DETAILED ACTION
Status of Application
This action is responsive to nonprovisional application filed 09/23/2022. Original claims 1-13 are currently pending and under examination herein.
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 . However, in the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for a rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Information Disclosure Statement(s)
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) filed on 06/03/2022 and 01/02/2024 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97, 1.98 and MPEP § 609, and therefore the information referred to therein has been considered as to the merits. Initialed copies of the IDS are included with the mailing/transmittal of this Office action.
Foreign Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Interpretation
With respect to Claim 1, the Office considers the preamble recitation "for water electrolysis” to be non-limiting for purposes of claim construction because the body of the claim fully sets forth all constituents of the claimed membrane electrode assembly, and the preamble merely states the purpose or intended use of the claimed assembly. See MPEP 2111.02(II).
Objection – Claims
Claim 6 is objected to because of the following informalities: a redundant recitation of “Cr” appears in the Markush group enumerating metal-based catalyst members (see, final line). Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections – 35 U.S.C. 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding Claim 1, the claim is ambiguous, hence indefinite, as to numerical values intended to be covered by subscript variable “p” in recited Aryl-1 species
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. The claim does not positively define the variable and according to the specification, the phenyl-based block may be a diphenyl in which the two phenyl groups are connected to each other via “a C2+ alkylene … In this case, the alkylene may be a C2-C10 one” (see page 11, lines 17-19). It is unclear whether the claim should be broadly read to cover all “p” values that accommodate any C2 or longer carbon chain alkylene, or narrowly construed to “p” values providing only for C2-C10 alkylene groups. For purposes of substantive examination, the former (broader) reading is being adopted. However, under either interpretation, “p” embraces a single -CH2-CH2- linkage (i.e., where p = 1) and, thus, this Ar-1 species redundantly encompasses antecedently recited species
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. Therefore, clarification and appropriate correction are required.
Further as to claimed Formula (2), uncertainty exists as to the lower endpoint of subscript “x”. While claim 1 refers to “x and 100-x” as mole fractions (%) of the corresponding repeating units, it is unclear whether the “x” mole fraction may equal zero, with the corresponding repeating units then being absent from the Formula (2) first polymer, or whether “x” must be a non-zero mole fraction value. Clarification at least by way of explanation is required.
Dependent claims 2-13 inherit the indefiniteness ascribed to base claim 1 above.
Common Ownership Notice
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim Rejections – 35 U.S.C. 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-2, 5, 7, 9-11, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chen et al (Energy Environ. Sci., 2021, 14, 6338) (hereinafter, ‘Chen I’).
Regarding Claims 1 and 13, reference to Chen I discloses a membrane electrode assembly and water hydrolyzer comprising the same (see Abs., p. 6339, bridging para. and p. 6340, Fig. 1a) [for claim 13]; the membrane electrode assembly comprising a first polymer; a cathode located on one surface of the anion exchange membrane; and an anode located on the other surface of the anion
exchange membrane, wherein the first polymer comprises at least one repeating unit
selected from those represented by Formulae 1:
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wherein Aryl is
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or
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, and m and n represent the mole fractions (%) of the corresponding repeating units and satisfy m > 0, n > 0, and m+n=100 (see Chen I, p. 6339, first full para. of right-hand column; p. 6340, Fig. 1 (b-d): ionomers PFBP-14, PFTP-8, PFTP-13; and p. 6343, Table 2).
Regarding Claim 2, Chen I further discloses wherein the first polymer comprises the repeating unit represented by Formula 1 and the ratio m:n in Formula 1 is 80:20 to 95:5; for example, a ratio of 86:14 for PFBP-14 (see p. 6340, Fig. 1(b)).
Regarding Claim 5, Chen I further discloses wherein the cathode and the anode each independently comprise at least one metal selected from platinum and iridium, namely Pt/C and IrO2 for the cathode and anode, respectively (see p. 6346, second full para. of left-hand column).
Regarding Claim 7, Chen I further discloses wherein the first polymer has a repeating unit represented by Formula 6:
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-wherein m and n represent the mole fractions (%) of the corresponding repeating units and satisfy m+n=100 and the ratio m:n is 85:15 to 90:10 (see p. 6340, Fig. 1 (d): ionomer PFTP-13 has number of respective repeating units providing ratio m:n of 87:13 where m+n=100).
