Cyanoethyl cellulose (CE-Cell) with two different degrees of substitution of 0.37 and 0.60 were prepared from cotton linter. The ionic-xanthate method was used to graft the acrylonitrile onto CE-Cell to form acrylonitrile-grafted cyanoethyl cellulose (GCE-Cell). The conditions of grafting such as sodium hydroxide concentration, grafting time, monomer concentration, and temperature were optimized. The hydrolyzed CE-Cell and GCE-Cell were applied for the adsorption of copper (11) ions from aqueous solution. IR spectroscopy was also used for further evaluation of CE-Cell and GCE-Cell. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.