Poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) brushes on the surface of silica particles were synthesized by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization. The resulting brushes were analyzed and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS). Equilibrium swelling ratio (ESR) was employed to assess the pH and temperature sensitive behaviors of the resulting PDMAEMA brushes, and much greater ESR was observed at pH 5 than at pH 9. Furthermore, the adsorption behaviors of PDMAEMA brushes for heavy metal ions (Cr(VI)) were investigated, and obvious pH responsive equilibrium adsorption amount was observed. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.