Squarylium compound and optical information recording medium using the same

Abstract: There are described a novel squarylium compound represented by the formula (I): and an optical information recording medium using the squarylium compound in the recording layer.

Description: The present invention relates to a squarylium compound and optical information recording medium using said compound which can be used in the optical recording field. As main use of near infrared absorbers is that of recording materials in optical information recording medium. As near infrared absorbers which are used as pigment of recording material, there are known, phenanthrene pigment, naphthoquinone pigment, pyrylium pigment and the like in addition to phthalocyanin pigment and cyanin pigment [see JP-A-55-97033, JP-A-58-83344, JP-A-58-224793, JP-A-58-214162 and JP-A-59-24692]. There are squarylium compounds used for optical information recording medium for which the present applicant has already filed applications (see JP-A-1-275188 and JP-A-3-188063). The above described optical information recording media are of direct read after write (DRAW) type. However, in addition to those, DRAW type CD has been recently exploited. This type of CD has such characteristics that a user can record an information therein and the signal after recording can be reproduced by a commercially available CD player since it satisfies with the standards on the previous CD. As recording materials therefor, cyanin pigment and the like are proposed [see JP-A-63-224045, JP-A-2-42652]. However, the above described pigments as recording materials have a variety of problems and therefore optical information recording media using them also have the problems arising from the pigments. Firstly, the phthalocyanin pigments have the problems that they have extremely low solubility in the organic solvents and can not be used for application by coating. Phenanthrene and naphthoquinone pigments have the problems that they have the lower reflectance in spite of the advantage of easy vacuum deposition. The lower reflectance results in the lower contrast on reflectance between recorded parts by the laser rays and non-recorded parts and therefore the lower reproductivity of the recorded information. Furthermore, the pyrylium and cyanin pigments have the problems that they have inferior heat resistance and are liable to be deteriorated by the reproducing rays although they can be applied by coating. EP-A-0 408 014 and DE-A-3 914 151 disclose squarylium compounds containing a benzindol-2-ylidine group which are used in an optical information recording medium. EP-A-0 568 993 and EP-A-0 611 997 disclose squarylium compounds with substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic groups containing nitrogen which are used as chemical amplification resist compositions or photopolymerizable compositions. The main object of the present invention is to provide a novel pigment compound which can overcome the problems of the above pigments. Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel optical information recording medium which can overcome the disadvantages of the above optical information recording medium using the above pigments. These objects as well as other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is a chart showing the spectral properties of the recording medium obtained in Example 9 where the parallel rays are past through the base of the smooth part. (a) shows the absorption spectrum of the recording medium and (b) shows the reflection spectrum where the measuring was carried out through the base of the recording medium. Fig. 2 is a chart showing the spectral properties of the recording medium obtained in Example 10 where the parallel rays are past through the base of the smooth part. (a) shows the absorption spectrum of the recording medium and (b) shows the reflection spectrum where the measuring was carried out through the base of the recording medium. Fig. 3 is a chart showing the spectral properties of the recording medium obtained in Example 11 where the parallel rays are past through the base of the smooth part. (a) shows the absorption spectrum of the recording medium and (b) shows the reflection spectrum where the measuring was carried out through the base of the recording medium. Fig. 4 is a chart showing the spectral properties of the recording medium obtained in Example 14 where the parallel rays are past through the base of the smooth part. (a) shows the absorption spectrum of the recording medium and (b) shows the reflection spectrum where the measuring was carried out through the base of the recording medium. Fig. 5 is a chart showing the spectral properties of the recording medium obtained in Example 16 where the parallel rays are past through the base of the smooth part. (a) shows the absorption spectrum of the recording medium and (b) shows the reflection spectrum where the measuring was carried out through the base of the recording medium. Fig. 6 is a chart showing the spectral properties of the recording medium obtained in Example 17 where the parallel rays are past through the base of the smooth part. (a) shows the absorption spectrum of the recording medium and (b) shows the reflection spectrum where the measuring was carried out through the base of the recording medium. Fig. 7 is a chart showing the spectral properties of the recording medium obtained in Example 20 where the parallel rays are past through the base of the smooth part. (a) shows the absorption spectrum of the recording medium and (b) shows the reflection spectrum where the measuring was carried out through the base of the recording medium. Fig. 8 is a graph showing the relationship between reproduction times and relative