Ion-imprinted chitosan (CS) microspheres (MIPs) were prepared with Cu(II) as a template and epichlorohydrin as a crosslinker for the selective separation of Cu(II) from aqueous solution. The microspheres showed a higher adsorption capacity and selectivity for the Cu(II) ions than nonimprinted chitosan microspheres (NMIPs) without a template. The results show that the adsorption of Cu(II) on the CS microspheres was affected by the initial pH value, initial Cu(II) concentration, and temperature. The kinetic parameters of the adsorption process indicated that the adsorption followed a second-order adsorption process. Equilibrium experiments showed very good fits with the Langmuir isotherm equation for the monolayer adsorption process. The maximum sorption capacity calculated from the Langmuir isotherm was 201.66 mg/g for the CuMIPs and 189.51 mg/g for the NMIPs; these values were close to the experimental ones. The selectivity coefficients of Cu(II) and other metal ions on the NMIPs indicated a preference for Cu(II). (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013