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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I (Claims 1-7) in the reply filed on 05/15/2026 is acknowledged. Claims 8-9 are withdrawn. Claims 1-7 are examined herein.
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 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Choi (Chemical Engineering Journal, 417(2021)128026, published on Dec. 9, 2020).
Regarding claims 1 and 3-4, Choi teaches a method of making Pt-Ag nanoplates, comprising: preparing Ag nanoplates coated with PVDC-g-POEM micelle wherein the PVDC-g-POEM micelle is an amphiphilic polymer; and reacting Ag nanoplates with Pt2+ through a galvanic replacement reaction to make Pt-Ag nanoplates (Abstract; Page 2, Experimental), which meets the limitation recited in 1 and 3-4.
Regarding claim 2, Choi discloses that the PVDC-g-POEM micelle comprises a hydrophobic core and a hydrophilic chain, the hydrophobic core forms a hydrophobic region that prevents the galvanic replacement reaction between the Ag and Pt2+, and the hydrophilic chain forms a hydrophilic region that induces the galvanic replacement reaction between the Ag and Pt2+ (Page 7, right column, last paragraph), which meets the limitation recited in claim 2.
Regarding claims 5 and 7, Choi discloses that through a seed-mediated growth method, an Ag nanoplate whose surface coated with the PVDC-g-POEM micelle is synthesized from a reaction mixture comprising AgNO3, PVDC-g-POEM amphiphilic polymer, a reducing agent, and two types of solvents comprising tetrahydrofuran (THF) and water that differ in polarity index (Page 2; Page 3), which meets the limitations recited in claims 5 and 7.
Regarding claim 6, Choi discloses that the size of the polymeric micelle is controlled by adjusting a mixing ratio of the two types of solvents in the reaction mixture (Page 4, left column, last paragraph), which meets the limitation recited in claim 6.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Xiaowei Su whose telephone number is (571)272-3239. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00-5:00.
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/XIAOWEI SU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1733
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