Thermally bleachable filter dye compositions comprising benzothiazine-dioxide arylidene dyes and base precursors for use in a photothermographic element

A photothermographic element comprising a support having thereon at least one aqueous coatable light-sensitive imaging layer and at least one aqueous coatable light-absorbing layer comprising a benzothiazine arylidene filter dye in bleaching association with an effective amount of a base precursor;

• wherein the dye has the following structure:
• wherein R and R1 independently represents hydrogen, an aryl group containing 6 to 14 carbon atoms, or an alkyl group containing 1 to 12 carbon atoms, which groups may be substituted;
• R2 groups are substituents that do not interfere with the activity of the dye;
• the subscript “n” can range from 1 to 4;
• and D is a moiety, in conjugation with the carbonyl and the sulfone groups, represented by the following formulae:
• wherein the group R15 represents hydrogen, carboxy, carboxyalkyl, sulfonamido, sulfamoyl, or an alkyl, arylalkyl, cyloalkyl, alkoxy, alkylamino, or alkylthio group;
• the groups R13 and R14 each individually represent an alkyl group or an alkenyl group or an aryl, arylalkyl, heterocyclic or cycloalkyl group, or alternatively, R13 and R14 together represent the non-metallic atoms required to form a substituted or unsubstituted 5- or 6-membered ring with each other, or R13 and R14 individually represent the non-metallic atoms necessary to form a substituted or unsubstituted 5- or 6-membered fused ring with the phenyl ring to which the nitrogen is attached;
• and the subscript r is 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4.