat.
No. 851 discloses a photoreceptor having a charge transport layer containing triallylpyrazolin, and US Pat. No. 3,871,880 discloses a charge generating layer comprising a derivative of perylene pigment and
Photoreceptors comprising a charge transport layer comprising a condensate of propylene and formaldehyde are known.

Further, the organic photoconductive compound can freely select the photosensitive wavelength range of the electrophotographic photosensitive member depending on the compound.
JP-A Nos. 2754 and 56-167759 disclose substances exhibiting high sensitivity in the visible region, and JP-A-57-19576 and JP-A-61-22.
No. 8453 discloses a compound having sensitivity up to the infrared region.

[0006] Of these materials, those exhibiting sensitivity in the infrared region are used in laser beam printers (hereinafter abbreviated as LBPs) and LED printers, which have been remarkably advanced in recent years, and the demand frequency thereof is increasing.

Electrophotographic photoreceptors using these organic photoconductive compounds are used as function-separated type photoreceptors in which a charge transport layer and a charge generation layer are laminated in order to satisfy both electrical and mechanical properties. In many cases. On the other hand, it is needless to say that the electrophotographic photoreceptor is required to have sensitivity, electrical characteristics, and even optical characteristics according to the electrophotographic process applied.

Particularly, in the case of an electrophotographic photoreceptor that is used repeatedly, an external electric or mechanical force such as corona or direct charging, image exposure, toner development, transfer step and surface cleaning is directly applied to the electrophotographic photoreceptor surface. For,
Durability against them is also required.

Specifically, electrical deterioration due to ozone and nitrogen oxides during charging, mechanical deterioration in which the surface is worn or scratched due to discharge during charging, and rubbing of the cleaning member, and electrical deterioration Durability is required.

[0010] The electrical degradation is particularly problematic in that a carrier stays in a portion irradiated with light and a potential difference is generated from a portion not irradiated with light, and this phenomenon occurs as a photo memory.

[0011] Unlike an inorganic photoreceptor, an organic photoreceptor, which is often soft in material, is inferior in durability against mechanical deterioration and is particularly demanded to improve durability.

Various attempts have been made to satisfy the durability characteristics required for the photoreceptor as described above.

As a resin often used for the surface layer and having good abrasion and electric properties, a polycarbonate resin having bisphenol A as a skeleton has been attracting attention. However, not all of the above-mentioned problems can be solved, and the following problems cannot be solved. It has such problems.

(1) It has poor solubility and shows good solubility only in a part of halogenated aliphatic hydrocarbons such as dichloromethane and 1,2-dichloroethane. In addition, since these solvents have a low boiling point, they have low solubility. When a photoreceptor is manufactured using a coating solution prepared with the above solvent, the coated surface is likely to be whitened. It also takes time to control the solid content of the coating liquid.

(2) Solvents other than halogenated aliphatic hydrocarbons are partially soluble in tetrahydrafuran, dioxane, cyclohexanone or a mixed solvent thereof, but the solution gels in a few days. Inferior aging,
It is not suitable for photoconductor production.

(3) Further, even if the above formulas (1) and (2) are improved, solvent cracks are liable to occur in the polycarbonate resin having bisphenol A as a skeleton.

(4) In addition, in the case of a conventional polycarbonate resin, the coating formed of the resin does not have lubricity, so that the photoreceptor is easily damaged, and the cleaning setting for reducing the abrasion loss of the electrophotographic photoreceptor is difficult. In some cases, image defects such as toner fusion occur, or cleaning failure or toner fusion occurs due to early deterioration of the cleaning blade.

For the solution stability mentioned in the above (1) and (2), use of a polycarbonate Z resin having a bulky cyclohexylene group as a structural unit of the polymer, or copolymerization with bisphenol Z or bisphenol C, etc. Has been solved by

Solvent cracks can also be solved by using a siloxane-modified polycarbonate or an ether-modified polycarbonate, as disclosed in JP-A-6-51544 and JP-A-6-75415. . However, compared to conventional polycarbonate resins, these modified polycarbonates have a structure that has flexibility against internal stress in the polymer in order to prevent solvent cracks, and as a result, the mechanical There was a disadvantage that the strength was reduced.

