Vermiculites modified with Mercaptoethylamine (MEA) and 3-Mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTMS) were used as effective adsorbents for the removal of Hg(II) from aqueous solution. The physicochemical characteristics of the pristine and functionalized vermiculites were analyzed by XRD, BET, FTIR, SEM, TEM and Zeta potentials, confirming that the vermiculite was successfully functionalized by the organic ligands containing the thiol (-SH) metal-chelating groups. Batch adsorption experiments demonstrated that the factors such as initial pH, contact time, temperature, coexisting cations and initial Hg(II) concentration could significantly influence the adsorption behaviors typically for VER and MEA-VER, whereas the adsorption capacity of MPTMS-VER showed negligible dependence on such factors. The maximum adsorption capacity of Hg(II) ions was greatly improved after functionalization, which was in the order of MPTMS-VER > MEA-VER > VER (286.29 mu g g(-1), 176.33 mu g g(-1), 99.95 mu g g(-1), respectively). The adsorption isotherm could be well described with Langmuir model and the kinetic studies indicated that the adsorption process fitted well with the pseudo-second-order model. The calculated thermodynamic parameters suggested that the adsorption process was feasible and spontaneous. The adsorption mechanism of Hg(II) on thiol groups was studied through XPS analysis. Considering the favorable adsorption capacities, thiol-functionalized vermiculites show a promising application in the removal of Hg(II) from wastewater. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.