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 Status
Claims 1-10 are pending.
No claims have been amended.
No claims have been cancelled.
Thus, claims 1-10 represent all claims currently under consideration.
Priority
Foreign Applications:
CHINA 202311177446.7 (09/13/2023)
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The listing of references in the specification is not a proper information disclosure statement. 37 CFR 1.98(b) requires a list of all patents, publications, or other information submitted for consideration by the Office, and MPEP § 609.04(a) states, "the list may not be incorporated into the specification but must be submitted in a separate paper." Therefore, unless the references have been cited by the Examiner on form PTO-892, they have not been considered.
Claim Objections
Claim 8 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In line 5, “aromatic esters compound.” should read “aromatic esters.”
Claim 9 is objected to because of the following informalities:
In line 1, “of the aromatic alcohols” should read “of aromatic alcohols”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Interpretation
The term “COFs-41” as recited in instant claims 1-2 and 4 will be interpreted as “covalent organic frameworks 41”, in a manner consistent with the instant specification (Specification; [0008] and [0010]).
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.
Claims 7-10 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.
Claim 7 recites the limitation “the Au@CeO2 catalyst” in line 11. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. This term appears to be synonymous with the term “mesoporous CeO2-loaded Au catalyst” recited in lines 1 and 6 of claim 1 on which the instant claim depends as described in the instant specification (Specification; [0041]-[0042], [0044]-[0047], [0059]-[0062], [0064]-[0067]; Embodiments 1 and 13-14).
Regarding claims 8-10, these dependent claims do not resolve the indefiniteness of claim 7 detailed above.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends.
Claim 10 recites the phrase “wherein the reacting with heating is to react at 30 – 60 degrees Celsius” in line 2. However, claim 8 on which the instant claim depends recites “reacting with heating at room temperature” in line 3. Therefore, claim 10 broadens the scope of the claimed method and therefore fails to further limit the subject matter of the claim on which it depends.
Applicant may cancel the claim, amend the claim to place the claim in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim complies with the statutory requirements.
Subject Matter Free From the Prior Art
Claim 1 is allowed.
Claims 2-10 appear to be free from the prior art and could be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the objection to claims 8-9, the rejections of claims 7-10 under 35 U.S.C. 112(b)/35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, and the rejection of claim 10 under 35 U.S.C. 112(d)/35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), fourth paragraph, set forth in this Office Action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The prior art of record does not teach or suggest a preparation method of a mesoporous CeO2-loaded Au catalyst, wherein the preparation method comprises using COFs-41 as a template and cerium nitrate as a cerium source, firstly loading Ce3+ by an impregnation method, then preparing a mesoporous CeO2 carrier material by oxidative roasting; then, taking HAuCl4 as a gold source and NaBH4 as a reducing agent, loading Au nanoparticles onto the mesoporous CeO2 carrier material by an impregnation-reduction method in an ethanol solution reaction system to obtain the mesoporous CeO2-loaded Au catalyst, as recited in instant claim 1.
Exemplary prior art includes:
Cao et al. (CN110394174A; published 11-01-2019; English language machine translation obtained from Espacenet on 09-15-2026), who teaches the preparation and application of rod-like cerium dioxide supported gold catalysts. The rod-like cerium dioxide nanoparticles are used as a carrier to support gold nanoparticles. The method comprises adding chloroauric acid (HAuCl4) into the rod-like cerium dioxide nanoparticles, and reducing the gold ions supported on the rod-like cerium dioxide nanoparticles with sodium borohydride (NaBH4). The obtained cerium-supported Au catalyst is used for the catalytic oxidative esterification reaction of benzyl alcohol in methanol under air or O2 at a temperature of 25-35 ºC to form methyl benzoate. Cao further teaches that the rod-shaped cerium dioxide-supported gold catalyst significantly improves the yield of methyl benzoate prepared by the catalytic oxidative esterification of benzyl alcohol and has universal applicability and large-scale production value (Abstract; 0008, 0011, 0018-0020, 0036, 0038-0039, 0064-0067; Example 1; claims 1-2, 4, 7-8, and 10; English language machine translation).
