Etherification of benzyl alcohols with 1-hexanol was performed in liquid-phase over propyl- and arene-SO3H-modified mesostructured SBA-15 silica. H2O TPD measurements indicate a stronger interaction of arene-sulfonic acid sites with water molecules than that occurring in propyl-sulfonic groups. Hence, the higher catalytic activity of propyl-sulfonic-modified SBA-15 material is related to the more hydrophobic microenvironment of -SO3H sites which reduces the acid site deactivation associated with adsorption of water generated during the reaction. Moreover, propyl- and arene-sulfonic functionalized SBA-15 materials show a clear improvement of the catalytic performances as compared to other commercial homogeneous and heterogeneous acid catalysts in this particular reaction. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.