signal change in the recording medium obtained in Example 16 when the same track is reproduced 3 million times using the reproducing rays having the light intensity of 0.25 mW/cm 2 and the change in the reflectance thereof and signal amplitude is measured as the relative signal change. medium. Fig. 9 is a chart showing the spectral properties of the recording medium obtained in Example 23 where the parallel rays are past through the base of the smooth part. (a) shows the absorption spectrum of the recording medium and (b) shows the reflection spectrum where the measuring was carried out through the base of the recording medium. The present inventors have surprisingly found that the novel squarylium compounds of the present invention can overcome the above problems. That is, the present invention provides a squarylium compound represented by the formula (I): wherein (1) X represents the group (A): wherein R 1 and R 2 are the same or different and represent alkyl group, or R 1 and R 2 are taken together to form hydrocarbon ring, R 3 represents hydrogen atom, alkyl group or aryl group, R 4 represents halogen atom, alkyl group, aralkyl group, aryl group or alkoxy group, m represents an integer of 0 to 4, provided that when m represents 2 to 4, R 4 's may be the same or different or adjacent two R 4 's may form optionally substituted aromatic ring, or (2) X represents the group (C): wherein R 8 and R 9 are the same or different and represent hydrogen atom, aralkyl group, alkyl group or aryl group, and wherein R 5 represents alkyl group, R 6 and R 7 are the same or different and represent hydrogen, alkyl group or aralkyl group, or R 6 and R 7 are taken together to form optionally substituted aromatic ring or hydrocarbon ring. The present invention also provides an optical information recording medium using said squarylium compound in the recording layer. The squarylium compound of the present invention can be easily vacuum-deposited, has the high solubility in an organic solvent and the high absorbance in near infrared rays, and has excellent storage stability and high heat resistance. The optical information recording medium utilizing the squarylium compound has high reflectance, high contrast on reflectance, the excellent storage stability and stability to the reproducing rays. The recording medium of the present invention can be prepared utilizing vacuum deposition and solvent-coating method and therefore is expected to reduce the cost. As used herein, "compound (I)" refers to a squarylium compound represented by the formula (I). Like this, "compound (N)" refers to a squarylium compound represented by the formula (N). When X represents the group (A), the definition of variable substituents are as follows: Alkyl group and the alkyl part of alkoxy group represent the straight or branched alkyl having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, for example, methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, isobutyl, tert-butyl and the like. Aralkyl group represents aralkyl having 7 to 10 carbon atoms, for example, benzyl, phenethyl, phenylpropyl and the like. Aryl group represents, for example, phenyl, naphthyl and the like. The alkylene or alkenylene part which forms the hydrocarbon ring represents alkylene or alkenylene chain having 3 to 6 carbon atoms, for example, propylene, butylene, butenylene, pentylene, pentenylene, hexylene, hexenylene, hexadienylene and the like. Halogen represents chlorine, bromine, fluorine and the like. Aromatic ring represents benzene ring and the like. The examples of the substituents on the aromatic ring or hydrocarbon ring are halogen, arkyl group, aralkyl group, aryl group and the like which are described above. When X represents the group (C), the definition of the variable substituents are as follows: Alkyl group represents the straight or branched alkyl having 1 to 6 carbon atoms or cyclic alkyl group having 3 to 8 carbon atoms, for example, methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl, tert-butyl, n-amyl, isoamyl, sec-amyl, active amyl, tert-amyl, n-hexyl, cyclopropyl, cyclohexyl and the like. Aralkyl group represents aralkyl having 7 to 10 carbon atoms, for example, benzyl, phenethyl, phenylpropyl and the like. Aryl group represents, for example, phenyl, naphthyl and the like. The examples of the substituents of aralkyl or aryl group are halogen atom, alkyl group, alkoxy group and the like. Halogen represents chlorine, bromine, fluorine and the like. The alkyl group and the alkyl part of alkoxy are as defined above. Aromatic ring represents benzene ring and the like. Alkylene or alkenylene part which forms the hydrocarbon ring represents alkylene or alkenylene chain having 3 to 6 carbon atoms, for example, propylene, butylene, betenylene, pentylene, pentenylene, hexylene, hexenylene, hexadienylene and the like. The examples of the substituents on aromatic or hydrocarbon ring are halogen atom, alkyl group, aralkyl group, aryl group which are as defined above. Then, a process for. preparation of the compound (I) is explained. A squarylium compound (Ia) wherein X represents the group (A) can be prepared by reacting 3,4-diisopropoxy-3-cyclobuten-1,2-dione and a lepidinium derivative in an solvent in the presence of metallic sodium, hydrolyzing the resulting isopropoxycyclobutenedione derivative in the presence of an acid, and reacting under heating the resulting hydroxycyclobutenedione derivative with indoline or 3H-indolium compound in an solvent, if necessary, in the presence of a base. Alternatively, the squarylium compound (I) wherein X represents the group (A) can be prepared according to the same manner as that described above except that 3,4-dichloro-3-cyclobuten-1,2-dione is used in the presence