Cellulose fibers were used as substrates to induce the formation of nano-Ti0(2) via heterogeneous titanium oxysulfate hydrolysis under microwave irradiation. The microwave provided fast heating for the one-pot reaction at 90 degrees C and contributed to the generation of 10 nm anatase TiO2 nanoparticles. These spherical particles further fused into 100 nm raspberry-like mesoporous TiO2 agglomerates uniformly distributed on the cellulose surface. The composite material was able to adsorb Pb2+ very rapidly from simulated wastewater with a maximum capacity of 42.5 mg/g. The adsorption, characterized by pseudo-second order kinetics and Freundlich isotherm, was attributed to the reaction between the hydroxyl groups of TiO2 and Pb2+ to form Pb-0 bond, as indicated by XPS analysis. The adsorbent can be easily regenerated for a number of times without significant reduction in adsorption performances. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.