In this study, chelating resin silica gel chemically modified by poly(triethylenetetramine bis(methylenephosphonic acid)) (denoted as SG-Cl-T-P) was successfully developed by heterogeneous synthesis method and used for adsorptive removal of heavy metal ions from fuel ethanol solutions, and the relevant modified organic group was calculated by DFT method at the B3LYP/6-31 + G(d) level. SG-Cl-T-P was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive X-ray analysis system, porous analysis, etc. SG-Cl-T-P has been used to investigate the adsorption of Hg(II),Cu(II), Mn(II), Co(II), Zn(II), Ni(II), Fe(III), and Cd(II) metal ions from ethanol solutions. The research results revealed that it has the better adsorption capacity for Hg(II) and Cd(II). (C) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012