A novel surface treatment of carbon fiber with Fenton reagent oxidization for improved cells immobilization and xylitol fermentation

A novel treatment of carbon fiber (CF) with Fenton reagent was used to improve its surface properties, immobilization efficiency (IE), and xylitol yield. The process realized the oxidized treatment and the introduction of iron ions on CF. The specific surface area, surface acidity and degree of moisture increased, while the contact angle and the pH of the point of zero charges decreased after the treatment by Fenton reagent. Notably, the high-affinity iron ions introduced by the modification that enhanced the intracellular coenzyme cycle for xylitol accumulation due to the higher NADPH/NADP+ ratio and NADPH content. In addition, introduced iron ion on the CF promoted the reduction of intracellular reactive oxygen species level and mitochondrial membrane polarization level. As a result, compared to the untreated-CF, the IE and xylitol yield were increased by 86.15 % and 43 % with the treated CF, respectively. Using Fenton reagent to treat CF provided an excellent method to prepare biocompatible immobilized carriers for industrial production of xylitol.