DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114 was filed in this application after a decision by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, but before the filing of a Notice of Appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit or the commencement of a civil action. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114 and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the appeal has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114 and prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant’s submission filed on February 10, 2026 has been entered.
Claims 13-17 are currently amended. Claims 13-17 and 21 are pending review in this action.
New grounds of rejection necessitated by Applicant’s amendments are presented below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2014/0017569, hereinafter Wang in view of Chem. Commun., 50, pp 9757-9760, hereinafter Li.
Regarding claim 13, Wang teaches a lithium-sulfur battery (paragraphs [0003]). The lithium-sulfur battery includes a cathode electrode, which comprises nanocomposite particles including elemental sulfur (“S8”), lithium sulfide and lithium polysulfide (paragraph [0020]). Lithium sulfide and lithium polysulfides (as well as sulfur itself) are inorganic compounds. Wang’s nanocomposites are thus considered to satisfy the instantly claimed limitation “S8 particles covered by inorganic nanoparticles”.
Wang further teaches nitrogen-doped graphene chemically bonded to the sulfur of the nanocomposite (paragraphs [0015, 0019, 0038]) – therefore, the nitrogen-doped graphene is understood to be chemically bonded to the inorganic particles.
Wang recognizes the need to trap and anchor migrating polysulfides generated at the cathode (paragraph [0008]).
Wang fails to teach a polymeric film.
Li teaches a lithium-sulfur battery (Supplementary Material, Section Physical and Electrochemical Characterization). The lithium-sulfur battery includes a cathode electrode, which comprises sulfur particles (“S8”) (Supplementary Material, Preparation of Carbon-Sulfur Electrode and figure 1). The sulfur particles (“S8”) of the cathode electrode are surrounded and covered by an alucone film (“polymeric film”), which is in the form of a layer (abstract and figure 1). The purpose of the alucone film (“polymeric film”) is to trap polysulfides migrating from the cathode. The alucone layer is deposited via MLD and is thus understood to be chemically bonded to the material of the cathode (abstract and figure 1).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include an alucone layer on Wang’s electrode for the purpose of enhancing the effect of trapping polysulfides.
Claims 14 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2014/0017569, hereinafter Wang in view of Chem. Commun., 50, pp 9757-9760, hereinafter Li as applied to claim 13 above and further in view of Adv. Mater. Interfaces, 1600762, hereinafter Ban.
Regarding claim 14, Wang as modified by Li teaches an alucone film, made using polyethylene glycol as precursor (Li’s p. 9757, last paragraph).
Wang as modified by Li fails to teach an alucone film formed using glycerol as precursor (AlGL).
Ban describes various alucones used in lithium-ion battery electrodes (abstract). Ban teaches that coatings used on sulfur-based electrodes require elasticity for the purpose of accommodating volume changes (Section 3.2). Ban shows that an alucone formed using glycerol as precursor has a lower Young’s modulus than an alucone formed using ethylene glycol as precursor (Table 2).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use an alucone formed using glycerol as precursor for the purpose of using its elasticity.
Regarding claim 15, Wang as modified by Li teaches an alucone film, made using polyethylene glycol as precursor (Li’s p. 9757, last paragraph).
Wang as modified by Li fails to teach an alucone film formed using glycerol propoxylate as precursor (AlGLP).
Ban describes various alucones used in lithium-ion battery electrodes (abstract). Ban explains that glycerols and similar polyols are especially effective at forming alucones because of the availability of extra hydroxyl groups. Ban teaches that coatings used on sulfur-based electrodes require elasticity for the purpose of accommodating volume changes (Section 3.2). Ban shows that an alucone formed using glycerol as precursor has a lower Young’s modulus than an alucone formed using ethylene glycol as precursor (Table 2). Glycerol propoxylate is a variant of glycerol and expected to behave as glycerol and in a manner consistent with Ban’s teachings.
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use an alucone formed using glycerol or a variant thereof such as glycerol propoxylate as precursor for the purpose of using its elasticity.
