Mesoporous silica (e.g. SBA-15) was evaluated in the esterification of lauric acid with butanol. ZnO/SBA-15 and MgO/SBA-15 were synthesized and characterized using N-2 adsorption/desorption isotherms at 77 K, Si-29 magic angle spinning solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (Si-29 MAS NMR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Small-Angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The nanostructural parameters obtained from SAXS analysis were very similar for all samples revealing that the impregnation method for incorporation of Zn and Mg in mesoporous silica did not affect its structure. Both catalysts ZnO/SBA-15 and MgO/SBA-15 were able to promote the esterification reaction of lauric acid with 1-butanol at mild reactions conditions. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.