Cu(II) ion-imprinted hydrogel [Cu(II)-III-1] with interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) structure was prepared and its application to adsorb Cu(II) ions from aqueous solution was studied. The Cu(II)-IIH was prepared by UV-initiated simultaneous free radical/cationic hybrid polymerization. The adsorption capacity of the Cu(II)-IIH increased with the initial pH value of the solution, but decreased as the temperature rose from 303 to 323K. Thermodynamic parameters such as the Gibbs free energy (A G), enthalpy (AH)and entropy (AS) for the Cu(II) ions adsorption were evaluated. It was suggested that the adsorption was a spontaneous, exothermic process with further decrease in the degree of freedom at the solid-solution interface due to the negative AS value. The morphology study indicated that the copper adsorption caused significant changes to the hydrogel structure. Finally the adsorption mechanism was studied by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results indicated that copper adsorption was mainly through interactions with the amide and ether groups. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.