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 1-8 in the reply filed on August 10th, 2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 9-14 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on August 10th, 2026.
Claim Objections
Claim 8 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In the list recited on line 3 of claim 8, “TiO2” is recited twice. The list should be edited so that “TiO2” is not repeated.
Appropriate correction is 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Cho (“Patchwork-structured heterointerface of 1T-WS2/a-WO3 with sustained hydrogen spillover as a highly efficient hydrogen evolution reaction electrocatalyst”, 2022).
Regarding claim 1, Cho teaches a metal catalyst (Cho, Fig. 1a-n, 1T-WS2/a-WO3; Page 24010, Col. 2, Paragraph 2) comprising:
a nano-crystallized transition metal sulfide matrix having a layered structure (Cho, Page 24010, Col. 2, Paragraph 2, 1T-WS2); and
an amorphous transition metal oxide located in a space between crystals of the transition metal sulfide matrix, and heterogeneously bonded to the transition metal sulfide matrix (Cho, Fig. 1h-j, Page 24010, Col. 2, Paragraph 2, “It is clearly observed that the a-WO3 domains are randomly populated on the 1TWS2 surface, eventually forming a patchwork-structured heterointerface between the two phases.”).
Regarding claim 2, Cho teaches the metal catalyst of claim 1, as discussed above, wherein the amorphous transition metal oxide and the transition metal sulfide matrix are heterogeneously bonded so that the transition metal sulfide matrix and the amorphous transition metal oxide can comprise a vertical interface therebetween as the amorphous transition metal oxide is vertically formed in the space of the transition metal sulfide matrix (Cho, Fig. 1h-j, “As shown in Figure 1h−j, with increasing O2 plasma treatment time, we observed an accelerated formation of WO3 embedded in vertically stacked WS2 layers.”).
Regarding claim 3, Cho teaches the metal catalyst of claim 1, as discussed above, wherein hydrogen adsorbed on the amorphous transition metal oxide is transferred to the transition metal sulfide matrix (Cho, Page 24015, Col. 1, Paragraph 3, “Owing to the proton-rich nature of WO3 compared to that of 1T-WS2, the favorably adsorbed proton on a-WO3 can be effectively transferred to proton-deficient WS2, which is attributed to the improved HER catalytic activity.).
Regarding claim 4, Cho teaches the metal catalyst of claim 1, as discussed above, wherein a mixing stoichiometric ratio of the transition metal sulfide matrix and the transition metal oxide ranges from 1:0.6 to 1:1.7 (Cho, Page 24010, Col. 1, Paragraph 3, WSO-0.6, WSO-1.2, and WSO-1.7).
Regarding claim 5, Cho teaches the metal catalyst of claim 1, as discussed above, wherein the amorphous transition metal oxide is heterogeneously bonded in the space between the crystals of the transition metal sulfide matrix by ion penetration (Cho, Fig. 1, Page 24010, Col. 2, Paragraph 2).
Regarding claim 6, Cho teaches the metal catalyst of claim 2, as discussed above, wherein the interface where the transition metal sulfide matrix and the amorphous transition metal oxide are heterogeneously bonded has a length of approximately 12.5 nm (Cho, Fig. 1i, the longest interface is approximately 2.5 scalebars long, where each scalebar is 5 nm; see image below).
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Figure 1. Fig. 1i of Cho with scale bar overlayed along the longest interface.
Regarding claim 7, Cho teaches the metal catalyst of claim 1, as discussed above, wherein the transition metal sulfide matrix comprises WS2 (Cho, Page 24009, Col. 2, Paragraph 2; Page 24011, Col. 1, Paragraph 2, “The elemental composition and chemical state of the WSO
films varied according to the incorporation of a-WO3 domains into the 1T-WS2 matrix.”).
Regarding claim 8, Cho teaches the metal catalyst of claim 1, as discussed above, wherein the amorphous transition metal oxide comprises WO3 (Cho, Page 24009, Col. 2, Paragraph 2; Page 24011, Col. 1, Paragraph 2, “The elemental composition and chemical state of the WSO films varied according to the incorporation of a-WO3 domains into the 1T-WS2 matrix.”).
Claims 1-2, 5, and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wu (“Amorphous-MoO3-x/MoS2 heterostructure: in situ oxidizing amorphization of S-vacancy MoS2 for enhanced alkaline hydrogen evolution”, 2020).
Regarding claim 1, Wu teaches a metal catalyst (Wu, Fig. 1, Page 14702, Col. 1, Paragraph 1) comprising:
a nano-crystallized transition metal sulfide matrix having a layered structure (Wu, Fig. 1, Page 14702, Col. 1, Paragraph 1, Sv-MoS2 nanosheets); and
an amorphous transition metal oxide located in a space between crystals of the transition metal sulfide matrix, and heterogeneously bonded to the transition metal sulfide matrix (Wu, Fig. 1, Page 14702, Col. 1, Paragraph 1, A-MoO3-x; Paragraph 2, lateral and interfacial heterostructures of A-MoO3-x and MoS2).
Regarding claim 2, Wu teaches the metal catalyst of claim 1, as discussed above, wherein the amorphous transition metal oxide and the transition metal sulfide matrix are heterogeneously bonded so that the transition metal sulfide matrix and the amorphous transition metal oxide can comprise a vertical interface therebetween as the amorphous transition metal oxide is vertically formed in the space of the transition metal sulfide matrix (Wu, Fig. 1e, Page 14702, Col. 1, Paragraph 1, A-MoO3-x; Paragraph 2, lateral and interfacial heterostructures of A-MoO3-x and MoS2).
Regarding claim 5, Wu teaches the metal catalyst of claim 1, as discussed above. While Wu does not explicitly teach that the amorphous transition metal oxide is heterogeneously bonded in the space between the crystals of the transition metal sulfide matrix by ion penetration, this is a product-by-process limitation that does not distinguish the instantly claimed metal catalyst from Wu’s catalyst. “[E]ven though product-by-process claims are limited by and defined by the process, determination of patentability is based on the product itself. The patentability of a product does not depend on its method of production. If the product in the product-by- process claim is the same as or obvious from a product of the prior art, the claim is unpatentable even though the prior product was made by a different process.” (In re Thorpe, 227 USPQ 964,966). MPEP 2113. In the instant case, Wu’s product is the same as the claimed product, despite being made by a different process.
Regarding claim 7, Wu teaches the metal catalyst of claim 1, as discussed above, wherein the transition metal sulfide matrix comprises MoS2 (Wu, Fig. 1, Page 14702, Col. 1, Paragraph 1, Sv-MoS2 nanosheets).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wu (“Amorphous-MoO3-x/MoS2 heterostructure: in situ oxidizing amorphization of S-vacancy MoS2 for enhanced alkaline hydrogen evolution”, 2020), as further evidenced by Leung (“X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies of the reduction of MoO3 thin films by NH3”, 1998).
Regarding claim 8, Wu teaches the metal catalyst of claim 1, as discussed above, wherein the amorphous transition metal oxide comprises MoO3 (Wu, Fig. 1, Page 14702, Col. 1, Paragraph 1, A-MoO3-x; Figs. 2b (top) and d (top) show that Mo oxide is present. Fig. 1a of Leung shows the XPS Mo 3d spectra of MoO3, overlaid with Fig. 2b of Wu below, confirming that MoO3 is present in Wu’s catalyst.).
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Figure 2. Fig. 1a of Leung, showing Mo 3d XPS spectrum, overlaid with Fig. 2b of Wu, showing Mo 3d XPS spectrum of Wu's catalyst.
Conclusion
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/ZACHARY JOHN BAUM/Examiner, Art Unit 1736
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