Heat image separation with phenolic thermal solvents and dye releasing couplers

Abstract

An aqueous-developable photographic color diffusion transfer element comprising one and only one dimensionally stable support and one or more layers comprising radiation sensitive silver halide, thermal solvent for facilitating the thermal diffusion of dyes through a hydrophilic binder, a dye-releasing coupler, a dye-receiving layer intermediate said support and dye-releasing coupler containing layers, a stripping layer intermediate said dye-receiving layer and any layers containing silver halide or dye-releasing coupler, and hydrophilic binder, wherein said dye is heat diffusible in said binder and thermal solvent, wherein said dye-releasing coupler is of the structure Cp--L--Dye where Cp is a coupler radical substituted in the coupling position with a divalent linking group, L; Dye is a dye radical exhibiting selective absorption in the visible spectrum; and where said --L--Dye group couples off upon reaction of said coupler radical with the oxidation product of a primary amine developing agent, and such that said Dye radical is subsequently released from the --L--Dye group; where said stripping layer contains a stripping agent; and wherein said thermal solvent has the structure I: ##STR1## wherein (a) Z.sub.1, Z.sub.2, Z.sub.3, Z.sub.4, and Z.sub.5 are substituents, the Hammet sigma parameters of Z.sub.2, Z.sub.3, and Z.sub.4 sum to give a total, .SIGMA., of at least -0.28 and less than 1.53; (b) the calculated logP for I is greater than 3 and less than 10, is disclosed.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.