Aluminum-containing mesoporous molecular sieves AISBA-15 with different n(Si)/n(Al), ratios and AIMCM-41 have been synthesized hydrothermally and characterized in detail by physicochemical methods, viz. XRD, N(2) adsorption and (27)Al NMR spectroscopy. The low angle XRD and N2 adsorption measurements reveal that the structural order of SBA-15 was retained after the incorporation of Al. The increase of the unit cell parameter with increasing aluminum content and (27)Al MAS NMR spectroscopy confirm the incorporation of aluminum in the framework. Benzylation of benzene and substituted benzenes reaction employing benzyl chloride as the alkylating agent over AISBA-15 and AIMCM-41 have been investigated. The influence of various reaction parameters such as reaction temperature, reactant feed ratio and catalyst amount affecting the activity and selectivity of AISBA-15, have been studied. Among the mesoporous catalysts studied, AISBA-15(45), where the number in parentheses indicates the molar nsilnA, ratio, shows both high conversion and high selectivity for the benzylation of benzene. The activity of this catalyst for the benzylation of different aromatic compounds is in the following order: benzene > toluene > p-xylene > mesitylene > anisole. Kinetics of the benzene benzylation over different catalysts have also been investigated. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.