ANTHRAQUINONE COMPOUNDS AND POLARIZING FILM CONTAINING THE SAME

Abstract: An anthraquinone compound represented by formula: wherein R and X are as defined in the specification, and a polarizing film containing the same. The anthra­ quinone compound exhibits satisfactory compatibility with organic polymers and high dichroism, and the polarizing films have excellent performance characteristics.

Description: Conventionally known polarizing films include polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) base films dyed with iodine or a dichroic dye. Since these polarizing films, though exhibiting excellent polarizing performance, are inferior in heat resistance, moisture resistance, and the like, an acetyl cellulose film or the like film has been laminated thereon for practical use. Nevertheless, the laminated polarizing films still have insufficient moisture resistance depending on use. Polarizing films comprising, as a film base material, a hydrophobic polymer other than PVA have been proposed, in which a vinyl halide polymer, e.g., polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC), etc., is dehydrohalogenated to form a polyene structure. However, they have not yet become so popular not only because they are also unsatisfactory in stability to heat, light or oxygen but because a free choice in hue is not allowed. Further, polyamide base polarizing films have also been proposed as disclosed in JP-B-3944/74 and JP-A-45153/79. Although the polyamide-dye type polarizing films are superior to PVA-iodine polarizing films, PVA-dichroic dye polarizing films, or polyene type polarizing films in terms of heat resistance, moisture resistance, dynamic strength, and the like, they are inferior in polarizing performance to these three types of polarizing films. GB-A-2 082 196 describes a material suitable for guest-host liquid crystal devices comprising a solution of a liquid crystal material and a pleochroic dye wherein the pleochroic dye comprises at least one compound of the general formula wherein R represents an optionally substituted alkyl group or an optionally substituted monocyclic aryl group. Q represents a halogen atom, an OH, NO₂, alkyl, aryl or NR₁R₂ group, wherein each of R₁ and R₂ independently represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl or aryl group. x represents an integer from 1 to 4 and y represents an integer from 0 to 4; x + y is in the range of 2 to 4, provided that when x + y = 2, x = 1 and y = 1. GB-A-2 094 822 relates to anthraquinone dyes free from water-solubilizing and ionic substitutents of the general formula wherein Q is an NH₂, OH, alkyl, aryl, NO₂ group or a halogen atom, n is 0 to 4, each X is independently a hydrogen atom, an SR, NZ₁Z₂ group or Q, each R independently is an alkyl, aryl or cycloalkyl group, Z₁ and Z₂ are independently a hydrogen atom, an alkyl, cycloalkyl or aryl group, provided that there are at least two different SR groups and that where only two X's represent SR groups, at least one R is an aryl group and the two SR groups are in the 1 and 5 or in the 1 and 8 position. Furthermore, EP-A-103 095 describes dichroic material comprising at least one anthraquinone compound of the general formula wherein Y₁ is a NH₂ or SAr group and Y₂, Y₃, Y₄ represent hydrogen or halogen atoms, NH₂, OH, SAr or NO₂ groups, wherein Ar is a mono- or polycyclic ring system. One object of the invention is to provide novel anthraquinone compounds having satisfactory compatibility with an organic polymer and high dichroism. Another object of the invention is to provide polarizing films having excellent characteristics, such as polarizing performance, heat resistance, moisture resistance, weather resistance, transparency, and the like. The present invention relates to anthraquinone compounds represented by the general formula (I) shown below and polarizing films containing the same. Formula (I) is represented by wherein the two R, which may be the same or different, represent -NHCOR¹, -CONHR¹, or wherein R¹ represents an alkyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted aryl group, or a substituted or unsubstituted cycloalkyl group; ring A represents a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic or aliphatic ring; and the two x, which may be the same or different, represent a hydrogen atom or an amino group, or one of the symbols R may be a hydrogen atom. In the general formula (I), the alkyl group as represented by R¹ preferably includes a straight chain or branched alkyl group having from 1 to 8 carbon atoms. The substituted or unsubstituted aryl group as represented by R¹ includes a phenyl group; a phenyl group