TiO2 pillared montmorillonite synthesized by microwave irradiation, exhibited good photocatalytic degradation performance of methyl orange, whose pseudo first order reaction rate constant was nearly four times than that of conventional method, because of its enhanced crystalline, preferred anatase phase and improved porosity performance, which were analysed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), far Fourier transform infrared ray spectroscopy (FTIR) and nitrogen adsorption isotherms. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.