Results Experimental Testing Team Members: Jared Frey, Anne Itsuno, Amy Lee, Kerin O’Toole, Beth Sterling Faculty Advisor: Jonathan Stolk Corporate Liaisons: Gillian Ross, Jenny Berens Foam Project The toner adder roll (TAR) is a component in laser printers that scoops and charges toner particles, and applies them to the adjacent developer roll while simultaneously removing old toner. To optimize the functionality of the TAR, Lexmark has identified a set of desired properties for the TAR foam. The material must be electrically conductive and mechanically robust over a wide range of temperature and humidity, while also having high structural uniformity and good mechanical and electrical aging properties. To attain the desired performance, the material must meet specific target ranges for resistance, porosity, and hardness. Problem Statement Improve the performance of the TAR. • Research existing foam materials and foaming techniques • Produce and characterize foam samples that show improvement over current TAR foams in one or more properties of interest. Screening Experiments with Conductive Polymers Conductive Polymer Coatings Co‐synthesis Project Objectives Project Focus As there are many properties that are important to the functionality of the TAR, we prioritized the properties we attempted to attain through lab work. Electrical Conductivity: Electrical conductivity was our highest priority, since foam that is too resistive is unable to attract and charge toner particles. Stiffness: Since the foam must be able to conform to the shape of the developer roller, the mechanical stiffness of the foam was a high priority. Pore Count: Introducing a high number of pores into the foam maximizes its surface area, which is necessary to attract and charge enough toner particles. Time‐Dependent Properties: Environmental factor, creep resistance, mechanical and electrical fatigue resistance, etc. Conductive Polymer Additives Histology Scanning Electron Microscopy Electrical Resistance Compression We created a formal design of experiments based on the results of our screening experiments, modifying an experimental setup found in the literature. The design of experiments results showed promise in meeting the requirements of a TAR foam. Coating Mass (g) Resistance (Ω) Stiffness (psi) ICP Concentration (M) x, y, and z ICP:Oxidizing Agent Ratio A:B and A:C Design of Experiments Coating thickness was measured using thin cross sections of the foam. Coating integrity was examined using FESEM. Achieved lower resistance than our original target resistance on some samples. If the foam cannot charge, it will not attract toner particles Electrical Conductivity Stiffness Pore Count Conclusions ICP coatings did not have a significant effect on the stiffness of most samples. ICP coatings hold promise in meeting the target properties for the TAR foam. The resistance of some samples is lower than our original goal. Higher ICP concentrations generally yield lower resistance, but the ICP:oxidizing agent molar ratio does not show a clear trend. The effect of the coating on the mechanical properties of the foam appears to be minimal, but further testing is required. This effect may also vary depending on the composition of the base foam. Second Coat Average Resistance (Ω) as f(Applied Voltage) at 30 s 1.E+03 1.E+04 1.E+05 1.E+06 1.E+07 1.E+08 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 Voltage (V) Resistanace (Ω) Uncoated white foam Uncoated grey foam x M IPC, A:B ratio x M IPC, A:C ratio y M IPC, A:B ratio y M IPC, A:C ratio z M IPC, A:B ratio z M IPC, A:C ratio ICP ICP ICP ICP ICP ICP Second coat compression data 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 'A:B Ratio' 'A:C Ratio' Load at 25% compression (psi) ICP:Oxidizing Agent Ratio x M ICP y M ICP z M ICP Foam block before and after coating 0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10 15 20 25 %Compressive Strain Stress (KPa) Uncoated Coated