Multifunctional loofah-inspired microfibrillated cellulose aerogel with excellent thermal insulation and sorption properties.

Biomass aerogels have garnered increasing attention recently due to their wide-ranging applications. Yet, developing cost-effective and versatile aerogel materials remains challenging, as conventional biomass material production processes are complex and environmentally unfriendly. Loofah fiber, a porous cellulose fiber with a natural three-dimensional structure, has been recognized as a new sustainable resource in recent years. In this study, we adopted an innovative approach to fabricate a structurally stable and controllable loofah-derived cellulose aerogel by directly using natural agricultural fibers through simple mechanical treatment and freeze-drying. The achieved multifunctional aerogels exhibited high porosity (99.2 %), hydrophobicity (140.1°), self-cleaning, good mechanical performance, outstanding sorption capacity (40-190 g/g of oil and organic solvents) and thermal insulation (0.030 W/(m·K)) properties. Meanwhile, the aerogel also possessed excellent economy, reusability, and sustainability. This study paves the way for designing next-generation natural biomass-based sorbing and thermal insulation porous materials with great potential for multifunctional applications.