Two new chelating polymeric hydrogels, crosslinked polyacrylamide/triethylenetetraamine/CS2Na (hydrogel I) and crosslinked polyacrylamide/diethylenetriamine/CS2Na (hydrogel II), were prepared by the transamidation and dithiocarbamylation of crosslinked polyacrylamide. The products were characterized with elemental analysis and IR spectroscopy. In both polymeric hydrogels, the Optimum pH for the removal of Cd(II), Pb(II), and Zn(II) ions ranged from 7 to 8, from 6 to 7, and from 7 to 8, respectively. The sorption isotherms of the investigated metal ions on the prepared hydrogels were developed, and the equilibrium data fitted the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models well. At the Optimum pH for each metal ion, the maximum sorption capacities of hydrogel I toward Cd(II), Pb(II), and Zn(II) ions, estimated from the Langmuir model, were 5.3, 0.63, and 1.27 mmol/g, respectively, and those of hydrogel 11 were 4.1, 0.59, and 0.89 mmol/g, respectively. The experimental sorption capacities of hydrogel I toward Cd(IT), Pb(IT), and Zn(II) ions were 4.5, 0.6, and 1.2 mmol/g, respectively. In the case of hydrogel II, the capacities were 3.7, 0.52, and 0.88 mmol/g in the same prescribed order. The thermodynamic parameters (the free energy of sorption, enthalpy change, and entropy change) for cadmium, lead, and zinc sorption on the prepared polymers were also determined from the temperature dependence. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 113: 1335-1344, 2009