Mesoporous TiO2 nanostructures of spindle shape (diameter similar to 6 nm and length of 30 nm) have been obtained at room temperature by a simple microemulsion method. The nanospindles are highly monodisperse with high surface area and high degree of thermostability. These TiO2 nanostructures have a high surface area (similar to 200 m(2)/g) and show nearly twice the photocatalytic efficiency than of commercially available TiO2 and comparable to the best titania-based photocatalyst (TiO2 doped with expensive metals like Pt and obtained at higher temperature). There is no decrease in the efficiency of the photocatalyst even after three cycles. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.