This invention relates to compounds, to ink compositions comprising them and to the use of such inks in ink jet printing (xe2x80x9cIJPxe2x80x9d). IJP is a non-impact printing technique in which droplets of ink are ejected through a fine nozzle onto a substrate without bringing the nozzle into contact with the substrate.
There are many demanding performance requirements for colorants and inks used in IJP. For example they desirably provide sharp, non-feathered images having good water-fastness, light-fastness and optical density. The inks are often required to dry quickly when applied to a substrate to prevent smudging, but they should not form a crust over the tip of an ink jet nozzle because this will stop the printer from working. The inks should also be stable to storage over time without decomposing or forming a precipitate which could block the fine nozzle.
The applicant has discovered that certain phthalocyanine compounds have particular utility as colorants for use in IJP as they may produce prints with unexpectedly good optical density, light fastness and/or water fastness.
According to the present invention there is provided a compound of Formula (1): 
which includes all IJP-effective forms of such compounds; and in which
M represents a metal or H;
Pc represents a phthalocyanine nucleus of Formula (2) 
x+y+z represents an average from 3 to 4; and z may be zero.
A represents C1-4-alkylene;
R1, R3 each independently represent H or C1-4alkyl;
R4 represents H; or C1-4-alkyl optionally substituted with hydroxy;
R5 represents a carboxylic acid substituted aryl group; and
R2 represents H, C1-4-alkyl or a group of formula BD
where
B represents C1-4-alkylene; and
D represents NR6R7;or SC1-4alkyleneSO3H;
where
R6 represents H; or C1-4alkyl, optionally subsititued by hydroxy;
R7 represents H; C1-4alkyl, optionally subsititued by hydroxy or morpholino;
or R6 and R7 together with the N atom to which they are attached form a morpholino or piperazino ring.
When M is a metal it is preferably selected from Li, Na, K, Mg, Ca, Ba, Al, Si, Sn, Pb, Rh, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni and Cu, more preferably from Sc, Ti, Va, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Zn, Ni and Cu and especially from Ni and Cu.
Preferred dyes of Formula (1) are either those dyes in which: R1, R2, R3 and R4 are H; A is xe2x80x94CH2CH2xe2x80x94; and R5 is carboxylic acid substituted phenyl, more preferably 3-carboxyphenyl; or
those dyes in which:
M is Cu, z is 0, R1 is H, R2 is BD where B is xe2x80x94CH2CH2xe2x80x94and D is NR6R7, more preferably NHCH2CH2OH.
It is preferred that (x+y) greater than z and/or x greater than y. More preferably either: x is an average of about 3.0 and y is an average of about 1.0 and z is zero; or x is an average of about 1.3, y is an average of about 1.2 and z is an average of about 1.5.
Any radical group mentioned herein as a substituent refers to a monovalent radical unless otherwise stated. A group which comprises a chain of three or more atoms signifies a group in which the chain may be straight or branched or the chain or part of the chain may form a ring. For example, an alkyl group may comprise: propyl which includes n-propyl and isopropyl; butyl which includes n-butyl, sec-butyl, isobutyl and tert-butyl; and an alkyl group of three or more carbon atoms may comprise a cycloalkyl group. The total number of certain atoms is specified herein for certain substituents, for example C1-nalkyl, signifies an alkyl group having from 1 to xe2x80x98nxe2x80x99 carbon atoms. The term xe2x80x98haloxe2x80x99 as used herein signifies fluoro, chloro, bromo and iodo radicals.
The term xe2x80x98IJP effectivexe2x80x99 (for example with reference to the inks, compositions, ingredients, substituents and/or compounds described herein) will be understood to mean effective for use in ink-jet printing by for example: providing desirable properties to the ink, being compatible with any inert carriers and/or diluents suitable for formulating such inks, being compatible with ink jet printers and/or capable of being ink-jet printed. In relation to the processes described herein effective compounds are those which will undergo the specified reactions to form the compounds of the present invention. To be particularly acceptable for use in IJP compounds of Formula (1) may be Ames negative.
