Dialkyl imidazoline, alkyl pyridine and alkyl quinoline containing salts have been synthesized and used as new surfactants for cationic exchange of layered silicates, such as montmorillonite (MMT) in order to evaluate their role in the formation of intercalated MMT clays. The new salts have been characterized by FTIR, 1H, 13C-NMR spectra. These compounds have been intercalated into the layers of MMT via a solution dispersion technique and the extent of the interlayer space expansion was confirmed by using wide angle X-ray diffraction and FTIR spectra. Thermogravimetry analysis shows that these salts can be used in place of ammonium salts to produce organophilic clays with higher thermal stability than commercial alkyl ammonium-treated MMT. Moreover, the results also show that the imidazolium-modified clays have a greater thermal stability compared to the quinolinium and the pyridinium-modified clay. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013