Bentonite is widely used in various anti-seepage systems in landfills and is often exposed to leachate that are strongly acidic and have high concentrations of heavy metals. However, natural bentonite cannot resist the damage caused by cations and adsorbs harmful substances from the liquid in the process of permeation simultaneously. In order to solve this obstacle problem, we investigate the sorption characteristics of previous sodium polyacrylate bentonite (SPB), which has the low permeability and chemical resistance. A series of batch sorption experiments were performed to evaluate the degree of influence of parameters (contact time, pH, temperature, and concentration of Pb(II)). The resultant SPB samples were characterized using thermogravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopy. The results indicated that negatively charged hydrophilic group (carboxyl group, -COOH) of sodium polyacrylate formed a directional arrangement and wrapped the layers of bentonite. This makes the polyacrylate sodium membrane to allow water to pass through easily and block the cations, thereby protecting bentonite from the cation exchange reaction. Compared with raw bentonite (RB), the sorption of Pb(II) of SPB was significantly improved in acid, and the maximum sorption capacity increased by about 20%, reaching 72.89 mmol/100 g. Thus, SPB is an ideal impermeable material to block the leachate and it exhibits low permeability, chemical resistance, and high adsorption for heavy metals. (c) 2020 The Society of Powder Technology Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. and The Society of Powder Technology Japan. All rights reserved.