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Toxic heavy metals are ubiquitous in the aquatic environment and show a significant danger to human health. Carbon nanotubes have been extensively used in treating the contamination of groundwater due to their porous multi-layer nature. Batch tests revealed that oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (O-MWCNT_S) offer better removal of Pb(II). The removal rate of Pb(II) was 90.15% at pH 6 within 24 h, which was ~58% more than that of Cd(II). The removal rate decreased to 55.59% for Pb(II) and to 16.68% for Cd(II) when the initial concentration of Pb(II)/Cd(II) ranged from 5 to 15 mg·g⁻¹. The removal rate in the competitive tests was about 60.46% for Pb(II) and 9.70% for Cd(II). The Langmuir model offered better description of the adsorptive data for both ions. And the Q_m of Pb(II) was 5.73 mg·g⁻¹, which was 2.39 mg·g⁻¹ more than that of Cd(II) in a single-icon system, while Q_m was 7.11 mg·g⁻¹ with Pb(II) and 0.78 mg·g⁻¹ with Cd(II) in competitive water. And thermodynamic tests further indicated that the activating energy of Pb(II) and Cd(II) was 83.68 and 172.88 kJ·mol⁻¹, respectively. Lead and cadmium adsorbed on the surface of O-MWCNT_S are antagonistic in the competitive system. Based on XPS analyses, it was concluded that the absorbed lead/cadmium species on O-MWCNT_S were (-COO)₂Pb, (-COO)Pb(-O)/(-COO)₂Cd, and (-COO)Cd(-O). Additionally, they offered theoretical evidence supporting the practicality of using nanocomposite membranes as a means to remove cadmium and lead.