DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objections
Due to Applicant’s amendments, the previous claim objections have been withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Due to Applicant’s amendments, the previous 112(b) rejections have been withdrawn; however, see 112(a) rejection below.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1, 3-5, 7, 9-11 and 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Each of the independent claims (1, 10, 11) are drawn to a complex framework material structure, the structure comprising both a complex framework material host (carbon nanofiber mat, CNF mat) and a complex framework material (porous carbon matrix). However, the specification does not fairly teach these together in a single cathode, nor explains how they would be constructed together.
The CNF matt production is described in [0074] of the specification, followed by electrochemically depositing sulfur and gold (“The CNF matt was prepared by electrospinning 1 M solution of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) into a nanofiber (˜200nm) matt at a high voltage of 25 kV and flow rate of 1 ml/h using an in-house-built electrospinning setup. The electro spun PAN matt was subsequently carbonized at 700° C. for 4 h in (ultra-high purity (UHP)-argon atmosphere (Matheson; 99.99%, flow rate of 100 cm.sup.3/min) to form the CNF matt. Sulfur was electrodeposited onto the CNF matt under aqueous electrolyte-conditions using a two-electrode setup. The electrolyte consisted of 4.8 g of sulfuric acid (98%, Sigma Aldrich), 0.3 g of KOH (99.9%, Sigma Aldrich), 0.5 M thiourea (99.9%, Sigma Aldrich) dissolved in 100 ml of deionized water. The CNF matt was used as the working electrode and a Pt foil was used as the counter electrode and by applying a constant voltage of 5V between the electrodes for 24 hours using a current limiting AC to DC transformer (25 A) from McMaster-Carr. During the electrodeposition process, the sulfate (SO.sub.4.sup.2−) and hydroxy (OH.sup.−) ions were intercalated into the CNF, while the thiourea molecules infiltrated into the CNF and were converted into elemental sulfur particles. The DDSA electrodes had an average sulfur loading of ˜8-18 mg/cm.sup.2. The DDSA on CNF matt was then electrochemically coated with gold (Au) which was selected as the polysulfide trapping agent (PTA). The PTA was electrodeposited onto the DDSA using gold chloride (200 mg/dL deionized water) (Sigma Aldrich) solution by applying a potential of 5V between Pt foil working electrode and DDSA counter electrode.”)
The porous carbon matrix production is described in [0083] of the specification, followed by sulfur infiltration under vacuum ([0084]). [0083] – “Example 4; Synthesis of Lithium Ion Conductor on Carbon Framework (LIC-CFM-S) LiOPAN Coated CFM-S [0085] Step 1: Complex Framework Material (CFM): (5.0 g) of super P was dispersed in a mixed solution of deionized water (25 ml) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) (25 ml) under ultrasonication (BRANSON, 5800, USA) for 10 min. Acrylonitrile monomer (10 ml) and azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN, 100 mg) were then added. The mixed solution was stirred under a N.sub.2 atmosphere for 4 h at 65°C to initiate the polymerization reaction. The resulting solid was collected by filtration and washed with ethanol after polymerization. The product was vacuum dried at 60° C. for 24 h to yield polyacrylnitrile (PAN) coated on carbon frame work (PAN/CFM). Any nitrogen containing carbon backbone based hydrocarbon polymer can also be selected.”
The balance of the claims are rejected due to dependency.
Response to Arguments
The previous 35 USC 102 rejection by Kim (US 11811049 B2) is withdrawn due to silence of the limitation of a carbon nanofiber matt.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Kim (US 11811049 B2) discloses a carbon-based fiber sheet made by electrospinning PAN and carbonization to form a carbon nanofiber web, then doping with a catalyst. Wachsman (US 20200075960 A1) discloses a CNF-web for cathode, integration of S ([0319]) and catalyst particles with Super P, which is a conductive carbon black ([0130]). Wang (US 20150044556 A1) discloses a CNF matt for a lithium battery.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICHOLAS A SMITH whose telephone number is (571)272-8760. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30am-3:30pm.
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/NICHOLAS A SMITH/Supervisory Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1752