A series of hierarchical porous materials were prepared by a dual template method. The effect of different crystallization time on the channel architecture, morphology, acid performance of the hierarchical porous materials was investigated. X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption and (27)A1 nuclear magnetic resonance were performed to obtain information on the physico-chemical properties of the materials. It was shown that the change in crystallization time could influence the structure/texture and surface acid properties of the hierarchical porous materials. In addition, alkylation of phenol with tert-butanol reaction was carried out to investigate the catalytic performance of the hierarchical porous materials. The results showed that the catalytic activity of the hierarchical porous materials and the selectivity to the bulkly product 2,4-ditert-butyl-phenol decreased with processing time. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.