of a base in place of 3,4-diisopropoxy-3-cyclobuten-1,2-dione in the presence of metallic sodium and chlorocyclobutenedione is obtained in place of isopropoxycyclobutenedione. The reaction is shown in the following Reaction Scheme. In the above Reaction Schemes, R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 and m are the same as defined above, U represents chlorine, bromine or iodine atom, and W represents isopropoxy group or chlorine atom. The reaction (1) is carried out by reacting a compound (II) and the equivalent moles of a compound (III) at room temperature in a solvent which dose not inhibit the reaction in the presence of the equivalent amount of metallic sodium or the equivalent moles of or two times moles of a base. The reaction is completed in 3 to 6 hours when metallic sodium is used, or in 5 to 60 minutes when a base is used. The examples of the solvent to be used are alcoholic solvents, for example, methanol, ethanol, propanol, butanol and the like when metallic sodium is used. When the base is used, the examples of the solvent are chloroform; dichloromethane, 1,2-dichloroethane, diethyl ether, tetrahydrofuran, toluene, benzene, dimethylformamide, dimethyl sulfoxide and the like. As the base, the organic bases such as pyridine, quinoline, triethylamine and the like are used. After completion of the reaction, the in-solubles, if any, are removed by filtration and the solvent is distilled off from the reaction solution to give a compound (IV). The reaction (2) is carried out by heating the compound (IV) at 90 to 110 °C for 5 to 20 hours in a 50 to 90 (wt.) % aqueous solution of acetic acid. The solvent is then distilled off to give a compound (V). The reaction (3) is carried out by heating the compound (V) and the equivalent moles of 3H-indolium derivative (VI-a) or indoline derivative (VI-b) at 90 to 110 °C in a solvent, if necessary, in the presence of the equivalent moles of a base. The reaction is completed in 1 to 5 hours. As the solvent, an alcoholic solvent having 4 to 6 carbon atoms can be used solely or in admixture with benzene or toluene (alcohol is not less than 50 %). As the base to be used, there are the organic bases such as pyridine, quinoline, triethylamine and the like. After the above reaction, the product is isolated by column chromatography to give a compound (Ia). A squarylium compound (Id) wherein X represents the group (C) can be prepared by reacting the compound (V) produced by reaction (2) as described before and the imidazoquinoxalinium derivative (XI) as shown below solvent in the presence of a base. The reaction is shown in the following Reaction Schemes. In the Reaction Schemes, R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , R 8 , R 9 and Z are the same as defined above. The reaction (10) is carried out by reacting the compound (V) and the equivalent moles of a compound (XI) at 90 to 110 °C in the presence of the equivalent moles of a base. The reaction is completed in 1 to 5 hours. As the base to be used, there are the organic bases such as pyridine, quinoline, triethylamine and the like. As the solvent, an alcoholic solvent having 4 to 5 carbon atoms is used solely or in admixture with benzene or toluene (alcohol is not less than 50 %). After the reaction, the product is isolated by column chromatography to give a compound (Id). The present invention also provides an optical information recording medium composed of a substrate, a recording layer provided on the base directly or via an under coating layer and, if necessary, a protecting layer further provided thereon characterized in that said recording layer contains the squarylium compound represented by the formula (I). This optical information recording medium is claimed in claim 8 below. The recording medium is fundamentally composed of a substrate and a recording layer provided on the substrate, said recording layer comprising the organic pigment of the general formula (I). The recording medium may be provided, if necessary, with an under coating layer between the substrate and the recording layer, or with the protecting layer on the recording layer. Further, one pair of thus obtained recording media may be in the form of air-sandwich structure in which both recording media are sealed with each recording layer inside and via the air between the other substrate. Alternatively, one pair of recording media may be in the form of adherent sandwich (laminated) structure in which both recording media are adhered via a protecting layer. The present invention further provides an optical information recording medium composed of a substrate, a recording layer provided on the substrate directly or via an under coating layer, and a metallic reflecting layer and a protecting layer further provided on the recording layer in this order, wherein the reflecting layer from the substrate side is not less than 65 %, characterized in that the recording layer contains the squarylium compound represented by the general formula (I). This optical information recording medium is claimed in claim 10 below. The recording medium is composed of a substrate, a recording layer containing the organic pigment represented by the general formula (I) provided on the substrate, and a metallic reflecting layer and a protecting layer further provided thereon. If necessary, a visible information may be printed on the protecting layer. Since the recording medium claimed in claim 10 is intended to be reproduced using a commercially available CD player, it must satisfy the specification of the previous CD. Therefore, it is necessary that the above reflectance is not less than 65 %. Then, materials for the present optical information recording medium and requisite properties for each layer are