Enhancement of mechanical properties of nanocellulose xerogels using TEMPO-oxidized fibers.

We report xerogels prepared from TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofiber (Ox-CNF) that have enhanced yield stresses and Young's Modulus (E) up to 15.4 MPa. The xerogels were highly porous (>95 %) and were measured by density determination, SEM, Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET) experiments, and microCT analysis.