Positive-working immobile intramolecular nucleophilic displacement

Abstract

Novel photographic dye release compounds have the structure: ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 is an aromatic group containing 5-7 members in the ring to which Nu and E are attached; R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 are bivalent organic groups containing from 1-3 atoms in the bivalent linkage which are alkylene, oxyalkylene or thiaalkylene; Nu is a nucleophilic group which is a hydrazine, an hydroxyamino, an hydroxy, a sulfonamido, a primary amino or alkali-labile precursors for said nucleophilic groups; E is an electrophilic group which is a carbonyl or a sulfonyl; Q is a bivalent group providing a mono atom linkage between E and X.sub.2 and is amino providing a mono atom nitrogen linkage, an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom or a selenium atom, provided that Nu and E are positioned on a ring of said aromatic group to provide for intramolecular formation of a 5- to 7-membered ring between Nu and E displacing Q--X.sub.2 from E; one of X.sup.1 or Q--X.sub.2 is a ballasting group containing at least 8 carbon atoms, which ballasting group is of a size sufficient to render said compound immobile in an alkaline solution-permeable layer of a photographic element; one of X.sup.1 or Q--X.sub.2 is an azo dye, an azomethine dye; an anthraquinone dye, an alizarin dye, a merocyanine dye, a quinoline dye or a cyanine dye; and n and m are integers of 1 or 2.