Regarding Claim 9, Chen I further discloses wherein the cathode comprises a cathode ionomer comprising a second polymer, the anode comprises an anode ionomer comprising a third polymer, and the second and third polymers each independently have the repeating unit represented by Formula 1 (see, p. 6343, Table 2, wherein, e.g., PFTP-13 (corresponding to claimed first polymer) is AEM, PFTP-8/PFBP-14 are A/C AEIs (corresponding to claimed second polymer/third polymer).
Regarding Claim 10, Chen I further discloses wherein the first polymer has a repeating unit represented by Formula 8:
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-wherein m and n represent the mole fractions (%) of the corresponding repeating units and satisfy m+n=100 and the ratio m:n is 83:17 to 90:10 (see p. 6340, Fig. 1 (d): ionomer PFTP-13 has number of respective repeating units providing ratio m:n of 87:13 where m+n=100).
Regarding Claim 11, Chen I further discloses wherein the second polymer is present in an amount of 24 to 26% by weight, based on the total weight of the cathode, and the third polymer is present in an amount of 5 to 20% by weight, based on the total weight of the anode (see p. 6346, second full para. of left-hand column: anode ionomer (PTFP) ratio was 10 wt.%, and cathode PFTBP ionomer content was, inter alia, 25 wt.% to explore the ionomer effect).
Claims 1, 4-5, and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chen et al (Agnew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 78710-7718) (hereinafter, ‘Chen II’).
Regarding Claim 1, reference to Chen II discloses a membrane electrode assembly (see Abs. and p. 7711, final sentence of left-hand column; PDTP-based AEMs (anion exchange membranes) fabricated into large-area thin and transparent membranes), the membrane electrode assembly comprising a first polymer; a cathode located on one surface of the anion exchange membrane; and an anode located on the other surface of the anion exchange membrane, wherein the first polymer comprises at least one repeating unit selected from those represented by Formulae 3:
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-wherein Aryl is
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, x and y represent the mole fractions (%) of the corresponding repeating units and satisfy x > 0, y > 0, and x+y=100, and n is an integer from 1 to 10 (viz., n=2; see Chen II at p. 7711, Figure 1: PDTM-x (x=25, 50, 75) AEMs and ionomers; and p. 7712, Figure 2 a)).
Regarding Claim 4, Chen II further discloses wherein the first polymer comprises at least one of the repeating units represented by Formulae 3 to 5 and the ratio x:y in Formulae 3 to 5 is 20:80 to 80:20 (see Chen II at p. 7711, Figure 1: PDTM-x (x=25, y=75; x=50, y=50; x=75, y=25) AEMs and ionomers).
Regarding Claim 5, Chen II further discloses wherein the cathode and the anode each independently comprise at least one metal selected from platinum and ruthenium, namely Pt-Ru/C in the anode and Pt/C in the cathode (see Chen II, p. 7716, Figure 6).
Regarding Claim 8, Chen II further discloses wherein the first polymer has a repeating unit represented by Formula 7:
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-wherein Aryl is
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n is 2 R1 is hydrogen, x and y represent the mole fractions (%) of the corresponding repeating units and satisfy x+y=100, and the ratio x:y is 23:77 to 30:70 (see Chen II, Figure 1: PDTM-25: x=25, y=75).
Pertinent Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Miyatake et al (US 2019/0027768 A1) is cited as pertinent to anion exchange resins comprising, inter alia, a divalent hydrophilic group comprising a divalent fluorene residue of formula (3a) (note [0014]). The citation does not teach the present invention, especially a membrane electrode assembly comprising: an anion exchange membrane comprising a first polymer; wherein the first polymer comprises at least one repeating unit selected from those represented by Formula 1 to 5 in present claim 1.
Potentially Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 6, and 12 would be allowable if amended or rewritten to overcome the objection (re: claim 6) and rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112 set forth in this Office action and to include all the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claim.
The closest prior art to Chen I and Chen II, discussed above, does not describe the inventions of instant claims 3, 6, and 12, or provide proper rationale to modify either of their respective inventions into the invention of instant claim 3, 6 or 12.
Correspondence
Any inquiry concerning this communication should be directed to Examiner F. M. Teskin whose telephone number is (571) 272-1116. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Robert Jones, can be reached at (571) 270-7733. The appropriate fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) Form at https://www.uspto.gov/patents/uspto-automated- interview-request-air-form.
/FRED M TESKIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1762
/FMTeskin/03-11-26