Synthetic talc (magnesium organo silicates; MOS) was synthesized by sol-gel method under non-hydrothermal conditions and modified by introducing amine/diamine functionalities in the interlayer space. The applicability of amine/diamine functionalized MOS was studied as catalysts for the synthesis of jasminaldehyde or alpha-pentylcinnamaldehyde by condensation of 1-heptanal with benzaldehyde. The effect of amine/diamine functionality, amount of catalyst, benzaldehyde to 1-heptanal molar ratio and temperature on the selectivity of jasminaldehyde was studied in detail. The highest conversion of 1-heptanal (99%) with 82% selectivity of jasminaldehyde was achieved using MOS3 as a catalyst. The rate constant for condensation of 1-heptanal with benzaldehyde was calculated under optimized reaction conditions. This is the first report on application of MOS as a solid base catalyst for the condensation of 1-heptanal with benzaldehyde. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.