Title
Upcycling waste cotton into carbon reinforcements for epoxy composites
Authors
MUHAMMAD AWAIS, MUHAMMAD MOHSIN, AAMER KHAN and GIANLUCA CARCIA

Received March 14, 2026
Published Volume 60 Issue 5-6 May-June
Keywords carbon materials, mechanical properties, cotton recycling, waste derived composites

Abstract
This paper introduces a sustainable circular-economy plan of transforming waste cotton fabric into useful carbon materials through controlled pyrolysis and assesses their application as epoxy composite strengthening agent. Scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy confirmed that the semi-graphitic carbon had retained the fibrous morphology and porous surfaces of the cotton precursor. Composites with 1 wt% and 3 wt% of cotton-based carbon were compared to the composites with the commercial multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Cotton-based carbon composites with 3 wt% loading exhibited about 90% greater ultimate tensile strength, 150% greater tensile toughness and a moderate increase in Young’s modulus, compared to MWCNT composites. Tribological tests showed the presence of lower friction as a result of the fibrous morphology and consistent carbon-rich transfer layers. The electrical conductivity testing further indicated that carbon composites made of waste cotton came close to that of the MWCNTbased composites. These results indicate that carbon based on cotton is a low-cost, eco-friendly additive for achiving mechanically tough, electrically active, and tribologically improved polymer composites.