Reinforcement strategies for cellulose-based aerogels from textile waste and their applications in thermal insulation and oil absorption.

The valorization of cellulose-based textile waste into high-value aerogels holds great promise for sustainable development. However, their practical application is hindered by insufficient mechanical properties. In this work, three-dimensional porous aerogels were synthesized from waste cotton and viscose using dissolution-regeneration and freeze-drying. Reinforcing polyester fibers and optimizing cotton-viscose ratios significantly enhanced mechanical performance. Compared to 3 wt% pure viscose fiber (V), incorporating 1.5 wt% polyester (VP) increased compressive stress and modulus by 2.7 and 13.2 times, respectively. Similarly, a cotton-viscose hybrid (CV) exhibited 2.3- and 13.1-fold improvements. These enhancements stemmed from polyester fiber reinforcement and heterogeneous crosslinking networks, strengthening structural integrity. The aerogels maintained excellent thermal insulation (0.0336-0.0436 W·m·K) and exhibited outstanding cyclic stability in oil-water separation, retaining over 80 % of their initial absorption capacity after 25 cycles. This work provides a scalable strategy for high-performance sustainable aerogels and paves the way for recycling cellulose-based textile waste into high-value-added products, contributing to a more sustainable environmental impact.