A hydrophobic-bentonite catalyst (cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide-bentonite) has been used as a very mild, neutral, eco-friendly, reusable, non-toxic, low-cost and easily available catalyst. It was prepared by replacing the exchangeable Na+ cations of a homoionic Na–bentonite with cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTMAB) cations. The catalyst was characterized by XRD, BET and SEM. The BET data and XRD […]