Production of alkylated aromatic compounds using dealuminated catalysts

A process for preparing a long chain alkyl-substituted aromatic compound, comprising alkylating an aromatic compound with an alkylating agent possessing an alkylating aliphatic group having at least six carbon atoms under alkylation reaction conditions in the presence of an alkylation catalyst comprising USY zeolite, wherein the USY zeolite has been selectively dealuminated at a pH ranging from about 3 to about 6 to remove greater than about 50 wt % of non-framework aluminum and less than about 10 wt % of framework aluminum to form an alkylated aromatic compound possessing at least one alkyl group derived from the alkylating agent.