Cellulose is a renewable and promising material. However, native cellulose has to face the challenge of the removal of heavy

metals with low effi ciency which limits its application. In this work, a cellulose derivative with EDTA-like chelating groups

(EDTA-CL) is designed and prepared by the chemical grafting of cellulose. Cellulose is partially oxidized to dialdehyde

cellulose which is treated with 20% excess of diethylenetriamine through a Schiff base reaction for the preparation of the

aminated cellulose. The amine groups of the aminated cellulose are carboxymethylated by reacting with 20% excess of

bromoacetic acid through a substitution reaction. The high-effi cient adsorption of the both ions by the EDTA-CL with high

adsorptive amounts (Pb 2+ : 438.3 mg g −1 and Cd 2+ : 287.2 mg g −1 ) can be accomplished by controlled parameters (pH of

4–6, contact time of 30 min and the dosage of 1 g L −1 ). The adsorptive processes of the both ions onto the EDTA-CL can

be well fi tted by pseudo-second-order and Langmuir equations. Thermodynamics data reveal that the adsorption of the both

ions onto the EDTA-CL is a spontaneous and endothermic process. The loaded EDTA-CL can be regenerated fi ve times

with loss of adsorptive amounts (Cd 2+ : 14% and Pb 2+ : 17%).