7,DETAILED ACTION
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 1, 3, 16, 17, and 26-27 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. The election has been treated as an election without traverse as discussed in the last office action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
Claims 30, 33, 35, 40, 50, 51-56 stand rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as
being anticipated by HU (US-2018/0369771) as discussed in the last office action and reiterated herein below.
Claim 30: Hu teaches a structure comprising multi-metallic nanoparticles and a substrate supporting the metallic glass nanoparticle thereon, wherein the substrate is a carbon-based substrate or comprises a metal oxide (Hu, para. 0027-0028). The multi- metallic nanoparticles are formed by uniformly depositing salt precursors onto a matrix and the precursor-loaded is treated with a rapid thermal shock leading to decomposition of the precursors and nucleation of uniform nanoparticles (Hu, para. 0036). Therefore, the metal nanoparticles are a homogeneous mixture that forms a single amorphous solid.
Claim 33: Hu exemplifies a homogeneous mixture of (Pt, Pd, Au, and Fe), (PtPdNi, (FeCoNi), (PdSn-CoFeNiCu) and (PdNiCoAuCuFeSnPt) (para. 0042) which inherently has a standard molar entropy that is in a range of 25-45 J/mol-K
Claims 35 and 40: Hu exemplifies a metallic glass nanoparticle wherein at least two metals are transition metals, and the mixture is composed of at least seven metals (para. 0042).
Claim 50: Because the mixture is formed by thermal shock as discussed in claim 30 above, it is expected that wherein each element in the homogeneous mixture has a standard molar entropy measured in J/mol-K that differs from an average of standard molar entropies for all elements in the homogeneous mixture by no more than 20%. .
Claims 51-54: Hu exemplifies homogeneous metal mixture comprising group 8-11 transition metals; or comprising Co, Ni, Pd, Pt, Cu, Fe, wherein at least two metals are selected from Co, Ni, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, Ir, and Pt (Hu, para. 0027, 0042 and 0050).
Claim 55: In light of the transition metals that form a homogenous mixture by rapid thermal shock as discussed in claim 30 above, it is expected that the resulted homogeneous mixture exhibits short-range order.
Claim 56: Hu teaches the substrate of the structure comprises a plurality of carbon nanofibers (para. 0042, and claims 7-8).
Response to Arguments
Applicant argues that the thermal shock process taught by Hu lacks the rapid quenching step and thus would not produce the metal glass nanoparticle as define in the instant claims. This is in direct contradiction to the present disclosure which describes the thermal shock that would produce the claimed metal glass nanoparticles would include thermal shock process disclosed in US Publication No 2018/0369771, which is the Hu publication applied in the rejection. See instant specification, paragraph bridging pages 9-10. Therefore, according to applicant’s admission at pages 9-10, the thermal shock taught by Hu necessarily produces the metal glass nanoparticle of the claimed invention.
Applicant's arguments filed July 8, 2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive for the reasons discussed above.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 42-43 and 57 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: None of the prior art references of record, teach or suggest, a homogeneous mixture of metals composed of the specific elements as required in claims 42 and 43. With regards to claim 57, substrate for deposition of metal glass nanoparticles including carbon-based substrate, metals, ceramics, semiconductors and polymers are known, but for the specific cerium oxide substrate has not been known. It would not have been obvious to substitute the carbon-based substrate taught by Hu with a cerium oxide of the claimed invention.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 HOA (Holly) LE whose telephone number is (571)272-1511. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday, 10:00 am to 7:00 pm.
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, Alicia Chevalier can be reached at 571-272-1490. 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.
HOA (Holly) LE
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1788
/HOA (Holly) LE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1788
Prosecution Insights