A water-insoluble polymer, poly(sodium 4-styrene sulfonate), was synthesized by radical polymerization at different amounts (2, 4, 6, and 8 mol %) of crosslinking reagent (CR). At the lowest CR level (2 mol %), only a water-soluble polymer is obtained, and consequently it could not be studied as resin. The polymerization yield ranged from 82.6 to 91.6%. The resin is characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, thermal analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. The metal ion affinity is studied for the cations: Hg(II), Cd(II), Zn(II), Pb(II), Cr(III), and AI(III) with a batch equilibrium procedure under different experimental conditions. The metal ion affinity increased as the pH increased. At pH 5, the resin showed an affinity greater than 97% for all metal ions. Hg(II) showed the highest retention value at pH 2. The maximum retention capacity is determined at optimum pH for Hg(II), Cd(II), Pb(II), and Zn(II). (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.