A simple sol-gel route has been developed for the preparation of nanocrystalline photocatalytic TiO2 thin films and particles at 500 degrees C. The synthesis involved a novel chemistry method employing nortionic surfactant molecules as a pore directing agent along with acetic acid-based sol-Gel route without direct addition of water molecules. This study investigated the effect of surfactant type and concentration on the homogeneity, morphology, light absorption, dye adsorption and degradation, and hydrophilicity of TiO2 films as well as on the structural ;properties of the corresponding TiO2 particles. The method resulted in the synthesis of mesoporous TiO2 material with enhanced structural and catalytic properties including high surface area, large pore volume, pore size controllability, small crystallite size, enhanced crystallinity, and active anatase crystal phase. The prepared TiO2 thin films were super-hydrophilic and possessed thermally stable spherical bicontinuous mesopore structure with highly interconnected network. Highly porous TiO2 films prepared with polyethylene glycol sorbitan monooleate surfactant exhibited four times higher photocatalytic activity for the decoloration of methylene blue dye than the nonporous control TiO2 films prepared without the surfactant. This sol-gel method modified with surfactant templates is useful in the preparation of nanostructured anatase TiO2 thin films with high photocatalytic activity and desired pore structure. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.