Claims 16 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2014/0017569, hereinafter Wang in view of Chem. Commun., 50, pp 9757-9760, hereinafter Li as applied to claim 13 above and further in view of U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2019/0044151, hereinafter Elam, ACS Nano, 8, pp 7263-7269, hereinafter Ishchuk and Adv. Mater. Interfaces, 1600762, hereinafter Ban.
Regarding claim 16, Wang as modified by Li teaches an alucone film as a protective coating on a sulfur electrode (Li’s abstract).
Wang as modified by Li fails to teach a zincone.
Alucones and zincones are films that have been used as protective coating in lithium ion battery electrodes - see, e.g. Elam (paragraphs [0002, 0009]). It is well-known that zincones can be produced with glycerol as precursor – see, e.g. Ishchuk, p. 7263, 1st paragraph). Moreover, alucones produced with glycerol as precursor are known to have good elastic properties – see, e.g. Ban (Section 3.2 and Table 2).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use a zincone formed using glycerol as precursor for the purpose of forming the protective layer on the sulfur electrode.
Regarding claim 17, Wang as modified by Li teaches an alucone film as a protective coating on a sulfur electrode (Li’s abstract).
Wang as modified by Li fails to teach a zincone.
Alucones and zincones are films that have been used as protective coating in lithium ion battery electrodes - see, e.g. Elam (paragraphs [0002, 0009]). It is well-known that zincones can be produced with glycerol as precursor – see, e.g. Ishchuk, p. 7263, 1st paragraph). Moreover, alucones produced with glycerol as precursor are known to have good elastic properties – see, e.g. Ban (Section 3.2 and Table 2). Glycerol propoxylate is a variant of glycerol and expected to behave as glycerol and in a manner consistent with Ban’s teachings.
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use a zincone formed using glycerol or one of its variants, such as glycerol propoxylate as precursor for the purpose of forming the protective layer on the sulfur electrode.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2012/0088154, hereinafter Liu in view of U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2014/0017569, hereinafter Wang and Chem. Commun., 50, pp 9757-9760, hereinafter Li.
Regarding claim 13, Liu teaches a lithium-sulfur battery (paragraphs [0004]). The lithium-sulfur battery includes a cathode electrode, which comprises alternating layers of graphene and sulfur particles (paragraphs [0004, 0020, 0021]). The sulfur particles are nanoparticles (paragraphs [0004, 0021]). The sulfur particles are adsorbed on the graphene (paragraphs [0004, 0020]). Sulfur is an inorganic material. Therefore, Liu’s cathode comprises a graphene layer covering sulfur (“S8”) particles. Other sulfur (“inorganic”) nanoparticles are adsorbed (“chemically bonded”) on the graphene layer.
Liu further teaches that the sulfur particles and the graphene are surrounded and covered by a polymeric film, such as PEO in the form of a layer for the purpose of sequestering polysulfide species (paragraph [0006]).
Liu fails to teach that: 1) the graphene is nitrogen-doped; and 2) the polymeric film is chemically bonded to the sulfur particles and the graphene.
Regarding 1), Wang teaches a similar cathode electrode including sulfur and nitrogen-doped graphene (paragraphs [0015, 0019, 0020, 0038]). The purpose of the nitrogen dopant is to enhance the adsorption ability of the graphene (paragraph [0039]).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include a nitrogen dopant in Liu’s graphene for the purpose of enhancing the adsorption ability of the graphene.
Regarding 2), Li teaches a lithium-sulfur battery (Supplementary Material, Section Physical and Electrochemical Characterization). The lithium-sulfur battery includes a cathode electrode, which comprises sulfur particles (“S8”) (Supplementary Material, Preparation of Carbon-Sulfur Electrode and figure 1). The sulfur particles (“S8”) of the cathode electrode are surrounded and covered by an alucone film (“polymeric film”), which is in the form of a layer (abstract and figure 1). The purpose of the alucone film (“polymeric film”) is to trap polysulfides migrating from the cathode. The alucone layer is deposited via MLD and is thus understood to be chemically bonded to the material of the cathode (abstract and figure 1).
