Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) is grafted from colloidal silica nanoparticles by atom transfer radical polymerization (see figure). Atomic force microscopy of these inorganic/organic hybrids confirms their well-defined, "hairy" structure. Carbonization of the PAN corona and subsequent etching away of silica nanoparticle cores affords thin films of nanoporous carbon, which exhibit a narrow pore size distribution and a relatively high specific surface area in the range of 200-450 m(2) g(-1).