Synthesis of polyformals and their use as dry-developing imaging systems

Most of previous efforts in the design and synthesis of polymeric imaging systems have been focused on materials containing labile ester or carbonate functionalities for which much was known regarding their cleavage under a variety of conditions. In contrast, the chemistry of ethers is less well known and, in particular, their cleavage is often considered to be difficult. For example, phenyl alkyl ethers require harsh conditions such as treatment with boron tribromide for their cleavage. Several exceptions exist, including t-butyl ethers or methoxymethyl ethers and analogs, and their use in organic synthesis has proliferated in recent years. We have recently reported that allylic or benzylic ethers which can undergo eliminations to alkenes are also very easily cleaved by thermolysis or acidolysis.