Li cites other solutions to the problem of migrating polysulfides, which include sulfur coated by a PEO layer (see ref 5d) and teaches that the MLD coating is more effective, because it allows for superior control of the uniformity and thickness of the coating (p. 9757, 2nd paragraph).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include an alucone layer applied by MLD to Liu’s cathode material for the purpose of trapping polysulfides migrating from the cathode.
Claims 14 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2012/0088154, hereinafter Liu in view of U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2014/0017569, hereinafter Wang and Chem. Commun., 50, pp 9757-9760, hereinafter Li as applied to claim 13 above and further in view of Adv. Mater. Interfaces, 1600762, hereinafter Ban.
Regarding claim 14, Liu as modified by Li teaches an alucone film, made using polyethylene glycol as precursor (Li’s p. 9757, last paragraph).
Liu as modified by Li fails to teach an alucone film formed using glycerol as precursor (AlGL).
Ban describes various alucones used in lithium-ion battery electrodes (abstract). Ban teaches that coatings used on sulfur-based electrodes require elasticity for the purpose of accommodating volume changes (Section 3.2). Ban shows that an alucone formed using glycerol as precursor has a lower Young’s modulus than an alucone formed using ethylene glycol as precursor (Table 2).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use an alucone formed using glycerol as precursor for the purpose of using its elasticity.
Regarding claim 15, Liu as modified by Li teaches an alucone film, made using polyethylene glycol as precursor (Li’s p. 9757, last paragraph).
Liu as modified by Li fails to teach an alucone film formed using glycerol propoxylate as precursor (AlGLP).
Ban describes various alucones used in lithium-ion battery electrodes (abstract). Ban explains that glycerols and similar polyols are especially effective at forming alucones because of the availability of extra hydroxyl groups. Ban teaches that coatings used on sulfur-based electrodes require elasticity for the purpose of accommodating volume changes (Section 3.2). Ban shows that an alucone formed using glycerol as precursor has a lower Young’s modulus than an alucone formed using ethylene glycol as precursor (Table 2). Glycerol propoxylate is a variant of glycerol and expected to behave as glycerol and in a manner consistent with Ban’s teachings.
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use an alucone formed using glycerol or a variant thereof such as glycerol propoxylate as precursor for the purpose of using its elasticity.
Claims 16 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2012/0088154, hereinafter Liu in view of U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2014/0017569, hereinafter Wang and Chem. Commun., 50, pp 9757-9760, hereinafter Li as applied to claim 13 above and further in view of U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2019/0044151, hereinafter Elam, ACS Nano, 8, pp 7263-7269, hereinafter Ishchuk and Adv. Mater. Interfaces, 1600762, hereinafter Ban.
Regarding claim 16, Liu as modified by Li teaches an alucone film as a protective coating on a sulfur electrode (Li’s abstract).
Liu as modified by Li fails to teach a zincone.
Alucones and zincones are films that have been used as protective coating in lithium ion battery electrodes - see, e.g. Elam (paragraphs [0002, 0009]). It is well-known that zincones can be produced with glycerol as precursor – see, e.g. Ishchuk, p. 7263, 1st paragraph). Moreover, alucones produced with glycerol as precursor are known to have good elastic properties – see, e.g. Ban (Section 3.2 and Table 2).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use a zincone formed using glycerol as precursor for the purpose of forming the protective layer on the sulfur electrode.
Regarding claim 17, Liu as modified by Li teaches an alucone film as a protective coating on a sulfur electrode (Li’s abstract).
Liu as modified by Li fails to teach a zincone.
Alucones and zincones are films that have been used as protective coating in lithium ion battery electrodes - see, e.g. Elam (paragraphs [0002, 0009]). It is well-known that zincones can be produced with glycerol as precursor – see, e.g. Ishchuk, p. 7263, 1st paragraph). Moreover, alucones produced with glycerol as precursor are known to have good elastic properties – see, e.g. Ban (Section 3.2 and Table 2). Glycerol propoxylate is a variant of glycerol and expected to behave as glycerol and in a manner consistent with Ban’s teachings.
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use a zincone formed using glycerol or one of its variants, such as glycerol propoxylate as precursor for the purpose of forming the protective layer on the sulfur electrode.
