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 Invention III, directed to claims 8–10, in the reply filed on June 29, 2026, is acknowledged.
Claims 1–7, directed to nonelected Inventions I and II, have been canceled. Accordingly, no claims are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to the restriction requirement. Newly added claims 11–15 depend from elected claim 8 and are included in the elected invention.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority (CN2023105451266, filed on May 15, 2023) under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.84(l) because FIGS. 5–9 are too faint and indistinct to be readily legible and adequately reproduced. Corrected replacement drawing sheets showing FIGS. 5–9 with sufficient clarity and contrast are required. See MPEP § 608.02.
Claim Objections
Claim 8 objected to because of the following informalities:
The phrase “subjecting mmt to cation saturation using ferric chloride” should be corrected to read “subjecting montmorillonite (mmt) to cation saturation using ferric chloride” for clarity.
Claim 13 objected to because of the following informalities:
The phrase “wherein t in step (1)” should be corrected to read “wherein in step (1)” due to a typographical error.
Claim 14 objected to because of the following informalities:
The phrase “wherein t in step (2)” should be corrected to read “wherein in step (2)” due to a typographical error.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 10, and 13-15 are 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
A broad range or limitation together with a narrow range or limitation that falls within the broad range or limitation (in the same claim) may be considered indefinite if the resulting claim does not clearly set forth the metes and bounds of the patent protection desired. See MPEP § 2173.05(c).
In the present instance:
Claim 10 recites the broad recitation “contents of the Pind-mmt complex and the PFASs in the mixture are 0.5 to 1.5 g/L and 5 to 15 mg/L, respectively,” and the claim also recites “preferably, the contents of the Pind-mmt complex and the PFASs in the mixture are 1.0 g/L and 10 mg/L, respectively,” which is the narrower statement of the range.
Claim 13 recites the broad recitation “a concentration of the indole solution is 0.5 to 0.6 g/L,” and the claim also recites “preferably 0.585 g/L,” which is the narrower statement of the range.
Claim 14 recites the broad recitation “the in-situ polymerization is performed at a shaking speed of 200 to 250 r/min for 10 to 14 h,” and the claim also recites “preferably at a shaking speed of 220 r/min for 12 h,” which is the narrower statement of the range. Claim 15, which depends from claim 14, is similarly rejected by virtue of dependency.
The claim(s) are considered indefinite because there is a question or doubt as to whether the feature introduced by such narrower language is (a) merely exemplary of the remainder of the claim, and therefore not required, or (b) a required feature of the claims.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8, 9, 11, and 12 are allowed.
Claims 10, 13-15 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
The claimed invention pertains to an application of a polyindole-montmorillonite (Pind-mmt) complex in the degradation of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs). The Pind-mmt complex is prepared by: (1) subjecting montmorillonite to cation saturation using ferric chloride to prepare ferric ion-exchanged montmorillonite (Fe³⁺-mmt); (2) adding the Fe³⁺-mmt to an indole solution to generate Pind at an mmt interlayer by in-situ polymerization and obtain a Pind-mmt complex body; and (3) subjecting the Pind-mmt complex body to organic modification with a quaternary ammonium salt cationic surfactant.
The most relevant prior art of record includes GU et al. (CN 109745962 A, hereinafter “GU”), EROL et al. (“Synthesis, Electrorheology, and Creep Behaviors of In Situ Intercalated Polyindole/Organo-Montmorillonite Conducting Nanocomposite,” 2010, hereinafter “EROL”), and GUPTA et al. (“In-situ Synthesis of Polyaniline Coated Montmorillonite (Mt) Clay Using Fe³⁺ Intercalated Mt as Oxidizing Agent,” 2014, hereinafter “GUPTA”). These references collectively represent the closest technical disclosures pertinent to the claimed invention.
GU discloses a method of preparing a mixed-modified organo-montmorillonite and an application of the mixed-modified organo-montmorillonite in persistent pollutant degradation (¶[0002]).
Montmorillonite is first organically modified with poly-4-vinylpyridine styrene and then organically modified with hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide to obtain a mixed-modified organo-montmorillonite. The mixed-modified organo-montmorillonite is used to degrade PFOA under ultraviolet light in an aqueous solution containing indoleacetic acid (¶[0009]).
More specifically, the montmorillonite is organically modified with poly-4-vinylpyridine styrene (PVPcoS) to obtain PVPcoS-MMT, which is then further organically modified with hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMA) to obtain the mixed-modified organo-montmorillonite (MOM-MMT) (¶¶[0013]–[0014]).
For the degradation application, an indoleacetic acid solution and a perfluorinated compound solution are mixed, and the mixed-modified organo-montmorillonite is dispersed in the resulting solution. The reaction solution is then subjected to photoreaction using a mercury lamp to degrade the perfluorinated compounds (¶¶[0031]–[0034]).
