Large-pore cubic Ia-3d mesoporous silicas were synthesized by co-condensation of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and a small amount of phenyl-triethoxysilane (PTES) under acidic conditions using triblock copolymer P123 (EO20PO70EO20) as the template. In the synthesis procedure, the amount of PTES added in the range of 3.0-10% was very vital for the formation of the ordered Ia-3d structure. In addition, the prehydrolysis of PTES prior to TEOS in the template solution was also important for the preparation of ordered Ia-3d materials. If TEOS was prehydrolyzed, ordered 2d-hexagonal materials were obtained. After mild calcination at 250 degrees C to selectively remove the template, Ia-3d and 2d-hexagonal materials with 10% PTES were selected to be sulfonated to introduce sulfonic acid sites into the channels. Both Ia-3d and 2d-hexagonal mesoporous sulfonic acid catalysts can effectively catalyze the liquid phase condensation reaction of phenol with acetone to Bisphenol A. The catalytic activity of the Ia-3d catalyst was slightly higher than that of the 2d-hexagonal one. Additionally, after calcination at 550 degrees C to remove the template and phenyl groups, Ia-3d mesoporous materials with different pore sizes (3.8-6.8 nm) were further functionalized with amino groups by postsynthesis grafting. It was found that in the synthesis of flavanone the catalytic performance of amino-functionalized Ia-3d mesoporous base catalysts increased with the increase in their pore sizes. (C) 2007 Published by Elsevier B.V.