IJP-effective forms of compounds of Formula (1) may be selected from one or more of the following (including mixtures thereof and combinations thereof in the same molecular moiety): salts, stereoisomers, zwitterions, polymorphic forms, complexes and isotopically substituted forms. Specific compounds of Formula (1) comprise those compounds exemplified herein; all IJP-effective salts thereof, preferably their potassium, sodium or ammonium salts; and IJP-effective mixtures thereof.
Compounds of Formula (1) may be in the form as shown in the structures herein (i.e. free acid form) but are preferably in the form of salts. Salts of Formula (1) may be formed from one or more organic and/or inorganic bases and/or acids and compounds of Formula (1) which are acidic and/or basic (for example acid and/or base addition salts). Salts of Formula (1) comprise all IJP-effective salts that may be formed from monovalent and/or multivalent acids and/or bases. Salts of Formula (1) also comprise all enantiomeric salts formed with IJP-effective chiral acids and/or bases and/or any mixtures of enantiomers of such salts (for example racemic mixtures). The dyes may be converted into a salt using known techniques. The present invention comprises all IJP-effective salts of Formula (1) and IJP-effective mixtures thereof.
Preferred salts of Formulae (1) are alkali metal salts (especially lithium, sodium and potassium salts), and optionally substituted ammonium salts (especially salts with ammonia and volatile amines). More preferred salts are those with a cation of formula +NT4 where each T is independently H or optionally substituted alkyl, or two groups represented by T are H or optionally substituted alkyl and the remaining two groups represented by T, together with the N atom to which they are attached, form a 5 or 6 membered ring (preferably a morpholine, pyridine or piperidine ring). Most preferably each T is independently H or C1-4alkyl, especially H, CH3 or CH3CH2, more especially H. Examples of cations which are IJP-effective comprise: +NH4, morpholinium, piperidinium, pyridinium, (CH3)3N+H, (CH3)2N+H2, H2N+(CH3)(CH2CH3), CH3N+H3, CH3CH2N+H3, H2N+(CH2CH3)2, CH3CH2CH2N+H3, CH3CH2CH2N+H3, (CH3)2CHN+H3, N+(CH3)4, N+(CH2CH3)4, N-methyl pyridinium, N,N-dimethyl piperidinium and N,N-dimethyl morpholinium.
Certain compounds of Formula (1) may exist as one or more stereoisomers, for example, enantiomers, diastereoisomers, geometric isomers, tautomers, conformers and/or combinations thereof within the same moiety. The present invention comprises all IJP-effective stereoisomers of compounds of Formula (1) and IJP-effective mixtures thereof.
Certain compounds of Formula (1) may exist as one or more zwitterions, for example, moieties which comprise two or more centres of ionic charge. The present invention comprises all IJP-effective zwitterions of Formula (1) and IJP-effective mixtures thereof.
Certain compounds of Formula (1) may exist as one or more polymorphs, for example, phases, crystalline forms, amorphous forms, solid solutions, interstitial compounds and/or any mixtures thereof. The present invention comprises all IJP-effective polymorphs of Formula (1) and IJP-effective mixtures thereof.
Certain compounds of Formula (1) may exist in the form of one or more other complexes in addition to the metal complexes shown herein, for example, chelates, solvates, other organometallic complexes, and/or complexes with other IJP-effective ligands. Such complexes may be formed between an suitable substrate in which the compound of Formula (1) and/or the substrate may act as a ligand. The substrate may comprise one or more solvents to form solvates. The complexes may be non-stoichiometric, for example if the complex is a hydrate it may comprise a hemihydrate, monohydrate and/or dihydrate. The present invention comprises all IJP-effective complexes of Formula (1) and IJP-effective mixtures thereof.
