A new cross-linked polyzwitterion (CPZ) was synthesized through cyclocopolymerization of 3-[diallyl(carboxymethyl)ammonio]propane-1-sulfonate (92.5 mol%), and a cross-linker 1,1,4,4-tetraallylpiperazine-1,4-diium chloride (7.5 mol%) in the presence of tert-butylhydroperoxide. The cross-linked polyzwitterion/anion (CPZA) was obtained by the basification of CPZ with NaOH. The adsorption data fit both Temkin and Freundlich isotherm models. The adsorption trend on CPZA is as Cu 2+ > Cd 2+ and both followed pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The negative DG and positive DH values ascertained the spontaneous and endothermic nature of the adsorption process. The effectiveness of a zwitterionic-anionic motif consisting of quaternary nitrogen, sulfonate and carboxylate groups has been tested for the first time for capturing Cd 2+ and Cu 2+ ions at low concentrations. ª 2015 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).