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2012/0088154, hereinafter Liu in view of Nano Energy, 33, pp 306-312, hereinafter Zheng and Chem. Commun., 50, pp 9757-9760, hereinafter Li.
Regarding claim 13, Liu teaches a lithium-sulfur battery (paragraphs [0004]). The lithium-sulfur battery includes a cathode electrode, which comprises alternating layers of graphene and sulfur (“S8”) particles (paragraphs [0004, 0020, 0021]).
Liu further teaches that the sulfur particles and the graphene are surrounded and covered by a polymeric film, such as PEO in the form of a layer for the purpose of sequestering polysulfide species (paragraph [0006]).
Liu fails to teach: 1) that the graphene is nitrogen-doped and inorganic particles other than sulfur particles chemically bonded to the graphene; and 2) that the polymeric film is chemically bonded to the sulfur particles and the graphene.
Regarding 1), Zheng teaches a cathode electrode including sulfur particles, nitrogen-doped graphene and Fe2O3 nanoparticles (“inorganic nanoparticles”) chemically bonded to the graphene (abstract and figure 1). The purpose of the Fe2O3 nanoparticles is to sequester polysulfide species generated at the cathode (Introduction, last paragraph). The purpose of the nitrogen dopant is to enhance the adsorption ability of the graphene (Results and Discussion, 3rd paragraph).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include a nitrogen dopant in Liu’s graphene for the purpose of enhancing the adsorption ability of the graphene and to include Fe2O3 nanoparticles (“inorganic nanoparticles”) chemically bonded to the graphene for the purpose of sequestering polysulfide species generated at the cathode.
Regarding 2), Li teaches a lithium-sulfur battery (Supplementary Material, Section Physical and Electrochemical Characterization). The lithium-sulfur battery includes a cathode electrode, which comprises sulfur particles (“S8”) (Supplementary Material, Preparation of Carbon-Sulfur Electrode and figure 1). The sulfur particles (“S8”) of the cathode electrode are surrounded and covered by an alucone film (“polymeric film”), which is in the form of a layer (abstract and figure 1). The purpose of the alucone film (“polymeric film”) is to trap polysulfides migrating from the cathode. The alucone layer is deposited via MLD and is thus understood to be chemically bonded to the material of the cathode (abstract and figure 1).
Li cites other solutions to the problem of migrating polysulfides, which include sulfur coated by a PEO layer (see ref 5d) and teaches that the MLD coating is more effective, because it allows for superior control of the uniformity and thickness of the coating (p. 9757, 2nd paragraph).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include an alucone layer applied by MLD to Liu’s cathode material for the purpose of trapping polysulfides migrating from the cathode.
Claims 14 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2012/0088154, hereinafter Liu in view of Nano Energy, 33, pp 306-312, hereinafter Zheng and Chem. Commun., 50, pp 9757-9760, hereinafter Li as applied to claim 13 above and further in view of Adv. Mater. Interfaces, 1600762, hereinafter Ban.
Regarding claim 14, Liu as modified by Li teaches an alucone film, made using polyethylene glycol as precursor (Li’s p. 9757, last paragraph).
Liu as modified by Li fails to teach an alucone film formed using glycerol as precursor (AlGL).
Ban describes various alucones used in lithium-ion battery electrodes (abstract). Ban teaches that coatings used on sulfur-based electrodes require elasticity for the purpose of accommodating volume changes (Section 3.2). Ban shows that an alucone formed using glycerol as precursor has a lower Young’s modulus than an alucone formed using ethylene glycol as precursor (Table 2).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use an alucone formed using glycerol as precursor for the purpose of using its elasticity.
Regarding claim 15, Liu as modified by Li teaches an alucone film, made using polyethylene glycol as precursor (Li’s p. 9757, last paragraph).
Liu as modified by Li fails to teach an alucone film formed using glycerol propoxylate as precursor (AlGLP).