explained. Substrate The substrate must be transparent for the laser rays to be used only when reproduction is carried out from the substrate side. However, the substrate is not necessarily transparent when reproduction is carried out from the recording layer side. As the material which satisfies with the above requisite properties, there are plastics such as polyester resin, acrylic resin, polyamide resin, polycarbonate resin, polyolefin resin, phenolic resin, epoxy resin and polyimide resin, as well as glasses, ceramics and metals. Optionally, a guide groove and guide pit for tracking and further preformat such as address signal may be formed on the surface of the substrate. Recording layer "The recording layer" used herein refers to a layer in which any optical change is produced by radiation of the laser rays and the information can be recorded utilizing such the change. The recording layer in the present invention is constituted by the above squarylium compound as the main component. The squarylium compound may be used solely or in combination with a pigment such as polymethine pigment, naphthalocyanin, phthalocyanin, squarylium, croconium, pyrylium, naphthoquinone, anthraquinone (indanthrene), xanthene, triphenylmethane, azulene, tetrahydrocoline, phenanthrene and triphenothiazine dye, and metal complex and the like. In addition, metal or metal compound such as In, Te, Bi, Al, Be, TeO 2 , SnO, As, Cd may be dispersed, mixed or laminated in the above pigment or dye. Further, polymer material such as ionomer resin, polyamide resin, vinyl resin, natural polymer, silicone, liquid rubber, and silane coupling agent may be dispersed or mixed in the above pigment or dye. For improving the properties, stabilizing agent (for example, transition metal complex), dispersing agent, flame-retardant, lubricant, antistatic agent, surfactant, plasticizer and the like may be contained in the pigment or dye. In particular, for improving the light stability, an ammonium, diimonium compound, bisdithio- α- diketone metal complex or bisphenyldithiole metal complex which absorbs the light having longer wavelength in comparison with the squarylium compound may be effectively mixed or dispersed therein. The recording layer can be formed by the conventional means such as vacuum deposition, sputtering, CVD, solution coating and the like. Solution coating can be carried out by dissolving the above dye and the like in an organic solvent and coating the solution according to the conventional method such as spraying, roller coating, dipping, spin-coating and the like. As the organic solvent, there can be used alcohols such as methanol, ethanol, isopropanol and the like, ketones such as acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, cyclohexanone and the like, amides such as N,N-dimethylacetamide, N,N-dimethylformamide and the like, sulfoxides such as dimethyl sulfoxide and the like, ethers such as tetrahydrofuran, dioxane, diethyl ether, ethylene glycol monomethyl ether and the like, esters such as methyl acetate, ethyl acetate and the like, aliphatic halogenated hydrocarbons such as chloroform, methylene chloride, dichloroethane, carbon tetrachloride, trichloroethane and the like, and aromatic compounds such as benzene, xylene, monochlorobenzene, dichlorobenzene and the like. The thickness of the recording layer is 100 Å to 10 µm, preferably, 200 Å to 1000 Å. Under coating layer The under coating layer is provided for the purpose of (a) improvement in adhesion properties, (b) barrier to water or gas, (c) improvement in storage stability of recording layer, (d) improvement in reflectance, (e) protection of the substrate from solvent, (f) formation of guide groove, guide pit, preformat and the like. For the purpose (a), there can be used polymer materials such as ionomer resin, polyamide resin, vinyl resin, natural resin, natural polymer, silicone, liquid rubber and the like, as well as silane'coupling agent. For the purposes (b) and (c), there can be used inorganic materials such as SiO 2 , MgF 2 , SiO, TiO 2 , ZnO, TiN, SiN and the like, metal or metalloid such as Zn, Cu, Ni, Cr, Ge, Se, Au, Ag, Al and the like. For the purpose (d), there can be used the metals such as Al, Ag and the like, organic thin layer made of methine dye, xanthene dye and the like having the metallic luster. For the purposes (e) and (f), there can be used ultraviolet curing resin, thermosetting resin, thermoplastic resin and the like. The thickness of the under coating layer is 0.01 to 30 µm, preferably, 0.05 to 10 µm. Protecting layer and substrate surface hardcoat layer Protecting layer or substrate surface hardcoat layer is provided for the purposes of (a) protection of the recording layer (reflecting and absorbing layer) from crack, dust, contamination and the like, (b) improvement in storage stability of recording layer (reflecting and absorbing layer), (c) improvement in reflectance and the like. For these purposes, the above materials described for the under coating layer can be used. In addition, as inorganic materials, SiO, SiO 2 and the like can be also used. As organic materials, the thermosoftening or thermomelting resins such as polymethylacrylate resin, polycarbonate resin, epoxy resin, polystyrene resin, polyester resin, vinyl resin, cellulose, aliphatic hydrocarbon resin, aromatic hydrocarbon resin, natural rubber, styrenebutadiene resin, chloroprene rubber, wax, alkyd resin, drying oil, rosin and the like and be used. Most preferably, the ultraviolet curing resins having good productivity are used. The thickness of the protecting layer or substrate surface hardcoat layer is 0.01 to 30 µm, preferably, 0.05 to 10 µm. Stabilizing agent, dispersing agent, flame-retardant, lubricant, antistatic