New sorbents containing 2-acrylamido 2-methyl propane sulphonic acid monomer onto poly(vinyl pyrilidone) P(VP-AMPS) hydrogel and P(VP-AMPS-SiO2) composite have been synthesized by radiation template polymerization. The effect of absorbed dose rate (kGy), crosslinker concentration and polymer/monomer ratio on the degree of template polymerization of P(VP-AMPS) hydrogel was studied. The degree of polymerization was evaluated by the calculated percent conversion and swelling degree. The maximum capacity of PC VP-AMPS) hydrogel toward Cu+2 metal ion found to be 91 mg/gm. The polymeric composite P(VP-AMPS-SiO2) has been successfully synthesized. The structure of the prepared hydrogel and composite were confirmed by FTIR, thermal analysis (TGA and DTA) and SEM micrograph. Batch adsorption studies for La3+, Ce3+, Nd3+, Eu3+ and Pb+2 metal ions on the prepared hydrogel and composite were investigated as a function of shaking time, pH and metal ion concentration. The sorption efficiency of the prepared hydrogel and composite toward light rare earth elements (LREEs) are arranged in the order La3+ > Ce3+ > Nd3+ > Eu3+. The obtained results demonstrated the superior adsorption capacity of the composite over the polymeric hydrogel. The maximum capacity of the polymeric composite was found to be 116, 103, 92, 76, 74 mg/gm for La3+, Ce3+, Nd3+, Eu3+ and Pb2+ metal ions respectively. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.