Colorless ligand-releasing monomers and polymers and their use to provide dyes with metal ions

摘要

Essentially colorless, hydrophilic ligand-releasing polymers are prepared from ethylenically unsaturated polymerizable monomers represented by the structure: <IMAGE> wherein R' is hydrogen or lower alkyl, COUP is a photographic color coupling moiety, LINK is a coupling-off group which can be cleaved by an oxidized developer composition, and LIG is a ligand capable of complexing with metal ions, while joined to the polymer, to form a dye. These polymers also have recurring units which impart hydrophilicity to the polymer. These polymers form metal complex dyes in unexposed areas of photographic elements only, while the ligand is cleaved from the polymer in the exposed areas and washed out of the element.