agent, surfactant, plasticizer and the like can be contained in the under coating layer, protecting layer or substrate surface hardcoat layer as in the case of the recording layer. Metal reflecting layer As the materials for the reflecting layer, the metal, metalloid and the like which, as a simple substance, can give the high reflectance and is not readily corroded. The examples of such the materials are Au, Ag, Cu, Cr, Ni, Al and the like. Preferably, Au and Al are used. These metals and metalloids can be used sole or as an alloy composed of not less than two kinds of them. As a method for forming a membrane, there are vacuum deposition, sputtering and the like. The thickness of the membrane is 50 to 3000 Å, preferably, 100 to 1000 Å. Spacer As the materials for the spacer, there are plastics, glasses, ceramics, metals and the like. Preferably, the plastics, for example, resins such as polycarbonate resin, ABS resin, polyolefin resin, polyamide resin, acrylic resin, vinyl chloride resin and the like. Preferably, the same material is used for the inner and outer spacers. Adhesive As the adhesive, the ultraviolet curing adhesives having the higher productivity are desirable. For example, in addition to the ultraviolet curing acrylate, epoxy and ene-thiole adhesive, there are thermosetting adhesive, room temperature setting adhesive, hot melt adhesive, solvent-type adhesive, two-part adhesive or pressure sensitive adhesive. The following Examples and Comparative Examples further illustrate the present invention in detail but are not construed to limit the scope thereof. Example 1 Preparation of a compound represented by the formula: A mixture of 1.98 g of 3,4-diisopropoxy-3-cyclobuten-1,2-dione, 2.99 g of N-ethyllepidinium iodide and 20 ml of isopropanol was stirred at room temperature, and 0.23 g of sodium was added thereto to stir for 4 hours. The insolubles were filtered off, the filtrate was concentrated, and the residue was purified by column chromatography. To this purified material were added 30 ml of acetic acid and 10 ml of water, and the mixture was heated to react at 90 to 100 °C for 1.5 hours. After the reaction was completed, the volatile fraction was concentrated and dried. The dried material was mixed with 0.37 g of 1,3,3-trimethyl-2-methyleneindoline, 21 ml of n-butanol and 21 ml of benzene, and the mixture was heated to reflux for 5 hours. After reflux, the volatile fraction was concentrated, and the residue was purified by column chromatography to give 0.24 g of the title compound. Melting point: 260-263 °C (dec.) Elementary analysis Calc. (%) C 79.59, H 6.20, N 6.63 Found (%) C 79.90, H 6.15, N 6.80 Absorption properties λ max : 746 nm log ε: 5.3 solvent: chloroform Example 2 Preparation of a compound represented by the formula: 0.1 g of the title compound was prepared according to the same manner as that in Example 1 except that 0.71 g of 1',2'-dimethylspiro[cyclohexane-1,3'-3H-indolium] iodide and 0.28 g of quinoline were added in place of 1,3,3-trimethyl-2-methyleneindoline. Melting point: 239-241 °C (dec.) Elementary analysis Calc. (%) C 80.49, H 6.54, N 6.06 Found (%) C 80.71, H 6.32, N 6.28 Absorption properties λ max : 752 nm log ε: 5.0 solvent: chloroform Example 3 Preparation of a compound represented by the formula: 0.17 g of the title compound was prepared according to the same manner as in Example 1 except that 0.72 g of 1,1,2,3-tetramethyl-1H-benz[e]indolium iodide and 0.28 g of quinoline were added in place of 1,3,3-trimethyl-2-methyleneindoline. Melting point: 266-267.6 °C (dec.) Elementary analysis Calc. (%) C 81.33, H 5.97, N 5.93 Found (%) C 81.52, H 6.06, N 5.97 Absorption properties λ max : 761 nm log ε: 5.3 solvent: chloroform Example 4 Preparation of a compound represented by the formula: 0.01 g of the title compound was prepared according to the same manner as that in Example 1 except that 0.43 g of 1,1,2-trimethyl-1H-benz[e]indole and 0.27 g of quinoline were added in place of 1,3,3-trimethyl-2-methyleneindoline. Elementary analysis Calc. (%) C 81.20, H 5.72, N 6.11 Found (%) C 81.48, H 5.63, N 6.32 Absorption properties λ max : 769 nm log ε: 5.0 solvent :chloroform Example 5 Preparation of a compound represented by the formula: 1.61 g of trimethylamine was added to 161 ml of a dichloromethane solution containing 3.5 g of 9,10-dimethylacridinium metasulfite followed by addition of 7 ml of a dichloromethane solution containing 1.68 g of 3,4-dichloro-3-cyclobuten-1,2-dione, and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 2 hours. Thereafter, the solvent and volatile fraction were distilled off under reduced pressure, the residue was dissolved in 315 ml of dimethylformamide, the solution was poured into 700 ml of water, the insolubles were filtered, washed with water and dried. 82 ml of acetic acid and 28 ml of water were added thereto, and the mixture was heated to reflux for 2 hours. After the reaction was complete, the solvent and the volatile fraction were concentrated under reduced pressure. Each 52 ml of n-butanol and benzene and 1.18 g of 1,3,3-trimethyl-2-methyleneindoline were added thereto, and the mixture was heated to reflux for 5 hours. Thereafter, the mixture was cooled on ice-water, the precipitates were filtered, washed with butanol to give 1.4 g of the title compound. Melting point: 254.5-257 °C (dec.) Elementary analysis Calc. (%) C 81.20, H 5.72, N 6.11 Found (%) C 81.51, H 5.62, N 6.29 Absorption properties λ max : 747 nm log ε: 4.9 solvent: chloroform Example 6 Preparation of a compound represented by the formula: 1.06 g of the title compound was prepared according to the same manner as in Example 5 except that 2.32 g of 1,2-dimethylspiro[cyclohexane-1,3'-3H-indolium] iodide and 0.92 g of quinoline were