Further, in recent years, a direct charging system disclosed in JP-A-57-17826 and JP-A-58-40566, in which a voltage is applied directly to a charging member and a charge is applied to an electrophotographic photosensitive member. Is becoming mainstream.

This is a method in which a roller-shaped charging member made of a conductive rubber or the like is brought into direct contact with an electrophotographic photosensitive member to apply an electric charge. The scorotron generates a significantly smaller amount of ozone than a scorotron or the like. While about 80% of the current flowing through the charger flows through the shield, it is wasted, whereas direct charging has the advantage that it is very economical without this waste.

However, direct charging has a disadvantage that charging stability is very poor because of charging by discharge according to Paschen's rule. As a countermeasure, a so-called AC / DC charging method in which an AC voltage is superimposed on a DC voltage has been devised (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-149668).

Although this charging method has improved the stability during charging, the amount of discharge on the surface of the electrophotographic photosensitive member is greatly increased due to the superposition of AC, so that the amount of scraping of the electrophotographic photosensitive member increases. A new drawback has arisen, requiring not only mechanical strength but also electrical strength.

[0024]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the problem of having a conventional polycarbonate resin as a surface layer, to have excellent solvent crack resistance, high mechanical strength, and direct An object of the present invention is to provide an electrophotographic photoreceptor which has good electric resistance due to charging and is easy to manufacture.

[0025]

That is, the present invention relates to an electrophotographic photosensitive member having a photosensitive layer on a conductive support, wherein the surface layer of the electrophotographic photosensitive member has the following formula (1) or (2):
An electrophotographic photoreceptor comprising a polymer having a structural unit represented by the formula:

[0026]

Embedded image (Wherein, R _{1 to} R ₁₇ and R _{21 to} R ₃₇ represent a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, an alkyl group which may be substituted, a cycloalkyl group, an aryl group or an aralkyl group. L, m, p
And q are integers of 0 to 2, and n and r are integers. The present invention also provides a process cartridge and an electrophotographic apparatus, each having the above-described electrophotographic photosensitive member.

[0027]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the formulas (1) and (2), halogen atoms include fluorine, chlorine and bromine atoms, and alkyl groups include methyl, ethyl, isopropyl and butyl. Examples of the cycloalkyl group include a cyclopentyl group and a cyclohexyl group.Examples of the aryl group include a phenyl group, a naphthyl group and an anthryl group.Examples of the aralkyl group include a benzyl group and a phenethyl group. Examples of the substituent which these may have include the above-mentioned halogen atom, alkyl group and aryl group.

Specific examples of the structural units represented by the formulas (1) and (2) are shown in Tables 1 and 2, but are not limited thereto.

[0029]

[Table 1]

[0030]

[Table 2]

[0031]

[Table 3]

[0032]

[Table 4]

[0033]

[Table 5]

[0034]

[Table 6]

[0035]

[Table 7]

[0036]

[Table 8]

First, in Table 1, preferred examples include structural unit examples 1-1, 1-2, 1-5 and 1-7, and particularly preferred are structural unit examples 1-1 and 1-2.

The polymer having a structural unit represented by the formula (1) used in the present invention is synthesized by polymerizing a bisphenol represented by the following formula (3) in the presence of phosgene, usually in the presence of an alkali. it can.

[0039]

Embedded image (In the formula, R _{1 to} R _{17 each} represent a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, an alkyl group which may be substituted, a cycloalkyl group, an aryl group or an aralkyl group. L and m each represent an integer of 0 to 2.) In (3), specific examples of the halogen atom, the alkyl group, the cycloalkyl group, the aryl group and the aralkyl group, and the substituents that these groups may have are the same as the specific examples in the formula (1). No.

In the electrophotographic photoreceptor of the present invention, even a polymer having the same structural unit represented by the formula (1) is composed of two or more different structural units represented by the formula (1). It may be a copolymer.

