TEMPO-mediated oxidized cellulose nanofibers (TOCNFs) have shown potential in the bioremediation of metal ions from contaminated water due to their interaction with positively charged metal ions via electrostatic interactions involving surface carboxyl groups. Copper is one of the most common pollutants in industrial effluents and is thus the target metal in the current study. The specific surface adsorption of Cu (II) was similar for TOCNFs with different degrees of functionalization and directly impacted the zeta potential. SEM imaging of the TOCNF after Cu(II) adsorption revealed interesting nanostructured clusters that were attributable to Cu(II) ions first being adsorbed by carboxylate groups on the TOCNF and subsequently being reduced and self-assembled to Cu(0) nanoparticles (NPs) or copper oxide NPs by microprecipitation. TOCNF turned superhydrophilic and resulted in faster water filtration after copper adsorption due to the stronger polarity of the copper ions or the self-assembled Cu(0) NPs creating voids or highly water-permeable channels at the interface between the interconnected TEMPO-oxidized nanofibers. Thus, the adsorption of Cu(II) ions and self-assembly into the Cu NPs on TOCNF favors a faster water purification process and provides a viable route to reuse/recycle TOCNFs studded with Cu nanoparticles as biocidal materials. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.