substituted with an alkyl group, and preferably an alkyl group having from 1 to 8 carbon atoms; a phenyl group substituted with an alkoxy group, and preferably an alkoxy group having from 1 to 8 carbon atoms; a biphenyl group, a heterocyclic group, e.g., a pyridinyl group; a naphthyl group, an anthraquinon-2-yl group; a phenyl group substituted with an acylamino group, such as an alkylcarbonylamino group (e.g., an acetylamino group, a butyrylamino group, a caprylamino group), and an arylcarbonylamino group (e.g., a benzoylamino group, a p-butylbenzoylamino group, a p-phenylbenzoylamino group); a 4-cyclohexylphenyl group; a cyclohexylphenyl group substituted with a trans-4-alkyl group, and preferably an alkyl group having from 1 to 8 carbon atoms. The substituted or unsubstituted cycloalkyl group as represented by R¹ includes a cyclohexyl group, a 4-alkylcyclohexyl group, and preferably a trans-4-alkylcyclohexyl group substituted with an alkyl group having from 1 to 8 carbon atoms or a 4-cyclohexylcyclohexyl group. The group of includes aromatic or aliphatic cyclic imido groups, such as wherein Z represents a halogen atom (e.g., a chlorine atom or a bromine atom); and n represents an integer of from 1 to 4; furthermore imido groups such as wherein R² represents -COOR³, wherein R³ represents an alkyl group, and preferably an alkyl group having from 1 to 8 carbon atoms, -CONHR³, whrein R⁴ represents a hydrogen atom, an alkoxy group having from 1 to 8 carbon atoms or R³, The anthraquinone compounds represented by the general formula (I) can be prepared, for example, by reacting an anthraquinone compound represented by formula (II) wherein X is as defined above, with a compound represented by the general formula (III) Y - CO - R¹ (III) wherein R¹ is as defined above; and Y represents a halogen atom (e.g., a chlorine atom, a bromine atom, etc.), or a compound represented by the general formula (IV) wherein ring A is as defined above, in a solvent, such as an aromatic solvent (e.g., mono-, di-, or trichlorobenzene, nitrobenzene, etc.), an amide solvent (e.g., N,N-dimethylformamide, N-methylacetamide or N-methylpyrrolidone) at a temperature, for example, of from 50 to 200°C. The reaction between a compound of the general formula (II) and a compound of the general formula (III) may be carried out in the presence of an acid scavenger, such as alkylamines (e.g., triethylamine, tributylamine), nitrogen-containing compounds (e.g., pyridine, picoline, quinoline, quinaldine) and inorganic bases (e.g., potassium carbonate, sodium carbonate, sodium hydrogen-carbonate, potassium hydroxide). Alternatively the anthraquinone compounds represented by the general formula (I) can be prepared, for example, by reacting 1,5-dichloroanthraquinone with a compound represented by the general formula (V) wherein R is as defined in formula (I), in an amide solvent such as N,N-dimethylformamide, N-methylacetamide or N-methylpyrolidone in the presence of the aforementioned acid scavenger at a temperature of from 50 to 200°C. The organic polymers which can be used as a film base material for the polarizing films of the present invention include polyester, polycarbonate, polyethersulfone, polyimide, polyamide, vinyl halide polymers, vinylidene halide polymers, polyvinyl alcohol resins, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers, cellulose resins, polyvinyl butyral resins, and liquid crystal polymers. The liquid crystal polymers include polyethylene terephthalate-p-hydroxybenzoic acid copolymer polyesters. Of these polymers, preferred are those having excellent heat resistance and moisture resistance, such as polyesters, e.g., polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, etc., and a polyethylene terephthalate-p-hydroxybenzoic acid copolymer polyester liquid polymer. The polarizing film according to the present invention can be produced by adding to the above-described organic polymer from 0.01 to 10% by weight, and preferably from 0.05 to 5% by weight, of the anthraquinone compound of the general formula (I), i.e., a dichroic dye. The anthraquinone compounds according to the present invention may be used either individually or in combinations of two or more thereof. If desired, they may also be combined with other dichroic dyes, dyes having no dichroism, or additives, such as ultra-violet absorbing agents, antioxidants, and the like. The method for producing the polarizing films is not particularly limited. In general, a composition comprising the film base polymer, the anthraquinone compound, and, if any, various additives is homogeneously melted and molded into a film or a sheet. The film