added in place of 1,3,3-trimethyl-2-methyleneindoline. Melting point: ≥127 °C (dec.) Elementary analysis Calc. (%) C 81.90, H 6.06, N 5.62 Found (%) C 82.20, H 5.82, N 5.47 Absorption properties λ max : 743 nm log ε : 4.9 solvent: chloroform Example 7 Preparation of a compound represented by the formula: 0.29 g of the title compound was prepared according to the same manner as that in Example 5 except that 2.19 g of 1,1,2,3-tetramethyl-1H-benz[e]indolium iodide and 0.87 g of quinoline were added in place of 1,3,3-trimethyl-2-methyleneindoline. Melting point: 230.5-232.5 °C (dec.) Elementary analysis Calc. (%) C 82.65, H 5.55, N 5.51 Found (%) C 82.82, H 5.72, N 5.48 Absorption properties λ max : 756 nm log ε: 4.9 solvent: chloroform Example 8 Preparation of a compound represented by the formula: A mixture of 1.98 g of 3,4-diisopropoxy-3-cyclobuten-1,2-dione, 2.99 g of N-ethyllepidinium iodide and 20 ml of isopropanol were stirred at room temperature, and 0.23 g of sodium was added thereto to stir for 4 hours. Thereafter, the insolubles were filtered off, the filtrate was concentrated, and the residue was purified by column chromatography. To this purified material were added 30 ml of acetic acid and 10 ml of water, and the mixture was heated to react at 90 to 100 °C for 1.5 hours. After the reaction was complete, the volatile material was concentrated and dried. Thereafter, the dried material was mixed with 13 ml of n-butanol followed by 0.92 g of 1,3-di-n-butyl-2-methylimidazo[4,5-b]quinoxalinium chloride and 0.27 g of quinoline, and the mixture was heated to reflux for 4 hours. The solvent and produced water were distilled off under reduced pressure, and the residue was purified by column chromatography to give 0.31 g of the title compound. Melting point: 237-238 °C (dec.) Elementary analysis Calc. (%) C 74.84, H 6.47, N 12.83 Found (%) C 75.13, H 6.52, N 12.94 Absorption properties λ max : 784 nm log ε: 5.4 solvent: chloroform Example 9 Spiral guide groove, 1.6 µm in pitch, 2000 Å in depth, 0.4 µm in half value width, was formed on a polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) circular disc having the thickness of 1.2 mm and the diameter of 130 mm, via acrylic photopolymer having the thickness of 50 µm formed on the PMMA disc. A solution of 1,2-dichloroethane containing 0.8 wt% of the compound obtained in Example 1 was spin-coated on the above substrate as the recording material, and dried to give a recording medium provided with a recording layer having the thickness of about 800 Å. The spectral chart where the parallel rays are past through the substrate of the smooth part of this recording medium is shown in Figure 1. It is understood from Figure 1 that this recording medium shows the high reflectance in the wavelength range (780-830 nm) of semiconductor laser rays which are currently used for the optical disc. Then, in order to investigate the recording properties of the above recording medium, the writing was carried out through the substrate plane of the above recording medium under the conditions of the recording frequency of 5 MHz, the linear velocity of 2.1 m/sec and the recording power of 3 mW using the semiconductor laser rays having the beam diameter of 1.6 µm and the wavelength of 790 nm, and the reflected rays by the reproducing rays having the light intensity of 0.2 mW/cm 2 were detected using the same semiconductor laser rays, the spectral analysis was carried out (Scanning Filter 30 KHz) and the C/N ratio (initial value) was measured. In addition, the reflectance (initial value) was measured at the parallel rays having the wavelength of 790 nm. Further, in order to evaluate the stability of the above recording medium to the reproducing rays, the reproduction deterioration-accelerated test was carried out as follows: the recording medium was left for 10 hours under 54000 lux tungsten radiation and, thereafter, the reflectance and C/N ratio were measured as described above. The results are shown in Table 1. Further, in order to evaluate the storage stability of the above recording medium, the storage stability-accelerated test was carried out as follows: the recording medium was left at 60 °C for 800 hours under 90 % relative humidity, and then the reflectance and C/N ratio were measured as described above. The results are shown in Table 1. Examples 10 and 11 The corresponding recording medium was obtained according to the same manner as that in Example 9 except that a compound obtained in Example 1 or 2 was used, respectively. The recording properties of these recording media were tested according to the same manner as that in Example 9. The obtained spectral charts are shown in Figs. 2 and 3 and the recording properties are shown in Table 1. Example 12 A recording medium was obtained according to the same manner as that in Example 9 except that a mixture (weight ratio=85/15) of a compound obtained Example 1 and a dithiole-nickel complex salt compound represented by the formula below was used as a recording material. And the recording properties of this recording medium were measured according to the same manner as that in Example 9. The results are shown in Table 1. Example 13 A recording medium was obtained according to the same manner as that in Example 9 except that a mixture (weight ratio=85/15) of a compound obtained in Example 1 and an ammonium compound represented by the formula below was used as a recording material. And the recording properties of this recording medium were measured according to the same manner as that in Example 9. The results are shown in Table 1. Example 14 An injection molded polycarbonate circular disc having the thickness of 1.2 mm and the diameter of 130 mm was prepared using a stamper having the same