10.1021/acssuschemeng.8b02284.s001 Yulong Li Yulong Li Yushang Liu Yushang Liu Yang Liu Yang Liu Wenchuan Lai Wenchuan Lai Feng Huang Feng Huang Anping Ou Anping Ou Rui Qin Rui Qin Xiangyang Liu Xiangyang Liu Xu Wang Xu Wang Ester Crosslinking Enhanced Hydrophilic Cellulose Nanofibrils Aerogel American Chemical Society 2018 covalent cross-linking Hydrogen bond interactions Ester Crosslinking Enhanced Hydrophilic Cellulose Nanofibrils Aerogel shape memory performance ester cellulose F-CNF aerogel 2018-08-03 00:00:00 Journal contribution https://acs.figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Ester_Crosslinking_Enhanced_Hydrophilic_Cellulose_Nanofibrils_Aerogel/6989585 The ester cross-linking of cellulose nanofibril (CNF) aerogel was carried out by a facile and highly effective gas–solid fluorinating reaction without the assistance of organic solvent. The fluorination achieved the coexistence of covalent cross-linking and more hydrophilic groups, simultaneously endowing the fluorine-treated CNFs (F-CNFs) aerogel with enduring water-durable and enhanced hydrophilic properties. Hydrogen bond interactions between cellulose nanofibers are replaced by covalent cross-linking of ester bonds, which makes the CNFs aggregate more tightly and thus facilitates the enhancement of mechanical properties of F-CNF aerogel. Meanwhile, the F-CNF aerogel exhibited ultralight weight, excellent mechanical properties (123.4 KPa at 85% strain), and water absorption (123.65 g/g), while having good shape memory performance. What’s more, there was not any exotic element introduced into F-CNFs, which can thus maximize the possibility for the final materials to maintain the excellent biological properties of the original CNFs.