A new bifunctional Bronsted acid catalyst that contains two sulfo groups was prepared. The adsorption of this new bifunctional Bronsted acid catalyst on silica gel made it possible to be reused 10 times without a loss of catalytic activity in the solvent-free esterification of bromoacetic acid with an equiv. of benzyl alcohol without the formation of dibenzyl ether. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.