The synthesis of surface-initiated PSPMA brushes is typically carried out via ATRP in aqueous/methanol mixtures, allowing brushes with thicknesses > 100 nm to be readily prepared . The kinetics of brush growth can be readily adjusted through the ratio of Cu(I)/Cu(II) complexes used and that of methanol/water. ARGET is an attractive alternative to conventional ATRP catalytic systems, as it in principle enables the toleration of some oxygen ( ). Indeed, ARGET has been applied to the synthesis of a broad range of polymer brushes, including PMMA, polystyrene, PGMA and POEGMA brushes, amongst others . As the kinetics of polymerisation could be expected to vary significantly, compared to ATRP, the growth of PSPMA brushes generated via ATRP and ARGET was first compared (Figure ).