Further, a copolymer may be formed with other general bisphenols such as bisphenol Z, bisphenol A, bisphenol C and bisphenol AF in consideration of solubility during polymerization. However, in this case, the structural unit represented by the formula (1) is 20 to 99 mol% of the total copolymer.
Preferably present, more preferably 50-99 mo
1%.

Next, in Table 2, preferred examples include Structural Unit Examples 2-1, 2-2, 2-4 and 2-6, and particularly preferred are Structural Unit Examples 2-2 and 2-4.

The polymer having the structural unit represented by the formula (2) used in the present invention is a mixture of a terephthalic acid chloride and an isophthalic acid chloride in order to increase the solubility of the bisphenol represented by the following formula (4). It can be synthesized by interfacial polymerization with stirring in a solvent / water system in the presence of an alkali.

The ratio between terephthalic acid chloride and isophthalic acid chloride is determined in consideration of the solubility of the polymer, and is not defined. However, if any chloride is 30mo
Care must be taken when the content is 1% or less, since the solubility of the synthesized polymer is extremely reduced. Usually, it is preferable to synthesize at a ratio of 1/1.

[0045]

Embedded image (In the formula, R _{21 to} R ₃₇ represent a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, an alkyl group which may be substituted, a cycloalkyl group, an aryl group or an aralkyl group. P and q each represent an integer of 0 to 2.) In (4), specific examples of a halogen atom, an alkyl group, a cycloalkyl group, an aryl group and an aralkyl group, and the substituents that these groups may have are the same as the specific examples in the formula (2). No.

In the electrophotographic photoreceptor of the present invention, even a polymer having the same structural unit represented by the formula (2) is composed of two or more different structural units represented by the formula (2). It may be a copolymer.

Further, a copolymer may be formed with other general bisphenols such as bisphenol Z, bisphenol A, bisphenol C and bisphenol AF in consideration of solubility during polymerization. However, in this case, the structural unit represented by the formula (2) is 20 to 99 mol% of the entire copolymer.
Preferably present, more preferably 50-99 mo
1%.

The electrophotographic photoreceptor according to the present invention has particularly excellent solvent crack resistance, mechanical strength and good electrophotographic properties.

The polymer having the structural units represented by the formulas (1) and (2) contains a unit having rigidity in the structural unit, and the unit is partially vitrified at the time of forming an electrophotographic photosensitive member. This increases the durability of the entire polymer coating.

The partial vitrification inside the molecule and the three-dimensional cross-linking by the allyl group increase the intramolecular density and combine the amorphous portion and the crystalline portion in the same molecule, so that the intramolecular portion generated at the time of forming a coating film is formed. It is also assumed that the stress can be alleviated, whereby the internal stress is maintained and no crack occurs even if a chemical causing a solvent crack enters. It is presumed that the mechanical strength is enhanced by the three-dimensional cross-linking by the allyl group in addition to the presence of the crystalline portion.

The structure of the electrophotographic photosensitive member used in the present invention will be described below.

The electrophotographic photoreceptor of the present invention may be a single layer type in which the photosensitive layer contains a charge transport material and a charge generation material in the same layer, or a laminated type in which the charge transport layer and the charge generation layer are separated. Although good, the laminated type is preferable in terms of electrophotographic characteristics.

The conductive support to be used may be any one having conductivity, such as a metal such as aluminum or stainless steel.
Alternatively, metal, paper, plastic, or the like provided with a conductive layer may be used, and examples of the shape include a sheet shape and a cylindrical shape.

When an image input such as LBP is a laser beam, a conductive layer may be provided for the purpose of preventing interference fringes due to scattering or covering a scratch on the support. This can be formed by dispersing conductive powder such as carbon black and metal particles in a binder resin. The thickness of the conductive layer is 5
４０40 μm is preferable, and more preferably 10-30 μm
It is.

