A new chelating resin was synthesised by anchoring nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) to melamine during the melamine-formaldehyde gelling reaction in the presence of water, using acetone and guaiacol as a porogen mixture. This technique gives a porous chelating gel resin capable of removing heavy metals from wastewater. FT-IR, XRD, elemental analysis, surface area and water regain measurements were conducted for characterization of the new chelating gel resin. A comprehensive adsorption study (kinetics isotherm, and thermodynamics) of Cu(II) removal from synthetic acidic aqueous solutions by adsorption on this resin was conducted regarding the effects of time, temperature, initial pH and copper(II) initial concentration. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.