Certain compounds of Formula (1) may exist as one or more isotopic forms in which one or more atoms in Formula (1) comprise one or more isotopes. The natural ratios of various isotopes may be altered by suitable means, for example certain 12C atoms in certain compounds of Formula (1) may be substantially replaced by the less common 14C and/or 13C isotopes. Optionally certain isotopic forms of Formula (1) may be radio-active. Certain of the isotopic forms of Formula (1) may be used as means for selective imaging in imaging devices (for example devices using X-rays, positron emission tomography and/or nuclear magnetic resonance); and/or as tools to investigate the mode of action of compounds of Formula (1) in IJP. The present invention comprises all IJP-effective, isotopic forms of Formula (1) and IJP-effective mixtures thereof.
The present invention relates to all compounds of Formula (1) even those which may not be directly effective for use in IJP because they exhibit undesirable properties. Such compounds may nevertheless have utility in the field of the present invention for example as intermediates in the preparation and/or purification of IJP-effective compounds of Formula (1) and/or as research tools and/or diagnostic aids in relation to IJP.
Compounds of Formula (1) may be prepared the methods described below and by other suitable methods analogous to those described in the art for similar phthalocyanine compounds.
A preferred method for preparing dyes of Formula (1) comprises the following steps:
a) Preparing a compound of formula MPc(SO2Cl)x+y+z using methods known per se. A preferred method preparing a compound of formula MPc(SO2Cl)x+y+z comprises heating (preferably for about 1 to about 24 hours), a metal-free or metal containing phthalocyanine (optionally comprising one to four sulpho groups) with chlorosulphonic acid, preferably at a temperature above about 60xc2x0 C., more preferably above about 100xc2x0 C., most preferably from about 120xc2x0 C. to about 165xc2x0 C. Optionally this may be followed by heating (preferably for about 10 to about 48 hours, more preferably for about 10 to about 30 hours), the phthalocyanine with PCl3, preferably at lower temperature than with the chlorosulphonic acid, more preferably from about 80xc2x0 C. to about 105xc2x0 C.
b) Condensing the compound of formula MPc(SO2Cl)x+y+z in water at 0xc2x0 C. with a halo amine of formula NHR3AX, where X is halo, preferably chloro. More preferably the haloamine is in the form of its hydrochloride salt.
c) Treating the halogenated adduct from step b) with ammonium hydroxide and warming the reaction mixture to 40xc2x0 C. for about 1 hour.
d) Reacting the material from step c) with an amine of formula NHR4R5 in aqueous solution at about 70xc2x0 C. for about 3 hours to produce a dye of Formula (1).
Alternatively to prepare certain compounds of the invention, steps c) and d) above may be replaced by step c1):
c1) Reacting the material from step b) with an amine of formula NHR2R3 or a thiol of formula HSC1-4alkyleneSO3H, in aqueous solution at about 70xc2x0 C. for about 3 hours to produce a dye of Formula (1).
The reactions leading to the formation of the present compounds may be performed under conditions that have been described in the art and compounds of Formula (1) may be isolated by known methods such as spray drying or precipitation followed by filtration.
Preferably the ink of the present invention comprises:
(a) from 0.01 to 30 parts of an IJP-effective compound of Formula (1); and
(b) from 70 to 99.99 parts of a liquid medium or a low melting point solid medium; wherein all parts are by weight and the number of parts of (a)+(b)=100.
The number of parts of component (a) is preferably from 0.1 to 20, more preferably from 0.5 to 15, and especially from 1 to 5 parts. The number of parts of component (b) is preferably from 99.9 to 80, more preferably from 99.5 to 85, especially from 99 to 95 parts.
When the medium is a liquid, preferably component (a) is completely dissolved in component (b). Preferably component (a) has a solubility in component (b) at 20xc2x0 C. of at least 10%. This allows the preparation of concentrates which may be used to prepare more dilute inks and reduces the chance of the colorant precipitating if evaporation of the liquid medium occurs during storage.