transcribable groove shape as that in Example 9. A mixed methanol/1,2-dichloroethane/butanol (weight ratio=8/1.5/0.5) solution containing 1 wt % of the compound obtained in Example 3 was spin-coated on the circular disc to give a recording medium. The spectral properties and the recording properties were measured according to the same manner as that in Example 9 and the results are shown in Figure 4 and Table 1. Example 15 A recording medium was obtained according to the same manner as that in Example 9 except that a substrate formed by coating a 25 % butanol solution of COLCOAT N-103X (manufactured by COLCOAT K.K.) on the same substrate as that in Example 14 and drying at 60 °C for 2 hours was used. The recording properties of this recording medium were measured' according to the same manner as that in Example 9. The results are shown in Table 1. Example 16 A recording medium was obtained according to the same manner as that in Example 9 except that the compound obtained in Example 6 was used in place of the compound obtained in Example 1. The recording properties were measured according to the same manner as that in Example 9. The spectral chart is shown in Figure 5 and the recording properties are shown in Table 1. In order to evaluate the stability of the above recording medium to the reproducing rays, the same track was reproduced 3 million times using the reproducing rays having the light intensity of 25 mW/cm 2 , and the change in the reflectance and signal amplitude was determined as the relative signal change. The results are shown in Figure 8. Example 17 A recording medium was obtained according to the same manner as that in Example 9 except that the compound obtained in Example 7 was used in place of the compound obtained in Example 1. The recording properties were measured according to the same manner as that in Example 9. The spectral chart is shown in Figure 6 and the recording properties are shown in Table 1. Example 18 A recording medium was obtained according to the same manner as that in Example 12 except that the compound obtained in Example 6 was used in place of the compound obtained in Example 1. The recording properties were measured according to the same manner as that in Example 9. The results are shown in Table 1. Example 19 A recording medium was obtained according to the same manner as that in Example 13 except that the compound obtained in Example 6 was used in place of the compound obtained in Example 1. The recording properties were measured according to the same manner as that in Example 9. The results are shown in Table 1. Example 20 An injection molded polycarbonate circular disc having the thickness of 1.2 mm and the diameter of 130 mm was prepared using a stamper having the same transcribable groove shape as that in Example 9. A 1,1,2-trifluoroethanol solution containing 1 wt % of the compound obtained in Example 5 was spin-coated on the circular disc to give a recording medium. The spectral properties and recording properties were measured according to the same manner as that in Example 9. The spectral chart is shown in Figure 7 and the recording properties are shown in Table 1. Example 21 A recording medium was obtained according to the same manner as that in Example 9 except that a mixture (weight ratio=1/1) of the compound obtained in Example 6 and a cyanin compound represented by the formula below was used in place of the compound obtained in Example 1. The recording properties were measured according to the same manner as that in Example 9. The results are shown in Table 1. Example 22 A recording medium was obtained according to the same manner as that in Example 9 except that a substrate formed by coating a 25 % butanol solution of COLCOAT N-103X (manufactured by COLCOAT K.K.) on the same substrate as that in Example 20 and drying at 60 °C for 2 hours was used. The recording properties of this recording medium were measured according to the same manner as that in Example 9. The results are shown in Table 1. Example 23 A recording medium was obtained according to the same manner as that in Example 9 except that the compound obtained in Example 8 was used in place of the compound obtained in Example 1. The spectral properties and recording properties of the resulting recording medium was measured according to the same manner as that in Example 9. The spectral chart is shown in Figure 9 and the recording properties are shown in Table 1. Example 24 A recording medium was obtained according to the same manner as that in Example 12 except that the compound obtained in Example 8 was used in place of the compound obtained in Example 1. The recording properties of the resulting recording medium was measured according to the same manner as that in Example 9. The recording properties are shown in Table 1. Example 25 A recording medium was obtained according to the same manner as that in Example 13 except that the compound obtained in Example 8 was used in place of the compound obtained in Example 1. The recording properties of the resulting recording medium was measured according to the same manner as that in Example 9. The recording properties are shown in Table 1. Example 26 A recording medium was obtained according to the same manner as that in Example 14 except that the compound obtained in Example 8 was used in place of the compound obtained in Example 3. The recording properties of the resulting recording medium was measured according to the same manner as that in Example 9. The recording properties are shown in Table 1. Example 27 A recording medium was obtained according to the same manner as that in Example 15 except that the compound obtained in Example 8 was used in place of the compound obtained in Example 1. The recording