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 § 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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 8-9, 14 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Seavill (Seavill et al., “The preparation and applications of amides using electrosynthesis” Green Chem. 2020 Nov.: 22:7737-59) as submitted on Applicant's Information Disclosure Statement filed 22 December 2023.
In regards to claim(s) 1, 14 and 16, Seavill discloses a method, comprising electrochemically reacting an amine such that the amine becomes reactive with a target species (p. 7746, right col 2nd para "The mechanism for this reaction is shown in Scheme 27, starting with amine cathodic reduction/deprotonation, which then reacts with the anhydride 46 to give an amide product", p7747, "Scheme 27"; compound 46 is the target species).
In regards to claim(s) 2 and 8-9, Seavill discloses a method, comprising electrochemically reacting an amine (p. 7752, "Scheme 46"; compound 52b is amine and converted to compound 52a by electrochemical reaction) such that a target species is captured (p. 7752, "Scheme 46", p. 7752, right col 2nd para "This radical then cyclises and is then trapped by 52a to produce the isoindolinone product 73"; compound 74 is the target species).
In regards to claim(s) 3, Seavill discloses wherein the step of electrochemically reacting the amine is performed via a reduction reaction (p. 7746, right col 2nd para "The mechanism for this reaction is shown in Scheme 27, starting with amine cathodic reduction/deprotonation, which then reacts with the anhydride 46 to give an amide product").
Claim(s) 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wang (Wang et al., “CO2 capture using electrochemically mediated amine regeneration” Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2020 Feb. 59: 7087-96) as submitted on Applicant's Information Disclosure Statement filed 22 December 2023.
In regards to claim(s) 22, Wang discloses a system (Abstract "Figure"), comprising: an electrode (Abstract "Figure"; anode and cathode are electrodes); an amine in electronic communication with the electrode (Abstract "Figure"; amine is in the cathode part); and an inlet configured to be in fluidic communication with a source of a target species (Abstract "Figure"; the target species, CO2, is introduced to the system through inlet labelled 'Flue gas in'); wherein the system is configured to expose the target species to the amine (Abstract "Figure"; amine in cathode part is introduced to CO2 absorption column).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4-7,10-13,15 and 17-20 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: Prior art does not disclose a method of electrochemically reacting an amine so that the amine becomes reactive with a reactive species, wherein the dependent features are included (such as carbon dioxide capture in the gas phase or aqueous solution, or the amine being optionally-substituted 1-aminopyridinium species).
Simonetti (WO 2022221665 A1) discloses a process wherein an amine solution is contacted with CO2 containing gaseous effluents and forms carbamates, and then electrochemically adjusting the pH of the solution to release CO2 and regenerate the amine (see Fig. 1; claim 1), but Simonetti does not discloses electrochemically reacting the amine.
Kanno (US 20230271132 A1) discloses electrochemical acidic gas separation using high molecular weight redox compounds such as polyaniline (abstract; [0036]); however, while aniline is an amine, polyamine is not an amine (polymerized monomers of aniline).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICHOLAS A SMITH whose telephone number is (571)272-8760. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30am-3:30pm.
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/NICHOLAS A SMITH/Supervisory Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1752
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