An intermediate layer having an adhesive function is provided thereon. Examples of the material for the intermediate layer include polyamide, polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene oxide, ethyl cellulose, casein, polyurethane, and polyether urethane. These are applied by dissolving in an appropriate solvent.
The thickness of the intermediate layer is preferably from 0.05 to 5 μm, more preferably from 0.3 to 1 μm.

The charge generation layer is formed on the intermediate layer.
Examples of the charge generation material used in the present invention include selenium-tellurium, pyrylium, thiapyrylium dyes, phthalocyanine, anthantrone, dibenzapyrene quinone, trisazo, cyanine, disazo, monoazo, indigo, quinacridone, and asymmetric quinocyanine pigments. Can be In the case of the function separation type, the charge generation layer is obtained by mixing the charge generation material with a binder resin and a solvent in an amount of 0.3 to 4 times the amount of a homogenizer, an ultrasonic dispersion, a ball mill, a vibration ball mill, a sand mill, an attritor, a roll mill and a liquid collision type Disperse well by a method such as a high-speed disperser, apply the dispersion,
It is formed by drying. The thickness of the charge generation layer is preferably 5 μm or less, more preferably 0.1 to 2 μm.

The charge transport layer is formed by applying and drying a coating material in which a charge transport material and a binder resin containing a polymer used in the present invention are dissolved in a solvent. Examples of the charge transport material used include a triarylamine compound, a hydrazone compound, a stilbene compound, a pyrazoline compound, an oxazole compound, a triallylmethane compound, and a thiazole compound.

These are combined with 0.5 to 2 times the amount of the binder resin, and coated and dried to form a charge transport layer. The thickness of the charge transport layer is preferably from 5 to 40 μm, more preferably from 15 to 30 μm.

Further, in the polymer having the structural units represented by the formulas (1) and (2) contained in the surface layer of the electrophotographic photoreceptor constituting the present invention, crosslinking by the allyl group of the polymer is carried out. In order to make the reaction sufficient, heating, irradiation with light such as ultraviolet rays, irradiation with an electron beam, or the like can be performed during drying. At this time, various suitable polymerization initiators can be used to promote the reaction.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an electrophotographic apparatus having a process cartridge having the electrophotographic photosensitive member of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a drum-shaped electrophotographic photosensitive member of the present invention, which is driven to rotate around an axis 2 in a direction of an arrow at a predetermined peripheral speed. The photoreceptor 1 rotates during the rotation process.
The peripheral surface is uniformly charged with a predetermined positive or negative potential by the primary charging means 3, and then receives image exposure light 4 from an image exposure means (not shown) such as slit exposure or laser beam scanning exposure. Thus, an electrostatic latent image is sequentially formed on the peripheral surface of the photoconductor 1.

The formed electrostatic latent image is then transferred to developing means 5
The toner-developed image developed by the toner image is transferred from a paper supply unit (not shown) between the photoconductor 1 and the transfer unit 6 in synchronization with the rotation of the photoconductor 1 and fed to a transfer material 7 fed therefrom. The image is sequentially transferred by the transfer unit 6.

The transfer material 7 which has undergone the image transfer is separated from the photoreceptor surface, introduced into the image fixing means 8 and subjected to image fixing to be printed out of the apparatus as a copy.

After the transfer of the image, the surface of the photoreceptor 1 is cleaned by removing the untransferred toner by the cleaning means 9, and is further cleaned by a pre-exposure light 10 from a pre-exposure means (not shown).
Is used for image formation repeatedly after the charge removal processing. When the primary charging unit 3 is a contact charging unit using a charging roller or the like, the pre-exposure is not necessarily required.

In the present invention, a plurality of components such as the above-described electrophotographic photosensitive member 1, primary charging means 3, developing means 5 and cleaning means 9 are integrally connected as a process cartridge. The process cartridge may be configured to be detachable from a main body of an electrophotographic apparatus such as a copying machine or a laser beam printer. For example, a process in which at least one of the primary charging unit 3, the developing unit 5, and the cleaning unit 9 is integrally supported together with the photoreceptor 1 to form a cartridge, and is detachable from the apparatus main body using a guide unit such as the rail 12 of the apparatus main body. The cartridge 11 can be used.

