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/US2022/027562 filed May 4, 2022, which claims priority to provisional application 63/184,816 filed May 6, 2021, is hereby acknowledged.
Election/Restriction
Applicant’s election of Group I (claims 1-28) in the reply filed on April 6, 2026, to the restriction requirement dated April 3, 2026, is hereby acknowledged.
Accordingly, claims 1-28 have been examined in the instant Office action, whereas claims 29-49 have been withdrawn from consideration as drawn to a nonelected invention but remain pending with the present application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 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 1-28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. §102(a)(1) as anticipated by Seo (SEO et al., "Mg-Zr co-substituted Ta3N5 Photoanode for Lower-Onset-Potential Solar-Driven Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting," Journal of the American Chemical Society, October 14, 2015, Vol. 137, No. 40, pp. S1-S28), This reference was cited by Applicant in its Information Disclosure Statement dated June 15, 2026.
Seo discloses various tantalum nitride/oxynitrides nano-compounds that can be substituted with zirconium and magnesium that are used in photochemical cell systems, particularly, for water splitting, wherein the compound can be (Ta₃N₅:Mg+Zr) photoanode, wherein these compounds can be produced/used in powdered form to support their enhanced EC activities relative to that of pure Ta₃N₅ (Seo, page 12780) The powder Ta₃N₅ variants were synthesized by flux-assisted nitridation using the corresponding oxide precursors along with a Na₂CO₃ flux under NH₃ flow at 1173 K. The oxide precursors were prepared by heating Ta₂O₅ mixed with ZrO(NO₃)₂·2H₂O and/or Mg(NO₃)₂·6H₂O at 923 K in air, and will provide crystal structures of synthesized Ta3N₅, Ta₃N₅:Mg, Ta₃N₅:Zr, and Ta₃N₅:Mg+Zr that were determined by X-ray diffraction (Seo, page 12781; Figure 1)
Seo discloses that the ratio of Mg:Zr in the co-substituted photocatalysts can be 1:2, wherein the synthesized Ta₃N₅ photocatalysts replaced with no ions, Mg²⁺, Zr⁴⁺, or Mg²¹ + Zr4+ (Ta₃N₅:Zr, and Ta₃N₅:Mg+Zr) (Seo, page 12781). The size of the particles in the powder are a few hundred nanometers in size (page 12782; Figure 2). The particles can be in the forms of nanorods (page 12783). The tantalum nitride compounds can be substituted up to 33% by zirconium/magnesium atoms (page 12781).
Seo may not disclose all the physical properties for its tantalum nitride compounds co-substituted with zirconium and/or magnesium. However, these are physical properties of these substituted tantalum nitride compounds, which are inherent. “Products of identical chemical composition cannot have mutually exclusive properties. A chemical composition and its properties are inseparable. Therefore, if the prior art teaches the identical chemical structure, the properties applicant discloses and/or claims are necessarily present.” In re Spada, 911 F.2d 705, 709, 15 USPQ2d 1655, 1658 (Fed. Cir. 1990) (Applicant argued that the claimed composition was a pressure sensitive adhesive containing a tacky polymer while the product of the reference was hard and abrasion resistant. “The Board correctly found that the virtual identity of monomers and procedures sufficed to support a prima facie case of unpatentability of Spada’s polymer latexes for lack of novelty.”). See MPEP 2112.01 I
Thus, the presently examined claims are anticipated by Seo.
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
June 27, 2026
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