DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claims 1-20 are pending in the instant application.
Priority
This application was filed on May 24, 2023.
Information Disclosure Statements
Applicants’ Information Disclosure Statement, filed on 07/10/2023, has been considered. Please refer to Applicant’s copy of the PTO-1449 submitted herewith.
Response to Restriction Requirement
Applicant’s election with traverse of Group II (i.e., claims 10-18) in the reply filed by Applicant’s representative Nicole Hackett on 05/01/2026 is acknowledged. Applicant traverse the restriction requirement on the ground that there would be no undue burden to search the remaining claims. However, Applicant fails to explain why there would be no undue burden to search the remaining claims. As articulated in the previous Restriction Requirement that the pending claims are drawn to different inventions, and requires different search strategies on different databases. Therefore, the restriction requirement is indeed appropriate, and maintained.
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-9 and 19-20 are withdrawn from further consideration by Examiner as being drawn to non-elected inventions under 37 CFR 1.142(b) due to the restriction requirement. Claims 10-18 are under examination on the merits.
Specification
The specification is objected to for containing the abbreviation “TOP” in paragraph [0064]. The specification does not define the term. Therefore, the specification is objected.
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 applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 18 is 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Specifically, claim 18 contains the phrase “wherein the non-metal component is present in the nanocatalyst at an atomic ratio of between about 0.1 and 0.9”. However, it is not clear what the atomic ratio the phrase refers to, because claim 18 only recites one “non-metal component”. In order to define an atomic ratio, at least two components are required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 for the 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.
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 10-11, 13-14, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Su et al., ACS Appl. Energy Mater., (2022), v.5, p.685-696 (Pub. Dec. 28 2021).
Applicant’s claim 10 is drawn to a nanocatalyst comprising: a first metal component, a second metal component, and a non-metal component, wherein the nanocatalyst is hollow.
Su et al. (Abstract at p.685) discloses a hollow bimetallic phosphosulfide Ni-Co-P/S nanoparticles in a CNT/rGO framework for battery-type supercapacitors. Su et al. (left column, p.686) discloses a process of preparing the phosphosulfide Ni-Co-P/S nanoparticles having a porous and hollow nanostructure with a high specific surface area.
In terms of the preamble “a nanocatalyst”, it is simply a statement of intend-to-use or purpose of the invention, not a separate claim limitation. [A] preamble simply stating the intended use or purpose of the invention will usually not limit the scope of the claim, unless the preamble provides antecedents for ensuring claim terms and limits the claim accordingly. Satisfaction of the claimed steps/elements necessarily results in satisfying the purpose of the invention or the intended use. Outdry Techs Corp. v. Geox S.P.A. 859 F.3d 1364, Fed. Cir. (2017). For the present case, Su et al. teaches the phosphosulfide Ni-Co-P/S nanoparticles has a porous and hollow nanostructure with a high specific surface area, it inherently can function as a nanocatalyst because a product is inseparable from its property. Therefore, Su et al. anticipates claims 10-11, 13-14, and 16, wherein first metal component is nickel, a second metal component is cobalt, and a non-metal component is phosphosulfide.
Claims 10-13, and 17-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Sun et al., Chemistry Select, (2016), v.1, p.6972-6978.
Sun et al. (Abstract at p.6972) discloses a bimetallic Cu-Ni/SiO2 hollow spheres, and study on its catalytic property. In addition, Sun et al. (left column) discloses Cu-Ni-based catalysts, and nanosized catalytic particles have received much attention because of showing higher catalytic activities. Bimetallic nano-materials with precisely defined geometries have attracted more and more attention for their potential applications in catalysis. Therefore, Sun et al. teaches a catalyst comprising bimetallic Cu-Ni/SiO2 hollow spheres, which anticipates claims 10-13, and 17-18.
Claims 10-12, 15, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zhong et al., Chem. Sci., (2018), v.9, p.8703-8710.
Zhong et al. (Abstract at p.8703) discloses Pd-Cu alloy nanoparticles (NP) embedded in hollow octahedral N-doped porous carbon (Pd-Cu@HO-NPC, “HO” means hollow octahedral). The hollow material is derived from HKST-1 coated by an imidazolium-based ionic polymer (ImIP). Therefore, Zhong et al. anticipates claims 10-12, 15, and 18.
Conclusions
The specification is objected to.
Claims 10-18 are rejected.
Claims 1-9 and 19-20 are withdrawn.
Telephone Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Yong L. Chu, whose telephone number is (571)272-5759. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 8:30am-5:00pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Amber R. Orlando can be reached on 571-270-3149. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
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/YONG L CHU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1731
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