When the electrophotographic apparatus is a copying machine or a printer, the image exposure light 4 is reflected and transmitted from the original, or the original is read by a sensor and converted into a signal. Laser beam scanning,
Light emitted by driving the LED array, driving the liquid crystal shutter array, and the like.

The electrophotographic photosensitive member of the present invention can be used not only for an electrophotographic copying machine but also for a laser beam printer,
It can be widely used in electrophotographic applications such as RT printers, LED printers, liquid crystal printers, and laser plate making.

The following is a description of the embodiment. The middle part in the examples indicates parts by weight. [Example 1] A 30φ, 254mm aluminum cylinder was used as a support, and a coating composed of the following materials was applied on the support by dip coating at 140 ° C.
For 30 minutes to form a 15 μm conductive layer.

Conductive pigment: SnO ₂ coated barium sulfate 10 parts Resistance adjusting pigment: titanium oxide 2 parts Binder resin: phenol resin 6 parts Leveling material: silicone oil 0.001 parts Solvent: methanol, methoxypropanol 0.2 / 0.8 20 parts

Next, a solution obtained by dissolving 3 parts of N-methoxymethylated nylon and 3 parts of copolymerized nylon in a mixed solvent of 65 parts of methanol and 30 parts of n-butanol was applied thereon by dip coating to form a coating having a thickness of 0.5 μm. Was formed.

Next, oxytitanium phthalocyanine (TiOPc) having strong peaks at 9.0 °, 14.2 °, 23.9 ° and 27.1 ° in Bragg angles 2θ ± 0.2 ° of CuKα characteristic X-ray diffraction. ) 4 parts of polyvinyl butyral (trade name: Esrec BM2, manufactured by Sekisui Chemical) and 60 parts of cyclohexanone were dispersed for 4 hours by a sand mill using φ1 mm glass beads for 4 hours, and then 100 parts of ethyl acetate was added to form a charge generating layer. A dispersion was prepared.
This was applied by a dip coating method to form a 0.3 μm charge generation layer.

Next, 9 parts of an amine compound having the following structural formula:

[0073]

Embedded image 1 part of amine compound of the following structural formula

[0074]

Embedded image And 10 parts of the polymer described in Condition 1 in Table 3 were dissolved in a mixed solvent of 30 parts of monochlorobenzene and 70 parts of dichloromethane.

This polymer is prepared from a predetermined biphenol (0.01
mol), sodium hydroxide (0.8 g) and tetramethylammonium chloride (1 g) were dissolved in 100 ml of water and charged into a 1-liter mixer, and phosgene gas (0.015 mol) was added thereto with stirring over 2 hours. After high-speed agitation and left for 2 hours, the polymer was recovered as a polymer. The termination of the terminal of the polymer is pt
Using tert-butylphenol, a product that had been subjected to a purification step by water recovery, chloroform dissolution, and methanol dropwise addition after collection was used. This paint was applied by a dip coating method and dried at 120 ° C. for 2 hours to form a 25 μm charge transport layer.

Next, the evaluation will be described.

The device is a Hewlett-Packard LBP
"Laser jet 4plus" (process speed 7
1 mm / sec). In the remodeling, primary charging was controlled by constant current control and constant voltage control. The prepared electrophotographic photosensitive member was subjected to paper passing durability at 28 ° C. and 90% RH using this apparatus. The sequence was an intermittent mode in which the print was stopped once for each print.

When the toner ran out, the toner was replenished and the image was durable until a problem occurred in the image.

Further, a taper abrasion tester using a polishing tape was used for abrasion for 15 minutes, and the weight loss at that time was measured.

Further, 3000 L of a part of the electrophotographic photosensitive member is used.
ux, exposed to the light of a white fluorescent lamp for 10 minutes, allowed to stand for 10 minutes, measured the bright portion potential, measured how much the bright portion potential had dropped before applying the light, and determined the photo memory value.

Further, regarding the solvent cracking property, sebum was adhered to the surface and allowed to stand for 48 hours, and the presence or absence of a solvent crack was observed by microscopic observation.

