Very stable, amorphous mesoporous aluminas of the TUD-1 structure type with high surface areas (∼530m2/g) can be synthesised in a controlled manner using non-surfactant organic molecules. Their porosity as well as pore size can be adjusted either by heating a dried gel in an autoclave or by changing gel ageing procedures. High surface areas can be reached by controlling two important parameters: the water to aluminium ratio in the initial synthesis mixture, and the drying and heating process in the autoclave.