PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND THERMOCHEMISTRY OF SELECT 2,6-DINITROBENZYL ESTERS IN POLYMER MATRICES - STUDIES PERTAINING TO CHEMICAL AMPLIFICATION AND IMAGING

Various esters derived from 2,6-dinitrobenzyl alcohol were synthesized and evaluated as photoprotected acids. These materials were prepared from acids whose counterions vary in basicity and nucleophilicity. The effectiveness of these esters as photogenerators of acid was evaluated in terms of their quantum yield for generation of acid in polymer matrices and their thermal stability. The acids thus generated were evaluated in terms of their catalytic chain lengths and lithographic performance in poly(p-ter-butox-ycarbonyloxy-a-methylstyrene) [poly(t-BOCoxy-a-methylstyrene)]. Of the esters studied, it was found that 2,6-dinitrobenzyl 4-nitrobenzenesulfonate had the best combination of the properties described above. © 1990, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.