Optical information recording medium and azo metal complex dye

An optical information recording medium comprising a substrate having a surface with pregrooves with a track pitch of 50 to 500 nm and a recording layer on the surface of the substrate on which information is recorded by irradiation with a laser light having a wavelength of 440 nm or less, wherein

• the recording layer comprises at least one azo-metal complex dye derived from a metal ion and a compound represented by the following general formula (1-1) or (1-2):
• wherein Q represents a carbocyclic group or a heterocyclic group, and R6 to R8 independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent,
• the compound represented by the general formula (1-1) or (1-2) has a dissociative hydrogen atom in Q, and a residue provided by eliminating the dissociative hydrogen atom in Q and the hydrogen atom in the —NH— group marked with asterisk * from the compound represented by the general formula (1-1) or (1-2) is bonded to the metal ion to generate the azo-metal complex dye, and
• the azo-metal complex dye may contain a component other than the metal ion and the compound represented by the general formula (1-1) or (1-2),
• wherein
• the azo-metal complex dye contains the metal ion and a divalent azo dye anion provided by eliminating two hydrogen atoms from the compound represented by the following general formula (1-1) or (1-2):
• wherein Q represents a carbocyclic group or a heterocyclic group, and R6 to R8 independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent, and
• the number ratio of the divalent azo dye anion to the metal ion is 4/5 in the azo-metal complex dye.

An optical information recording medium comprising a substrate having a surface with pregrooves with a track pitch of 50 to 500 nm and a recording layer on the surface of the substrate on which information is recorded by irradiation with a laser light having a wavelength of 440 nm or less, wherein

• the recording layer comprises at least one azo-metal complex dye derived from a metal ion and a compound represented by the following general formula (1-1) or (1-2):
• wherein Q represents a carbocyclic group or a heterocyclic group, and R6 to R8 independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent,
• the compound represented by the general formula (1-1) or (1-2) has a dissociative hydrogen atom in Q, and a residue provided by eliminating the dissociative hydrogen atom in Q and the hydrogen atom in the —NH— group marked with asterisk * from the compound represented by the general formula (1-1) or (1-2) is bonded to the metal ion to generate the azo-metal complex dye,
• the azo-metal complex dye contains the metal ion and a divalent azo dye anion provided by eliminating two hydrogen atoms from the compound represented by the following general formula (1-1) or (1-2):
• wherein Q represents a carbocyclic group or a heterocyclic group, and R6 to R8 independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent, and
• the number ratio of the divalent azo dye anion to the metal ion is at most 1/1 in the azo-metal complex dye;
• and
• wherein the azo-metal complex dye is represented by the following general formula (B):
• (L2−)s(L2)t(M)u.(Yv−)w
• wherein L2− represents the divalent azo dye anion provided by eliminating two hydrogen atoms from the compound represented by the following general formula (1-1) or (1-2):
• in which Q represents a carbocyclic group or a heterocyclic group, and R6 to R8 independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent, L2 represents a ligand, M represents a metal ion or a metal oxide ion, s represents an integer of 1 to 4, t represents an integer of 0 to 14, u represents an integer of 2 to 5, Yv− represents a v-valent anion, v represents an integer of 1 to 10, and w represents a value within the range of 0<w≦4 obtained by dividing the total positive charge of (L2−)s(L2)t(M)uby v.