A new pair set of heteropoly acids based functionalized graphene oxide compounds, namely, H3PMO2W10O40@ethylene diamin functionalized magnetic graphene oxide (Mo W-2(10)@EDMG) and H(3)PMo(4)W8O(40) ethylene diamin functionalized magnetic graphene oxide (Mo4W8@EDMG) have been synthesized and characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) measurements. Applicability of the synthesized nanocomposites as inorganic ion exchanger has been studied. In order to evaluate adsorption efficiency of these nanocomposites, Cerium ion was selected as the model adsorbate and the influence of initial concentration of metal ion, pH of solution, and temperature on adsorption performance are investigated. The maximum adsorption capacity was obtained 96.15 mg/g and 90.90 at pH 6.0 for 30%Mo2W10@EDMG and 30%Mo4W8@EDMG respectively and the adsorption kinetics obeyed pseudo-second-order model. In the other research, Mo2W10@EDMG and Mo4W8@EDMG are used for photodegradation of methylene blue under visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic results indicate that 20%Mo4W8.@ EDMG serves as effective photocatalyst with 100% removal efficiency in 50 min irradiation. In addition, the effect of substitution of Mo with W on the adsorption and photocatalytic performances is investigated. (C) 2017 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.