Elevated Arsenic and Chromium levels in surface and ground waters are a significant health concern in several parts of the world. Chitosan quinoxaline Schiff base (CsQ) and cross-linked chitosan quinoxaline Schiff base (CsQG) were prepared to adsorb both Arsenate [As(V)] and Chromium [Cr(VI)] ions. The thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to investigate the prepared Schiff bases (CsQ) and (CsQG). The UV–VIS spectra showed a shift in the wavelength area of the modified polymer, indicating the reaction occurrence, besides the variation of the shape and intensity of the peaks. The XRD patterns showed the incensement of the amorphous characteristic. On the other hand, the thermal stability of the modified polymers is better according to TGA studies; also, the morphology of the modified chitosan was investigated before and after crosslinking (CsQ and CsQG) using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) where the surface was fall of wrinkles and pores, which then were decreased after cross-linking. Contact time, temperature, pH, and initial metal ion concentration were all studied as factors influencing metal ion uptake behavior. The Langmuir, Temkin, Dubinin–Radushkevich, and Freundlich isotherm models were used to describe the equilibrium data using metal concentrations of 10–1000 mg/L at pH = 7 and 1 g of adsorbent. The pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetic parameters were evaluated. The experimental data revealed that the adsorption kinetics follow the mechanism of the pseudo-second-order equation with R2 values (0.9969, 0.9061) in case of using CsQ and R2 values (0.9989, 0.9999) in case of using CsQG, demonstrating chemical sorption is the rate-limiting step of the adsorption mechanism. Comparing the adsorption efficiency of the synthesized Schiff base and the cross-linked one, it was found that CsQ is a better adsorbent than CsQG in both cases of As(V) and Cr(VI) removal. This means that cross-linking doesn’t enhance the efficiency as expected, but on the contrary, in some cases, it decreases the removal. In addition, the newly modified chitosan polymers work better in As(V) removal than Cr(VI); the removal is 22.33% for Cr(VI) and 98.36% for As(V) using CsQ polymer, whereas using CsQG, the values are 6.20% and 91.75% respectively. On the other hand, the maximum adsorption capacity (Qm) for As(V) and Cr(VI) are 8.811 and 3.003 mg/g, respectively, using CsQ, while in the case of using CsQG, the Qm value reaches 31.95 mg/g for As(V), and 103.09 mg/g for Cr(VI).
