Study on the oxygen reduction reaction catalyzed by a cold-tolerant marine strain phylogenetically related to Erythrobacter citreus

As the development of marine economy, the submarine battery with the seawater electrolyte has obtained more and more attentions. Owing to the conventional electrochemical catalysts of the cathodes in seawater battery are expensive, it is to seek the new biological catalysts to improve the electrochemical performance of the cathode and reduce the cost of seawater battery. A novel marine bacterial strain (Strain SQ-32) phylogenetically related to the Erythrobactercitreus strain has been isolated from the sea-bed sludge in the Yellow Sea of China successfully. The electrochemical measurements, which include the cyclic voltammetry, potentiostatic polarization, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, have been conducted in synthetic seawater. The electrochemical testing results show that the Strain SQ-32 is a cold-tolerant bacterium, which may exhibit a catalytic activity for the ORR in synthetic seawater at a freezing temperature. The SEM photo demonstrates that the Strain SQ-32 displays a rod-shaped characteristic, which has a diameter of 0.4 μm and a length of about 1-2.5 μm. By the testing of Gram staining, the Strain SQ-32 has been identified as a Gram-negative bacterium. The chemical analytical result reveals that the bacterium cell of Strain SQ-32 contains 1.92 mg g− 1 (DCW) of coenzyme Q10, which is a possible impact factor on the electro-catalytic effect on the Strain SQ-32. The exploitation of Strain SQ-32 may boost the development of the biocathode of seawater battery at a low temperature.