In this work, we demonstrate a simple approach to synthesize urethane-linked imidazole-cellulose microcrystals (U-ICMs) for simultaneous adsorption and naked eye sensing of metal ions. The synthesis is based on surface chemical modification of cellulose microcrystals (CMCs) by 1,1carbonyldiimidazole and 1-(3-aminopropyl)imidazole, respectively. The adsorption and sensing of U-ICMs and CMCs in response to diverse metal ions