or sheet is uniaxially stretched from 3 to 12 times at a temperature of from 20 to 200°C and then heat treated at a temperature of from 100 to 250°C for a period of from 1 second to 30 minutes to obtain a film having a thickness, for example, of from 30 to 200 µm. If desired, the film may also be stretched in the direction perpendicular to the major stretching direction. The thus produced polarizing film can be used as such or, if desired, may be subjected to various finishing treatments depending on the final use. For example, a protective layer comprising a triacetate, acrylic, or urethane polymer, etc. may be laminated thereon, or a transparent conductive film comprising an indium-tin oxide, etc. may be formed on the surface of the polarizing films by vacuum deposition, sputtering or coating. The present invention is now illustrated in greater detail with reference to Examples, but it should be understood that the present invention is not deemed to be limited thereto. In these examples, the coefficient of dye orientation (Fdye) of the anthraquinone compound that is a dichroic dye was calculated by equation (1): Fdye = (D-1)/(D+2) (1) wherein D is the absorption dichroism ratio of the dichroic dye-containing film, which can be obtained from equation (2): D = Log (I₀/I II )/Log (I₀/I I ) (2) wherein I₀ is the transmittance of the non-dyed film prepared under the same stretching conditions and the same treating conditions, and I I and I II each is the transmittance of the non-dyed film when the polarizing plane of an incident light ray is vertical to or parallel with the stretching axis, respectively. The Fdye value represents the degree of orientation of the dichroic dye. The greater the Fdye value, the greater the polarizing performance of the polarizing film. EXAMPLE 1 One gram of an anthraquinone compound of formula: was melt-mixed with 1 Kg of a polyethylene naphthalate resin at 300°C, and the mixture was moled into a film colored in distinct yellow. The film was uniaxially stretched 5 times at 140°C by means of a stretching machine manufactured by T. M. Long to obtain a yellow polarizing film having a thickness of 100 µm. The resulting polarizing film had a maximum absorption wavelength of 448 nm and a Fdye value of 0.84. The anthaquinone compound used in this example was synthesized as follows. A mixture consisting of 1 g of 1,5-bis(4′-amino-phenylthio)anthraquinone, 0.87 g of naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxylic acid anhydride, and 50 ml of N,N-dimethylformamide was heated at 150°C for 4 hours while stirring. After cooling, the precipitate formed was collected by filtration, washed with methanol, and dried to obtain 0.97 g of the desired anthraquinone compound having a melting point of 300°C or higher. EXAMPLE 2 One gram of an anthraquinone compound of formula: was melt-mixed with 1 Kg of a polyethylene naphthalate resin, and the mixture was molded into a film colored in distinct yellow. The film was stretched in the same manner as in Example 1 to obtain a 100 µm thick yellow polarizing film. The resulting polarizing film had a maximum absorption wavelength of 455 nm and a Fdye value of 0.85. The anthraquinone compound used in this example was synthesized as follows. One gram of 1,5-bis(4′-aminophenylthio)anthraquinone was dissolved in 100 ml of monochlorobenzene at 130°C, and to the solution was added 4-n-butoxybenzoyl chloride prepared by reacting 1.02 g of 4-n-butoxybenzoic acid and 0.77 ml of thionyl chloride. To the mixture was further added 1.7 ml of pyridine, and the mixture was allowed to react at 130°C for 3 hours. After cooling, 100 ml of methanol was added to the reaction mixture, and the precipitated crystals were collected by filtration to obtain 0.74 g of the desired compound having a melting point of 300°C or higher. EXAMPLES 3 to 34 Anthraquinone compounds shown in Table 1 below were synthesized in accordance with the process described in Example 1 or 2. A polarizing film was produced in the same manner as in Example 1, except for using each of these anthraquinone compounds. The maximum absorption wavelength and Fdye value of the resulting polarizing film are also shown in Table 1. EXAMPLE 35 One gram of an anthraquinone compound of formula: was melt-mixed with 1 Kg of a polyethylene naphthalate resin, and the mixture was molded into a film colored in distinct yellow. The film was uniaxially stretched 5 times at 140°C by means of a stretching machine manufactured by T. M. Long to obtain a yellow polarizing film having a thickness of 100 µm. The resulting polarizing film had maximum absorption wavelengths of 576 nm and 603 nm and a Fdye