Kaolinite, montmorillonite and their poly(oxo zirconium) and tetrabutylammonium derivatives have been used in this work for removing Cd(II) from aqueous solution. Batch adsorption studies were carried out under various Cd(II) concentrations, amount of clay adsorbents, pH, interaction time and temperature. The uptake of the metal was initially very fast, but gradually slowed down indicating diffusion into the interior of the adsorbent particles. The adsorption processes were more akin towards second order reaction mechanism. The suitability of the adsorbent was tested by fitting the adsorption data with Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms, which gave good fits with both isotherms. Adsorption was poor in strongly acidic solution but was improved in alkaline medium and continuously increased with rise in pH. The values of the thermodynamic parameters, Delta H, Delta S and Delta G, indicated the interactions to be thermodynamically favourable. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.