Self-developing imaging systems based on polyesters and polyethers

Much of authors' recent work with imaging system which incorporate chemical amplification has involved the design of polymers which can undergo multiple main-chain cleavages as the result of a phototriggered process. They prepared dozens of new polycarbonates, polyethers and polyesters which are all susceptible to acid-catalyzed thermolytic cleavage. With all of these systems, imaging is accomplished through irradiation of a film of the polymer containing a small amount of a photoactive compound which can generate acid upon irradiation. The thermolysis of esters and carbonates is a well-known reaction which is particularly effective with tertiary alcohol derivatives. The authors extended it a variety of allylic and benzylic substrates for which a clean reaction requiring relatively low temperatures was predicted. In contrast, the clean thermolysis of appropriately chosen ethers into alkene and alcohol components was little known until this work.