Dye diffusion transfer process employing compounds that release sulfonamide dye providing radicals

The process of producing colored photographic images by the dye diffusion transfer process comprising the steps of:

• (a) imagewise exposing a photographic material containing at least one light-sensitive silver halide emulsion layer and associated therewith a non-diffusible color-providing compound capable of being oxidized by oxidized silver halide developer and, in oxidized form, of being split in alkaline medium to release a diffusible dye-providing radical having a free sulfonamide group,
• (b) developing the material with an alkaline silver halide developer to release an image distribution of diffusible dye and
• (c) transferring the image distribution of diffusible dye to an image-receiving layer, wherein the improvement comprises the dye-giving compound corresponds to the following formula:
• ##STR13## in which X represents the diffusible dye-providing radical;
• R.sub.1 represents --OR.sub.4 or NHR.sub.5 where R.sub.4 is hydrogen or a acyl radical that may be hydrolyzed under the conditions of photographic development and R.sub.5 is hydrogen, alkyl, aryl, acyl or a heterocyclic group, wherein said R.sub.4 acyl radical and R.sub.5 alkyl, aryl, acyl and heterocyclic radicals include such radicals which together with one of the substituents R.sub.2 and R.sub.3 complete a 5-, 6- or 7-membered heterocyclic ring containing at least one oxygen or nitrogen atom;
• R.sub.2 represents hydrogen, alkyl, aryl or a heterocyclic group including such alkyl, aryl and heterocyclic radicals which together with one of the substituents R.sub.1 and R.sub.3 complete a 5-, 6- or 7-membered heterocyclic ring, or a nitrogen atom carrying two substituents;
• the first substituent is a radical selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkyl, aryl and acyl including such alkyl, aryl and acyl radicals which together with R.sub.1 complete a 5-, 6- or 7-membered heterocyclic ring containing at least one nitrogen atom;
• the second substituent is a radical selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and a radical that together with R.sub.3 completes a 5-, 6- or 7-membered heterocyclic ring containing at least one nitrogen atom;
• but the two substituents at the nitrogen atom are not both at the same time hydrogen;
• and R.sub.3 represents hydrogen, alkyl, aryl, a heterocyclic group, acyl, cyano or a radical that together with one of the substituents R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 completes a 5, 6- or 7-membered heterocyclic ring;
• at least one of the substituents R.sub.1, R.sub.2 and R.sub.3 or a heterocyclic ring completed by two of these substituents carries a ballasting radical and the released diffusible dye-providing radical has a free sulfonamide group.