Ban describes various alucones used in lithium-ion battery electrodes (abstract). Ban explains that glycerols and similar polyols are especially effective at forming alucones because of the availability of extra hydroxyl groups. Ban teaches that coatings used on sulfur-based electrodes require elasticity for the purpose of accommodating volume changes (Section 3.2). Ban shows that an alucone formed using glycerol as precursor has a lower Young’s modulus than an alucone formed using ethylene glycol as precursor (Table 2). Glycerol propoxylate is a variant of glycerol and expected to behave as glycerol and in a manner consistent with Ban’s teachings.
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use an alucone formed using glycerol or a variant thereof such as glycerol propoxylate as precursor for the purpose of using its elasticity.
Claims 16 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2012/0088154, hereinafter Liu in view of Nano Energy, 33, pp 306-312, hereinafter Zheng and Chem. Commun., 50, pp 9757-9760, hereinafter Li as applied to claim 13 above and further in view of U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2019/0044151, hereinafter Elam, ACS Nano, 8, pp 7263-7269, hereinafter Ishchuk and Adv. Mater. Interfaces, 1600762, hereinafter Ban.
Regarding claim 16, Liu as modified by Li teaches an alucone film as a protective coating on a sulfur electrode (Li’s abstract).
Liu as modified by Li fails to teach a zincone.
Alucones and zincones are films that have been used as protective coating in lithium ion battery electrodes - see, e.g. Elam (paragraphs [0002, 0009]). It is well-known that zincones can be produced with glycerol as precursor – see, e.g. Ishchuk, p. 7263, 1st paragraph). Moreover, alucones produced with glycerol as precursor are known to have good elastic properties – see, e.g. Ban (Section 3.2 and Table 2).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use a zincone formed using glycerol as precursor for the purpose of forming the protective layer on the sulfur electrode.
Regarding claim 17, Liu as modified by Li teaches an alucone film as a protective coating on a sulfur electrode (Li’s abstract).
Liu as modified by Li fails to teach a zincone.
Alucones and zincones are films that have been used as protective coating in lithium ion battery electrodes - see, e.g. Elam (paragraphs [0002, 0009]). It is well-known that zincones can be produced with glycerol as precursor – see, e.g. Ishchuk, p. 7263, 1st paragraph). Moreover, alucones produced with glycerol as precursor are known to have good elastic properties – see, e.g. Ban (Section 3.2 and Table 2). Glycerol propoxylate is a variant of glycerol and expected to behave as glycerol and in a manner consistent with Ban’s teachings.
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use a zincone formed using glycerol or one of its variants, such as glycerol propoxylate as precursor for the purpose of forming the protective layer on the sulfur electrode.
Claim 21 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pre-Grant Publication No. 2012/0088154, hereinafter Liu in view of Nano Energy, 33, pp 306-312, hereinafter Zheng and Chem. Commun., 50, pp 9757-9760, hereinafter Li as applied to claim 13 above and further in view of Phys. Scr., T129, pp 62-65, hereinafter Choi.
Regarding claim 21, Liu as modified by Zheng teaches Fe2O3 nanoparticles (“inorganic nanoparticles”) chemically bonded to graphene.
Liu as modified by Zheng fails to teach Al2O3 nanoparticles.
Including Al2O3 nanoparticles to act as polysulfide adsorbents within a sulfur electrode of a lithium-sulfur battery is ubiquitous in the art – see, e.g. Choi. Choi teaches a lithium-sulfur battery. The sulfur electrode of the lithium-sulfur battery includes sulfur particles mixed with nano-sized Al2O3 particles (Section 2.1). Choi teaches that the Al2O3 particles serve to adsorb polysulfides (Conclusion).
Therefore it would have been obvious to the ordinarily skilled artist before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute Zheng’s Fe2O3 nanoparticles with Al2O3 nanoparticles as Al2O3 is a well-known variant used for the same purpose.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s newly added limitations have been considered. However, after further search and consideration, the combination of the Wang and Li references, the combination of the Liu, Wang and Li references and the combination of the Liu, Zheng and Li references have been provided, as recited above, to address the amended claims.
Conclusion
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/MIRIAM STAGG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1724
LILIA V. NEDIALKOVA
Examiner
Art Unit 1724