Both Surface-Initiated Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (SI-ATRP) and Surface-Initiated Activator Re-Generated by Electron Transfer ATRP (SI-ARGET ATRP) were performed to graft polystyrene and poly(4-vinylpyridine) on the surface of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) to evaluate the potential benefits of each method. (279 characters)