Cao does not teach or suggest the use of covalent organic frameworks or COFs-41 as a catalyst template, the use of cerium nitrate as a Ce3+ source, or an oxidative roasting method step, as recited in instant claim 1.
Wei et al. (“Gold nanoparticles supported on metal oxides as catalysts for the direct oxidative esterification of alcohols under mild conditions”; Inorganica Chimica Acta 2015, 427, 33-40; published 12-16-2014), who teaches gold nanoparticles supported on metal oxides, including Au/CeO2, to catalyze the direct oxidative esterification of alcohols to obtain esters using molecular oxygen as an oxidant under ambient temperature and pressure. The gold nanoparticles were supported on a metal oxide powder (CeO2, ZrO2, TiO2, HT, and Al2O3). A quantity of metal oxide was weighed and dispersed in deionized water. To ensure a uniform dispersion, the suspension was stirred for 10 min and ultrasonically dispersed for 10 min. Then, HAuCl4, L-lysine, and NaBH4 solutions were added sequentially to the above-mentioned suspension with a slow dripping speed and stirring. Afterward, dilute HCl was added to adjust the pH value to approximately 9.5. The mixed solution was stirred for 1 h and left standing for 24 h to obtain a precipitate that could be used as a catalyst after being separated, washed, and dried. Wei further teaches the oxidative esterification of benzyl alcohol with methanol in different conditions, including several with the obtained Au/CeO2 catalyst (Abstract; page 34, Col. 1, paragraph 2; page 37, Col. 1, Table 1, entries 4 and 9-11):
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Wei does not teach or suggest the use of covalent organic frameworks or COFs-41 as a catalyst template, the use of cerium nitrate as a Ce3+ source, or an oxidative roasting method step, as recited in instant claim 1.
Zhang et al. (“Fabricating Industry-Compatible Olefin-Linked COF Resins for Oxoanion Pollutant Scavenging”; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2022, 61, e202213247, pages 1-9; published 10-16-2014), who teaches the large-scale synthesis of covalent organic frameworks (COFs), including NKCOF-41 that is prepared by adding terephthalaldehyde (TPA), collidine (i.e., 2,4,6-trimethylpyridine), and benzoic anhydride to a sealed tube and reacted at 180 C for five days (Abstract; page 2, Col. 2, paragraph 2; page 3, Figure 2). The NKCOF-41 of Zhang is consistent with the COFs-41 described in the present application (Specification; 0010).
Zhang does not teach or suggest using NKCOF-41 as a template for a mesoporous CeO2-loaded Au catalyst, as recited in the preparation method of instant claim 1. Instead, the NKCOF-41 of Zhang is directed towards scavenging oxoanion pollutants such as ReO4– (Abstract page 8, Col. 1, paragraph 1).
Although Cao and Wei teach features of the claimed invention, such as the preparation of CeO2-supported Au catalysts comprising the use of HAuCl4 as a gold source and NaBH4 as a reducing agent, and application of the obtained catalysts in the oxidative esterification of benzyl alcohol to methyl benzoate, Neither Cao nor Wei alone or in combination teach each and every feature of the method of instant claim 1. In addition, although Zhang teaches the preparation of the claimed COFs-41 covalent organic framework, the NKCOF-41 of Zhang is directed to oxoanion pollutant scavenging, and Zhang does not teach or suggest using the COF as a catalyst template for a mesoporous CeO2-loaded Au catalyst. Thus, the skilled artisan would not be sufficiently motivated to modify or combine the cited prior art to arrive at a preparation method of a mesoporous CeO2-loaded Au catalyst using COFs-41 as a template according to claim 1 with a reasonable expectation of success. Therefore, the claims are free from the prior art for the reasons of record and the reasons set forth above.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant’s disclosure.
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/D.R./Examiner, Art Unit 1692
/AMY C BONAPARTE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1692
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