value of 0.83. The anthaquinone compound used in this example was synthesized as follows. Three grams of 1,5-diamino-4,8-bis(4′-aminophenylthio)anthraquinone were dissolved in 100 ml of N-methylpyrrolidone. To the solution was added 1.7 g of benzoyl chloride at 22 to 25°C, and 2 g of pyridine was further added thereto, followed by stirring at 22 to 25°C for 4 hours. The reaction mixture was poured into 100 ml of methanol, and the precipitate formed was collected by filtration and dried to obtain 3.5 g of the desired compound having a melting point of 300°C or higher. EXAMPLE 36 One gram of an anthraquinone compound of formula: was melt-mixed with 1 Kg of a polyethylene naphthalate resin, and the mixture was molded into a film colored in distinct blue. The film was uniaxially stretched 5 times at 140°C by means of a stretching machine manufactured by T. M. Long to obtain a blue polarizing film having a thickness of 100 µm. The resulting polarizing film had maximum absorption wavelengths of 573 nm and 604 nm and an Fdye value of 0.75. The anthraquinone compound used in this example was synthesized as follows. A mixture consisting of 3.5 g of 1,5-diamino-4,8-bis(4′-aminophenylthio)anthraquinone, 2.9 g of naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxylic acid anhydride, and 400 ml of N,N-dimethylformamide was heated at 150°C for 4 hours while stirring. After cooling, the precipitate was filtered, washed with methanol, and dried to obtain 4.0 g of the desired compound having a melting point of 300°C or higher. EXAMPLES 37 TO 70 Anthraquinone compounds shown in Table 2 were prepared in the same manner as described in Example 35 or 36. A polarizing film was produced in the same manner as in Example 35, except for using each of the anthraquinone compounds of Table 2. The maximum absorption wavelength and Fdye value of the resulting polarizing film are also shown in Table 2. Since the anthraquinone compounds according to the present invention exhibit satisfactory compatibility with organic polymers to be used as film base materials as well as high dichroism, the polarizing films produced from these compounds are excellent in all respects required, i.e., polarizing performance, heat resistance, moisture resistance, weather resistance, and transparency.

Claims: An anthraquinone compound represented by the general formula I: wherein the two R, which may be the same or different, represent -NHCOR¹, -CONHR¹, or wherein R¹ represents an alkyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted aryl group, or a substituted or unsubstituted cycloalkyl group, ring A represents a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic or aliphatic ring; and the two X, which may be the same or different represent a hydrogen atom or an amino group, or one of the symbols R may be a hydrogen atom. The anthraquinone compound as claimed in claim 1, wherein R¹ represents a straight chain or branched alkyl group having from 1 to 8 carbon atoms, a phenyl group, a phenyl group substituted with an alkyl group having from 1 to 8 carbon atoms, a phenyl group substituted with an alkoxy group having from 1 to 8 carbon atoms, a biphenyl group, a heterocyclic group, a naphthyl group, an anthraquinon-2-yl group, an alkylcarbonylamino-substituted phenyl group, an arylcarbonylamino-substituted phenyl group, a 4-cyclohexylphenyl group, a cyclohexylphenyl group substituted with a trans-4-alkyl group having from 1 to 8 carbon atoms, a cyclohexyl group, a cyclohexyl group substituted with a trans-4-alkyl group having from 1 to 8 carbon atoms, or a 4-cyclohexylcyclohexyl group. The anthraquinone compound as claimed in claim 1, wherein wherein Z represents a halogen atom; and n represents an integer or from 1 to 4, wherein R² represents -COOR³, wherein R³ represents an alkyl group having from 1 to 8 carbon atoms, -CONHR³, wherein R⁴ represents a hydrogen atom, an alkoxy group having from 1 to 8 carbon atoms or R³, A polarizing film containing an organic polymer and having incorporated therein in an oriented state an anthraquinone compound represented by the general formula I according to anyone of claims 1 to 3 The polarizing film as claimed in claim 4, wherein said anthraquinone compound is present in an amount of from 0.01 to 10% by weight based on the organic polymer. The polarizing film as claimed in claim 4, wherein said anthraquinone compound is present in an amount of from 0.05 to 5% by weight based on the organic polymer.

Inventors: KUBO, SHINJI, MIURA, KONOE, OKUMURA, SEIGO, OZAWA, TETSUO
Applicants: MITSUBISHI KASEI CORPORATION
Application year: 1988
Main classification: C09B1
IPC codes: G02B1, C09B1