Ethylenediamine molecules were covalently immobilized onto silica gel previously functionalized with 3-chlorosilylpropyltrimethoxysilane (Sil-Cl), producing a Sil-N surface. The Sil-N surface reacted with succinic acid, yielding a Sil-NSuc surface. This new synthesized silica gel surface was used to adsorb divalent cations from aqueous solutions at room temperature. The adsorption isotherms were fit to a modified Langmuir equation using the data obtained by suspending the solid in MCl2 (M = Cu, Ni, and Co) aqueous solutions, yielding the maximum number of moles adsorbed as 1.04 +/- 0.01, 1.89 +/- 0.02 and 1.85 +/- 0.02 mmol g(-1) for divalent copper, nickel and cobalt, respectively. The metal-basic center ratio for complexes on the surfaces varied with the nature of the metal. The spontaneity of these systems was reflected in the negative values of the Gibbs free energy calculated using calorimetric data. The net thermal effects obtained from the calorimetric titration measurements were adjusted to a modified Langmuir equation, and the calculation of the enthalpies of the interaction for the complexation with Sil-NSuc yielded the following exothermic values: 2.81 +/- 0.08, 0.35 +/- 0.04 +/- and 0.69 +/- 0.05 kJ mol(-1) for Cu2+, Co2+ and Ni2+, respectively. Based on these values, the metals are preferentially adsorbed in the order Cu2+ > Co2+ > Ni2+. The other thermodynamic data for these systems are favorable at the solid/liquid interface, suggesting the efficacy of this modified silica for cation removal from solution. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.