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 Rejections - 35 USC § 101 35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows: Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title. Claims 8-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to non-statutory subject matter. The claim(s) does/do not fall within at least one of the four categories of patent eligible subject matter because these claims recite a use but fail to recite steps for the process. There are no active process steps recited in these claims regarding the use of the process of the claims 1-7 which these claims depend from. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 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 appl icant regards as his invention. Claims 8-14 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. The claims are indefinite because they recite a use but do not recite any steps . The scope of the claims cannot be determined by a person of ordinary skill since no active steps are recited. Allowable Subject Matter Claim s 1-7 are allowed. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: claim 1 requires “ A method for preparing graphene by mechanical exfoliation, wherein the method comprises steps of: (1) dispersing graphite raw material in a foaming agent aqueous solution to obtain a graphite pre-dispersing solution; and (2) subjecting the graphite pre-dispersing solution to milling, washing with water and centrifugal classification, to obtain the graphene; and the foaming agent aqueous solution comprises following components: sodium alpha-olefin sulfonate, sodium alcohol ether sulphate, diethanolamine coconut fatty acid, polyethylene glycol, and water; the foaming agent aqueous solution comprises the following components in parts by weight: 1 - 10 parts of sodium alpha-olefin sulfonate, 1-10 parts of sodium alcohol ether sulphate, 5 - 15 parts of diethanolamine coconut fatty acid, 10 - 20 parts of polyethylene glycol, and 60-80 parts of water; a solid-to-liquid ratio of the graphite raw material to the foaming agent aqueous solution is 10 - 15 mg/mL ”. CN109941992 teaches (See EXAMPLE 1. On Pg. 3) a mechanical method for peeling graphene for coating, comprises the steps: (1) Dissolve 1 part by weight of graphite flake powder and 0.1 part by weight of surfactant in 5 parts by weight of deionized water to form a mixed solution, add an appropriate amount of auxiliary agent, and form graphite flake dispersion by mechanical stirring; (2) adding the flake graphite dispersion into the sand mill for mechanical sanding to form graphene slurry; (3) The graphene slurry is suction filtered, and the added surfactant residue is washed with deionized water; (4) The graphene after suction filtration is placed in a vacuum drying oven and dried into graphene powder. In the step (1), the particle size of the flake graphite is 12000 mesh. In the step (1), the surfactant is a mixture of sodium lauryl sulfate, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and sodium carboxymethylcellulose in a weight ratio of 1:1:1. In the step (1), the auxiliary agent is a defoaming agent. In the step (1), the additive amount is 0.01 part by weight. In the step (1), the mechanical stirring condition is 6000r/min, and the stirring is performed for 3h. In the step (2), the sanding condition is 1000r/min, and the sanding is 6h. In the step (2), the grinding balls are zirconium beads with a diameter of 0.9 mm. In the step (3), the vacuum drying condition is 90°C. CN109941992 does not teach or suggest “… the foaming agent aqueous solution comprises following components: sodium alpha-olefin sulfonate, sodium alcohol ether sulphate, diethanolamine coconut fatty acid, polyethylene glycol, and water; the foaming agent aqueous solution comprises the following components in parts by weight: 1 - 10 parts of sodium alpha-olefin sulfonate, 1 - 10 parts of sodium alcohol ether sulphate, 5 - 15 parts of diethanolamine coconut fatty acid, 10-20 parts of polyethylene glycol, and 60 - 80 parts of water; a solid-to-liquid ratio of the graphite raw material to the foaming agent aqueous solution is 10 -1 5 mg/ mL. ” CN106542526 discloses: a method for stripping a graphite slurry by using fluid accelerated stirring, the method using a mechanical shear force to strip graphite to prepare graphene nanoplatelets (Pg. 4, 2 nd para) , and using a surfactant to disperse prepared graphite powder so as to increase the stripping efficiency of the graphite powder, wherein the surfactant (Pg. 4 last para) is selected from one or more of alkyl benzene sulfonate, alkyl sulfonate, fatty alcohol polyoxyethylene ether or polyethylene glycol. CN106542526 does not teach or suggest “… the foaming agent aqueous solution comprises following components: sodium alpha-olefin sulfonate, sodium alcohol ether sulphate, diethanolamine coconut fatty acid, polyethylene glycol, and water; the foaming agent aqueous solution comprises the following components in parts by weight: 1 - 10 parts of sodium alpha-olefin sulfonate, 1 - 10 parts of sodium alcohol ether sulphate, 5 - 15 parts of diethanolamine coconut fatty acid, 10-20 parts of polyethylene glycol, and 60 - 80 parts of water; a solid-to-liquid ratio of the graphite raw material to the foaming agent aqueous solution is 10 -1 5 mg/ mL. ” Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.” Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT SYED TAHA IQBAL whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)270-5857 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT M-F; 7-5 . 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) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Anthony Zimmer can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT (571) 270-3591 . The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /SYED T IQBAL/ Examiner, Art Unit 1736 /ANTHONY J ZIMMER/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1736