Preferred liquid media include water, a mixture of water and an organic solvent and an organic solvent free from water.
When the medium comprises a mixture of water and an organic solvent, the weight ratio of water to organic solvent is preferably from 99:1 to 1:99, more preferably from 99:1 to 50:50 and especially from 95:5 to 80:20. Preferably the organic solvent comprising the mixture of water and organic solvent is a water-miscible organic solvent or a mixture of such solvents. The liquid medium may comprise water and preferably two or more, more preferably from 2 to 8, water-soluble organic solvents.
Preferred water-miscible organic solvents comprise:
C1-6-alkanols, preferably methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, isopropanol, n-butanol, sec-butanol, tert-butanol, n-pentanol, cyclopentanol and/or cyclohexanol;
linear amides, preferably dimethylformamide and/or dimethylacetamide;
ketones and/or ketone-alcohols, preferably acetone, methyl ether ketone, cyclohexanone and/or diacetone alcohol;
water-miscible ethers, preferably tetrahydrofuran and/or dioxane;
diols, preferably C2-12diols (for example pentane-1,5-diol, ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, butylene glycol, pentylene glycol, hexylene glycol and/or thiodiglycol) and/or oligo- and/or poly-alkyleneglycols (for example diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol and/or polypropylene glycol);
triols, preferably glycerol and/or 1,2,6-hexanetriol;
C1-4alkyl ethers of diols, preferably monoC1-4alkyl ethers of C2-12diols: {for example 2-methoxyethanol, 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethanol, 2-(2-ethoxyethoxy)-ethanol, 2-[2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxy] -ethanol, 2-[2-(2-ethoxyethoxy)-ethoxy]-ethanol and/or ethyleneglycol monoallyl ether};
cyclic amides, preferably 2-pyrrolidone, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, N-ethyl-2-pyrrolidone, caprolactam and/or 1,3-dimethylimidazolidone;
cyclic esters, preferably caprolactone;
sulphoxides, preferably dimethyl sulphoxide and/or sulpholane; and/or all IJP-effective mixtures thereof.
More preferred water-soluble organic solvents are selected from:
cyclic amides (e.g. 2-pyrrolidone, N-methyl-pyrrolidone and N-ethyl-pyrrolidone);
diols, (e.g. 1,5-pentane diol, ethyleneglycol, thiodiglycol, diethyleneglycol and triethyleneglycol);
C1-4alkyl ethers of diols (e.g. 2-methoxy-2-ethoxy-2-ethoxyethanol); and all IJP-effective mixtures thereof.
A preferred liquid medium comprises:
(a) from 75 to 95 parts water; and
(b) from 25 to 5 parts in total of one or more solvents selected from:
diethylene glycol, 2-pyrrolidone, thiodiglycol, N-methylpyrrolidone, cyclohexanol, caprolactone, caprolactam and pentane-1,5-diol;
where the parts are by weight and the sum of the parts (a)+(b)=100.
Another preferred liquid medium comprises:
(a) from 60 to 80 parts water;
(b) from 2 to 20 parts diethylene glycol; and
(c) from 0.5 to 20 parts in total of one or more solvents selected from:
2-pyrrolidone, N-methylpyrrolidone, cyclohexanol, caprolactone, caprolactam, pentane-1,5-diol and thiodiglycol;
where the parts are by weight and the sum of the parts (a)+(b)+(c)=100.
Examples of further IJP-effective media for inks of the present invention comprise a mixture of water and one or more organic solvents are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,189, U.S. Pat. No. 4,703,113, U.S. Pat. No. 4,626,284 and EP 0425150-A.
