Base Catalysis in Imaging Materials. 1. Design and Synthesis of Novel Light-Sensitive Urethanes as Photoprecursors of Amines

The ability to photogenerate active species has led to significant advances in areas as varied as organic synthesis, with the use of photolabile protecting groups, microelectronics with photoresists, and coating technology with photocurable polymers. In imaging techniques such as those used for microlithography, numerous systems have relied on the use of photogenerated acid¹for their success.² In contrast, the use of photogenerated base has essentially not been explored with a few notable exceptions.³ The reason for this dichotomy is not the lack of applicable chemistry, since base catalysis is widely applicable to numerous reactions but the fact is that photogenerated bases are not readily available.