Solvent-stabilized photoconductive metal phthalocyanine nanoparticles: preparation and application in single-layered photoreceptors.

Abstract

This article features solvent-stabilized nanoparticles of photoconductive metal phthalocyanines (MPcs) with small particle sizes and narrow size distributions, which are tractable building blocks for photoelectric devices. The preparation and stabilization mechanism of 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE)-stabilized oxovanadium phthalocyanine (VOPc) and oxotitanium phthalocyanine (TiOPc) nanoparticles are discussed. It is found for the first time that the DCE-stabilized TiOPc and VOPc nanoparticles are positively charged with zeta potentials of about +66 mV, which is ascribed to the electron transfer from the nanoparticles to DCE molecules. The excellent xerographic properties of the single-layered photoreceptors based on TiOPc or VOPc nanoparticles and the charge transport mechanism of these photoreceptors are discussed. The strategy for further improving the xerographic properties of single-layered photoreceptors is proposed.