The CuSO4-catalyzed surface-initiated conventional radical graft polymerization of electron-deficient monomers such as N,N-dimethylacryamide (DMAAm) was carried out from amino-functionalized SiO2 nanoparticles (SiO2-NH2) to directly prepare hybrid SiO2 nanoparticles (SiNPs) chemically grafted with functional poly(N,N-dimethylacryamide) (SiO2-g-PDMAAm) in aqueous media with trimethyltetradecylammonium chloride (TTAC) added as a surfactant. The optimum reaction conditions were as follows: weight feed ratio CuSO4 center dot 5H(2)O:DMAAm:H2O:SiO2-NH2:TTAC of 1:500:5,000:1,000:100 and reaction temperature at 80 A degrees C. Spectroscopy and microscopy confirmed the successful graft polymerization and the formation of hybrid SiNPs with PDMAAm chains. Thermogravimetric analysis indicated the grafting yield could be up to 15.39 wt%. As the active radicals only formed on the SiNP surfaces, there was no free polymer in the reacting mixture. Because of the presence of PDMMAm chains, the hybrid SiO2-g-PDMAAm nanoparticles exhibited an enhanced dispersion stability in aqueous media over the pristine SiO2-NH2, and a thermoresponsive settlement behavior. The parallel experiments with other electron-deficient monomers suggest that the current strategy requires less post-treatment, mild conditions and affords universal applicability.