When the liquid medium comprises an organic solvent free from water, (i.e. less than 1% water by weight) the solvent preferably has a boiling point of from 30xc2x0 to 200xc2x0 C., more preferably of from 40xc2x0 to 150xc2x0 C., especially from 50 to 125xc2x0 C. The organic solvent may be water-immiscible, water-miscible or a mixture of such solvents. Preferred water-miscible organic solvents comprise any of those described above and mixtures thereof. Preferred water-immiscible solvents comprise aliphatic hydrocarbons; esters (for example ethyl acetate) chlorinated hydrocarbons (for example dichloromethane), ethers (for example diethyl ether) and mixtures thereof.
When the liquid medium comprises a water-immiscible organic solvent, preferably it comprises a polar solvent (for example a C1-4alkanol) to enhance the solubility of the dye in the liquid medium. It is especially preferred that where the liquid medium is an organic solvent free from water it comprises a ketone (especially methyl ethyl ketone) and/or an alcohol (especially a C1-4alkanol, more especially ethanol or propanol).
The organic solvent free from water may be a single organic solvent or a mixture of two or more organic solvents. It is preferred that when the medium is an organic solvent free from water it is a mixture of 2 to 5 different organic solvents. This allows a medium to be selected which gives good control over the drying characteristics and storage stability of the ink.
Ink media comprising an organic solvent free from water are particularly useful where fast drying times are required and particularly when printing onto hydrophobic and non-absorbent substrates, for example plastics, metal and glass.
Preferred low melting solid media have a melting point in the range from 60xc2x0 C. to 125xc2x0 C. Suitable low melting point solids include long chain fatty acids or alcohols, preferably those with C18-24chains, and sulphonamides. The dye of Formula (1) may be dissolved in the low melting point solid or may be finely dispersed in it.
The ink may also contain additional components conventionally used in inks for IJP, for example viscosity and surface tension modifiers, corrosion inhibitors, biocides, kogation reducing additives and surfactants which may be ionic or non-ionic.
A further aspect of the invention provides a process for printing an image on a substrate comprising applying to the substrate by means of an ink jet printer, an ink of the present invention as defined herein.
The ink jet printer preferably applies the ink to the substrate in the form of droplets which are ejected through a small orifice onto the substrate. Preferred ink jet printers are piezoelectric ink jet printers and thermal ink jet printers. In thermal ink jet printers, programmed pulses of heat are applied to the ink in a reservoir by means of a resistor adjacent to the orifice, thereby causing the ink to be ejected in the form of small droplets directed towards the substrate during relative movement between the substrate and the orifice. In piezoelectric ink jet printers the oscillation of a small crystal causes ejection of the ink from the orifice.
The substrate is preferably paper, plastic, a textile, metal or glass, more preferably paper, an overhead projector slide or a textile material, especially paper. Preferred papers are plain or treated papers which may have an acid, alkaline or neutral character.
A further aspect of the present invention provides a paper, an overhead projector slide or a textile material printed with an ink and/or a colorant as defined herein and/or by means of a process as defined herein.
When the substrate is a textile material the ink according to the invention is preferably applied thereto by:
i) applying the ink to the textile material using an ink jet printer; and
ii) heating the printed textile material at a suitable temperature, preferably from 50xc2x0 C. to 250xc2x0 C., to fix the ink on the material.
Preferred textile materials are natural, synthetic and semi-synthetic materials. Examples of preferred natural textile materials include wool, silk, hair and cellulosic materials, particularly cotton, jute, hemp, flax and linen. Examples of preferred synthetic and semi-synthetic materials include polyamides, polyesters, polyacrylonitriles and polyurethanes.
Preferably the textile material has been treated with an aqueous pre-treatment composition comprising a thickening agent and optionally a water-soluble base and a hydrotropic agent and dried prior to step i) above.
The pre-treatment composition preferably comprises a solution of the base and the hydrotropic agent in water containing the thickening agent. Particularly preferred pre-treatment compositions are described more fully in EP 0534660-A.
The invention is further illustrated by the following Examples in which all parts and percentages are by weight unless otherwise stated.
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