Eastman-kodak Company

Carestream Health, Inc.

Gary E Labelle

Thomas J Ludemann

Roland J Koestner

Kumars Sakizadeh

Aparna V Bhave

Darlene F Philip

Samuel Chen

Karissa L Eckert

Thomas J Kub

Bryan V Hunt

William Donald Ramsden

Chaofeng Zou

Steven H Kong

Richard R Ollmann, Jr

Sharon Mary Simpson

David R Whitcomb

Doreen Catherine Lynch

Michael W Orem

Thomas C Geisler

Oanh V Pham

Thomas J Ludermann

Mathew T Stebbins

Jennifer C Dawson

Disclosed are compositions and methods that provide flexible transparent conductive films that exhibit low levels of oligomer migration and haze development, without making use of costly substrates based on PEN film or PET films having low oligomer content. Such flexible transparent conductive films are useful in electronic and optical applications.

Transparent conductive films, methods, and articles

Methods and compositions are disclosed and claimed for gravure printing of transparent conductive films comprising metal nanowires. Such films exhibiting low resistivity and superior coating uniformity may be used in electronic or optical articles.

Gravure printing of transparent conductive films containing networks of metal nanoparticles

Methods of recovering compositions comprising nanowires and the product compositions are disclosed and claimed. The product compositions produced by these methods are able to provide equivalent performance to virgin raw materials in transparent conductive film manufacturing processes.

Nanowire recovery methods, compositions, and articles

Thermally developable materials including photothermographic and thermographic materials have a buried conductive backside layer comprising one or more binder polymers in which are dispersed each of at least two types of conductive materials: (1) nanoparticles of one or more conductive metal compounds, and (2) one or more organic solvent soluble inorganic alkali metal salt antistatic compounds. These buried conductive backside coatings provide conductivity that is affected minimally by humidity.

Thermally developable materials with buried conductive backside coatings

Thermally developable materials including photothermographic and thermographic materials having a buried conductive backside layer comprising one or more binder polymers, and an antistatic compound that is an organic solvent soluble alkali metal salt of any of a perfluorinated aliphatic carboxylic acid having 2 or 3 carbon atoms, a perfluorinated aliphatic sulfonate, or a tetrafluoroborate, provide antistatic coatings that exhibit little dependence on humidity.

Backside conductive layers with increased conductive efficiency can be provided for thermally developable materials by formulating hydrophilic metal oxide clusters in a hydrophobic environment using low shear mixing conditions. The dry thickness and coating weight of the conductive layer are thereby reduced.

Thermally developable materials with improved conductive layer

Thermally developable materials including photothermographic and thermographic materials have an outermost backside layer that includes a combination of a polysiloxane and a smectite clay that has been modified with a quaternary ammonium compound. The resulting outermost backside layers exhibit improved abrasion resistance. The materials can also include conductive layers underneath the outermost backside layer.

Thermally developable materials with abrasion-resistant backside coatings

The use of metal antimonates at high metal antimonate to binder ratios in buried backside conductive layers of thermographic and photothermographic materials allows the use of thin backside overcoat layers. The combination provides antistatic constructions having excellent antistatic properties that show less change in resistivity with changes in humidity. The thin backside overcoat layer serves to protect the buried antistatic layer.

Antistatic properties for thermally developable materials

Buried backside conductive layers with increased conductive efficiency can be provided for thermally developable materials using a specific organic solvent mixture to coat a protective overcoat directly disposed over the conductive layer. This organic solvent mixture comprises an alcohol in which one or more film-forming polymers used in the formulation are soluble at room temperature. The alcohol is used in an amount of more than 10 and up to 90 weight % of the organic solvent mixture.

Thermally developable materials including photothermographic and thermographic materials having an outermost backside layer that includes amorphous silica particles having a narrow particle size distribution. The narrower particle size distribution provides reduced haze and increased surface roughness that reduces blocking and machine feeding at comparable weight percent. The materials can also include conductive layers underneath the outermost backside layer.

Thermally developable materials with narrow disperse amorphous silica

Backside conductive layers with increased conductive efficiency can be provided for thermally developable materials by providing a buried conductive coating containing a lower molecular weight polyvinyl acetal binder (that is, a molecular weight of at least 8,000 and less than 30,000).

Thermally developable materials having improved backside conductive layers

Thermally developable materials such as photothermographic and thermographic materials have a backside conductive layer with increased conductive efficiency. This backside conductive layer is a buried conductive coating and is overcoated with a layer that contains a smectite clay modified with a quaternary ammonium compound.

Thermally developable materials with improved backside layers

Thermographic and photothermographic materials comprise a barrier layer to provide physical protection and to prevent migration of diffusible imaging components and by-products resulting from high temperature imaging and/or development. The barrier layer comprises a scavenger that is a metal hydroxide or ester. This barrier layer is capable of retarding diffusion of mobile chemicals such as organic carboxylic acids, developers, and toners.

Growing community of inventors

Stillwater, MN, United States of America

Gary E Labelle