Metal oxide having a surface onto which a multitude of individual polymers are grafted, each polymer comprising an addition polymer having a first and a second end, and a first moiety comprising a terminal phosphonate group, which first moiety is bonded to the first end, which phosphonate group attaches to the metal oxide surface in such a way that the multitude of the grafted polymers comprises at least one group of adjacent polymers that have a stretched chain conformation wherein the adjacent stretched chains have a substantially parallel orientation, such that the polymers within said group together form a brush structure. Method of grafting a multitude of individual polymers onto a surface of a metal oxide.