properties of the resulting recording medium were measured according to the same manner as that in Example 9. The recording properties are shown in Table 1. Comparative Examples 1 to 3 The corresponding recording medium was obtained according to the same manner as that in Example 9 except that (i) cyanin compound, (ii) pyrylium compound, or (iii) naphthoquinone compound represented by the formula (a) to (c) below was used respectively as the recording medium in place of the compound obtained in Example 1. The recording properties of these recording media were measured according to the same manner as that in Example 9. The results are shown in Table 1. Initial value Reproduction deterioration-accelerated test Storage stability-accelerated test Reflectance (%) C/N (dB) Reflectance (%) C/N (dB) Reflectance (%) C/N (dB) Ex. 9 32 56 12 40 28 54 10 37 56 13 41 25 53 11 40 56 12 40 32 54 12 31 56 28 54 27 54 13 30 56 27 54 24 52 14 26 56 20 52 21 52 15 33 56 14 53 28 54 16 23 56 20 53 20 51 17 24 56 21 53 21 52 18 23 56 22 54 20 51 19 22 55 21 53 19 50 20 25 56 23 54 23 53 21 26 56 16 49 18 49 22 25 55 22 53 21 51 23 24 56 12 36 22 54 24 24 56 21 53 22 54 25 23 56 20 52 20 52 26 23 56 11 35 21 53 27 26 56 14 42 23 54 Comp. Ex. 1 23 55 10 Unmeasurable 18 49 2 18 54 7 Unmeasurable 15 43 3 15 53 14 53 Unmeasurable due to crystallization

Claims: A squarylium compound represented by the formula (I): wherein (1) X represents the group (A): wherein R 1 and R 2 are the same or different and represent alkyl group, or R 1 and R 2 are taken together to form hydrocarbon ring, R 3 represents hydrogen atom, alkyl group or aryl group, R 4 represents halogen atom, alkyl group, aralkyl group, aryl group or alkoxy group, m represents an integer of 0 to 4, provided that when m represents 2 to 4, R 4 's may be the same or different or adjacent two R 4 's may form optionally substituted aromatic ring, or (2) X represents the group (C): wherein R 8 and R 9 are the same or different and represent hydrogen atom, aralkyl group, alkyl group or aryl group, and wherein R 5 represents alkyl group, R 6 and R 7 are the same or different and represent hydrogen, alkyl group or aralkyl group, or R 6 and R 7 are taken together to form optionally substituted aromatic ring or hydrocarbon ring whereby in the above definitions the hydrocarbon ring represents an alkylene or alkenylene chain having 3 to 6 carbon atoms and the optional substituents of the aromatic or hydrocarbon ring are halogen atoms, alkyl groups, aralkyl groups or aryl groups, whereby the alkyl group or the alkyl part of the alkoxy group, as defined above, represents straight or branched alkyl having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, if X represents the group (A), whereby the alkyl group, as defined above, represents straight or branched alkyl having 1 to 6 carbon atoms or cyclic alkyl group having 3 to 8 carbon atoms, if X represents the group (C) . The squarylium compound according to claim 1, wherein X represents the group (A): wherein R 1 and R 2 are the same or different and represent alkyl group, or R 1 and R 2 are taken together to form hydrocarbon ring, R 3 represents hydrogen atom, alkyl group or aryl group, R 4 represents halogen atom, alkyl group, aralkyl group, aryl group or alkoxy group, m represents an integer of 0 to 4, provided that when m represents 2 to 4, R 4 's may be the same or different or adjacent two R 4 's may form optionally substituted aromatic ring, and wherein R 5 , R 6 and R 7 are the same as defined in claim 1. The squarylium compound according to claim 1, wherein X represents the group (C): wherein R 8 and R 9 are the same or different and represent hydrogen atom, aralkyl group, alkyl group or aryl group, and wherein R 5 , R 6 and R 7 are the same as defined in claim 1. The squarylium compound according to claim 2, wherein alkyl group and the alkyl part of alkoxy group represent the straight or branched alkyl having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, aralkyl group represents the aralkyl having 7 to 10 carbon atoms, aryl group is selected from the group consisting of phenyl and naphthyl, the alkylene or alkenylene part which forms the hydrocarbon ring represents alkylene or alkenylene chain having 3 to 6 carbon atoms, said hydrocarbon ring being optionally substituted with halogen atom, alkyl group, aralkyl group or aryl group, and aromatic ring is benzene ring optionally substituted with halogen atom, alkyl group, aralkyl group or aryl group. The squarylium compound according to claim 3, wherein alkyl group or alkyl part of alkoxy group represent the straight or branched alkyl having 1 to 6 carbon atoms or cyclic alkyl group having 3 to 8 carbon atoms, aralkyl group represents aralkyl having 7 to 10 carbon atoms, said aralkyl group being optionally substituted with halogen atom, alkyl group or alkoxy group, aryl group is selected from the group consisting of phenyl and naphthyl, said aryl group being optionally substituted with halogen atom, alkyl group or alkoxy group, aromatic ring is benzene ring optionally substituted with halogen atom, alkyl group or alkoxy group, alkylene or alkenylene part which forms the hydrocarbon ring represents alkylene or alkenylene chain having 3 to 6 carbon atoms, said hydrocarbon ring being optionally substituted with halogen atom, alkyl group or alkoxy group. The squarylium compound according to claim 2, which is: or

Inventors: ITO YUKIYOSHI, SATO TSUTOMU, SHIMIZU IKUO, TOYODA HIROSHI, ITO, YUKIYOSHI, SATO, TSUTOMU, SHIMIZU, IKUO, TOYODA, HIROSHI
Applicants: KYOWA HAKKO KOGYO KK, RICOH KK, KYOWA HAKKO KOGYO CO., LTD., RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
Application year: 1993
Main classification: C07D401
IPC codes: C09B57