Dithiocarbamated chitosan as a potent biopolymer for toxic cation remediation

► Dithiocarbamate moiety was attached to chitosan through a single step-three component reaction. ► The synthesized polymer has the ability to sorb lead, copper and cadmium from aqueous solution. ► For the chemically modified biopolymer the sorption equilibrium is reached within 4 h. ► Both linear and non-linear regressions fit the sorption investigations.