However, GU does not explicitly disclose subjecting montmorillonite to cation saturation using ferric chloride to prepare Fe³⁺-mmt, adding the Fe³⁺-mmt to an indole solution to generate Pind at an mmt interlayer by in-situ polymerization, or subsequently organically modifying the resulting Pind-mmt complex body with a quaternary ammonium salt cationic surfactant.
EROL discloses a method of preparing polyindole (PIN) using FeCl₃ as an oxidizing agent, preparing organo-montmorillonite (O-MMT) from virgin montmorillonite using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), a quaternary ammonium salt, and preparing a PIN/O-MMT conducting nanocomposite having both intercalated and exfoliated structures (Abstract, p. 471).
In Preparation of O-MMT, virgin MMT is dispersed in water and modified with CTAB to obtain O-MMT (p. 472). In Synthesis of PIN/O-MMT Nanocomposite, O-MMT is dispersed in chloroform and ultrasonicated, followed by dropwise addition of an indole solution. FeCl₃ is then added under a nitrogen atmosphere as an oxidizing agent, and the PIN/O-MMT nanocomposite is formed by in-situ oxidative polymerization overnight (p. 472).
In Characterization, the XRD and SEM results indicate that the PIN/O-MMT nanocomposite has both intercalated and exfoliated structures, with PIN chains produced inside the clay interlayer space and on the surface of O-MMT (p. 475).
However, EROL does not explicitly disclose first subjecting montmorillonite to cation saturation using ferric chloride to prepare Fe³⁺-mmt, adding the Fe³⁺-mmt to an indole solution, subsequently organically modifying the resulting Pind-mmt complex body with a quaternary ammonium salt cationic surfactant, or applying the resulting complex in PFAS degradation. Instead, EROL prepares CTAB-modified O-MMT before adding indole and FeCl₃.
GUPTA discloses a method of forming a polyaniline (PAni) coating over montmorillonite clay (Mt) layers by in-situ oxidative polymerization. FeCl₃·6H₂O is first intercalated into organically modified montmorillonite clay (OMt), and the resulting ferric-ion-intercalated clay layers are then re-dispersed in an aqueous monomer solution for polymerization. Polymer formation within the clay interlayer spaces is confirmed (Abstract, p. 50).
In Synthesis of Iron Intercalated Interlayer Space, OMt is dispersed in tetrahydrofuran, and a separately prepared FeCl₃ solution is added to the clay dispersion. After stirring, sonication, and incubation at room temperature, a yellow precipitate forms due to Fe³⁺ intercalation with the clay. The precipitate is filtered and washed with tetrahydrofuran to remove remaining ferric ions (Section 2.3, p. 51).
In In-situ Polymerization of Aniline, aniline is dissolved in HCl, and the Fe³⁺-Mt precipitate is re-dispersed into the monomer solution under constant stirring at room temperature. The reaction mixture is maintained for 48 hours in a closed flask, and the resulting precipitate is filtered, washed, and dried (Section 2.4, p. 51).
In X-ray Diffraction, the decrease in d-spacing of iron-intercalated Mt compared with OMt is attributed to exchange of bulky intercalated organic molecules with smaller Fe³⁺ cations. The substantial increase in gallery spacing after polymerization indicates formation of polyaniline within the clay galleries (Section 3.2, p. 52).
However, GUPTA does not explicitly disclose preparing Fe³⁺-mmt from montmorillonite before organic modification, using indole to generate Pind at an mmt interlayer, subsequently organically modifying the resulting Pind-mmt complex body with a quaternary ammonium salt cationic surfactant, or applying the resulting complex in PFAS degradation. Instead, GUPTA begins with organically modified montmorillonite and polymerizes aniline to form polyaniline.
Although the prior arts separately disclose portions of the claimed subject matter, arriving at the subject matter of Claim 8 would require selectively combining isolated features from each reference, substituting EROL’s Pind for the PVPcoS of GU, reversing EROL’s CTAB-first sequence, importing GUPTA’s Fe³⁺-intercalated-OMt-first process, replacing GUPTA’s aniline and polyaniline with indole and Pind, and then reconstructing the claimed order of preparing Fe³⁺-mmt, generating Pind at the mmt interlayer, and subsequently performing quaternary-ammonium modification. These coordinated modifications go beyond a predictable combination of known elements and would require hindsight reconstruction of the claimed subject matter using Claim 8 as a roadmap.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TAK L. CHIU whose telephone number is (703)756-1059. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:00am - 6:00pm (CST).
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/TAK L. CHIU/Examiner, Art Unit 1771
/KRISHNAN S MENON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1771
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