To obtain effective adsorbent that can remove emerging organic pollutant of triclosan (TCS) in aquatic environment, different ester-containing Gemini surfactant-modified MMT (EMMT) were prepared under microwave irradiation. The whole process was rapid, uniform, easy and energy-efficient. The structures and morphology of EMMT were characterized by XRD, TEM, FT-IR, SEM and TGA. The results revealed that the saturated intercalation amount of this surfactant was 0.8 times to cation exchange capacity (CEC) of MMT, and there was electrostatic interaction between ester-containing Gemini surfactant and MMT. In addition, they bound in the ways of intercalation, intercalation-adsorption or adsorption, which relied on the dosage of the surfactant. The surface of EMMT was hydrophobic, rough and fluffy, which contributed to its strong adsorption capacity. The adsorption equilibrium data of EMMT for TCS were fitted to Langmuir and Freundlich isothermal adsorption model. The result showed that Langmuir isothermal adsorption model could describe the adsorption behavior better, the adsorption behavior of TCS on EMMT was confirmed to a surface monolayer adsorption, and notably the theoretical maximum adsorption capacity was up to 133 mg/g. Therefore, this work lays important foundation on developing effective and safe absorbent materials for the treatment of emerging organic pollutants. (c) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.