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 .
Priority
Applicant’s claim of priority as a 35 U.S.C. §371 national stage entry of
PCT/US2021/059048 filed Nov. 12, 2021, which in turn claims priority to provisional application 63/113,321 filed Nov. 13, 2020, is hereby acknowledged.
Election/Restriction
Applicant’s election, with traverse, of Group I (claims 1-21) in the reply filed on March 3, 2026, to the restriction requirement dated Jan. 13, 2021, is hereby acknowledged.
The traversal is on the grounds that the claimed feature of “vertically aligned carbon nanotubes” provides a technical contribution of the prior art. These arguments are not persuasive for the reasons discussed, infra, in the prior art rejection.
Accordingly, claims 1-21 have been examined in the instant Office action, whereas claims 22-37 have been withdrawn from consideration as drawn to nonelected inventions but remain pending with the present application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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.
Claims 1-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. §103 as unpatentable over Voskian (US 2017/0113182 A1 to Voskian et al., published April 27, 2017) and Su (US 2017/0113951 to Su et al., published April 27, 2017.
Voskian is drawn to an electrochemical process for gas separation of a target species from a gas stream, wherein in an embodiment, an electrochemical cell
may comprise: a first and second negative electrodes, each comprising a gas permeable layer and a primary electroactive composite layer; a positive electrode positioned between the negative electrodes and the electroactive layer, wherein a separator is positioned between the negative electrode, and wherein each of the separators can be saturated with an ionic liquid ([0005] to [0008]; [0023] to [0029] of Voskian). The composite having an electroactive composite layer and an electroactive species capable of bonding with the target species gas (e.g. carbon dioxide), contains a first electroactive species in a reduced state, and releases the target species gas when the first electroactive species is in an oxidized state ([0029]; [0030]), and wherein anthraquinone in a polymerized form (pAQ) is a suitable electroactive species that is reduced to its dianion in a single step when binding to CO2 forming a complex ([0030] to [0035] of Voskian) The electroactive composite layer comprises an immobilized polymeric composite layer including a polyanthraquinone (pAQ)-carbon nanotube (CNT) composite [0035]). The electroactive species is capable of bonding with a target gas when the electroactive species is in a first oxidation state where the primary electroactive composite layer comprises a first electroactive species capable of bonding with the target species gas (e.g. CO2), and wherein the first electroactive species is in a reduced state thereby releasing the target species gas when the first electroactive species is in an oxidized state ([0035] of Voskian.
Voskian does not disclose the carbon nanotubes of its composite as vertically aligned carbon nanotubes.
However, Su teaches a composite that contains vertically aligned carbon nanotubes, wherein the cathodic electrode is a hybrid derived through the redox grafting an anthraquinone (AQ) moiety from vertically aligned carbon nanotubes grown on stainless steel; and an electroactive species disposed on the vertically aligned carbon nanotubes, which forms a pattern (FIG. 78C; [0456], [0458] of Su). Vertical alignment of the CNTs was unaffected by the surface functionalization with electroactive PAQ (poly(anthraquinone)) as demonstrated in SEM images of the hybrid PAQ-VACNTs nanostructures (FIG. 78C), in comparison with those of the precursor vertical nanotube substrate) ([0456] to [0458]) .
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person skilled skill in the art at the time of the filing of the claimed invention to select vertically aligned carbon nanotubes as taught by Su for Voskian’s composite comprising carbon nanotubes having an electroactive species disposed on the carbon nanotubes, because vertically aligned carbon nanotubes are a specific example of a carbon nanotubes having enhanced structural integrity, as taught in Su.
Voskian further discloses that the vertically aligned carbon nanotubes in Voskian/Su can have an average diameter of 50 nanometers or less, thereby providing a method for curbing carbon dioxide emissions including separating a target species (e.g., CO2) from an atmosphere gas mixture via an electrochemical process (Voskian, [0022], [0030], [0035]). The composite can further contain graphene or carbon black, a polymeric binder and anthraquinone as an electroactive species, wherein the polymer can be crosslinked ([0022]; [0030]; [0035]; [0040];[0050]).
Although Voskian (and Su) may not expressly disclose all the weight percentages/ratios recited in the present claims, such as, the content percentage/binding constant of the electroactive species, or the thickness of the carbon nanotubes (present claims 14-16), however, it would have been within the purview of one skilled in the art, at the time of the filing of the present application, to select an optimal thickness for the carbon nanotubes and content/binding properties of the electroactive species, to subsequently provide an optimal composite possessing enhanced structural properties due to optimal binding/content of the electroactive species and an optimal thickness for the vertical aligned carbon nanotubes . Thus, these resultant enhanced properties of the materials can be arrived by routine optimization of these variables (i.e., weight percentage, thickness and binding properties). See MPEP §2144.05 II A.
Thus, the instant claims are unpatentable over Voskian and Su.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN J FIGUEROA whose telephone number is (571)272-8916. The examiner can normally be reached on 8:30 am -6:00 pm. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, JOSEPH DEL SOLE can be reached on 571-272-1130. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JOHN J FIGUEROA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1763
July 2, 2026
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