Table 4 shows the results.

[0083]

[Table 9]

Examples 2 to 12 Example 1 was repeated except that the binder of the charge transport layer used was one of the conditions 2 to 12 shown in Table 3.
An electrophotographic photoreceptor was prepared and evaluated in the same manner as described above. Table 4 shows the results.

[0085]

[Table 10]

Comparative Examples 1 to 4 An electrophotographic photosensitive member was prepared and evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the binder of the charge transport layer used was one of the conditions 1 to 4 shown in Table 5. Table 6 shows the results.

[0087]

[Table 11]

[0088]

[Table 12]

Examples 13 to 24 Electrophotographic photosensitive members were prepared and evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the binders for the charge transport layer used were those of the conditions 1 to 12 shown in Table 7. Table 8 shows the results.

The polymer described in Condition 1 of Table 7 was prepared by using a predetermined biphenol (0.01 mol) and sodium hydroxide (0.8 mol).
g) and tetramethylammonium chloride (1 g) in water 1
Dissolve in 00ml and put into 1 liter mixer,
A solution obtained by dissolving terephthalic acid chloride (0.005 mol) and isophthalic acid chloride (0.005 mol) in 1,2-dichloroethane (30 ml) was added thereto with stirring, stirred at high speed for 10 minutes, and left for 2 hours. The 1,2-dichloroethane solution was recovered, and a large amount of hexane was added thereto to recover the polymer. In addition, p-tert-butylphenol is used for terminating the polymer,
After the recovery, a purification step by washing with water, dissolving in chloroform and dropping methanol is performed.

[0091]

[Table 13]

[0092]

[Table 14]

Comparative Examples 5 to 8 Electrophotographic photosensitive members were prepared and evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the binders for the charge transporting layer used were those under the conditions 1 to 4 in Table 9. Table 10 shows the results.

[0094]

[Table 15]

[0095]

[Table 16]

[0096]

The electrophotographic photoreceptor of the present invention has excellent solvent cracking resistance without impairing the mechanical strength, has good electric resistance against discharge by direct charging, and is easy to manufacture. It has become possible to provide an electrophotographic photosensitive member suitable for charging, a process cartridge having the electrophotographic photosensitive member, and an electrophotographic apparatus.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an electrophotographic apparatus having a process cartridge having an electrophotographic photosensitive member of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SYMBOLS 1 Electrophotographic photoreceptor of the present invention 2 axis 3 Primary charging means 4 Image exposure light 5 Developing means 6 Transfer means 7 Transfer material 8 Image fixing means 9 Cleaning means 10 Pre-exposure light 11 Process cartridge 12 Rail

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An electrophotographic photosensitive member having a photosensitive layer on a conductive support, wherein the surface layer of the electrophotographic photosensitive member contains a polymer having a structural unit represented by the following formula (1). An electrophotographic photosensitive member characterized by the following. Embedded image (Wherein, R _{1 to} R ₁₇ represent a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, an alkyl group which may be substituted, a cycloalkyl group, an aryl group or an aralkyl group. L and m are integers of 0 to 2,
n shows an integer. ) 2. An electrophotographic photosensitive member having a photosensitive layer on a conductive support, wherein the surface layer of the electrophotographic photosensitive member contains a polymer having a structural unit represented by the following formula (2). An electrophotographic photosensitive member characterized by the following. Embedded image (Wherein, R _{21 to} R ₃₇ represent a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, an alkyl group which may be substituted, a cycloalkyl group, an aryl group or an aralkyl group. P and q are integers of 0 to 2,
r represents an integer. ) 3. The electrophotographic photoreceptor according to claim 1 or 2, and at least one means selected from the group consisting of a charging means, a developing means and a cleaning means are integrally supported and detachably attached to an electrophotographic apparatus main body. A process cartridge, characterized in that: 4. An electrophotographic apparatus comprising: the electrophotographic photoreceptor according to claim 1; a charging unit; an image exposing unit; a developing unit; and a transfer unit.