An inorganic-organic composite (ZnO/TAPPI-CoTPPS) composed of ZnO microrods and nano-heteroaggregates containing tetrakis(4-trimethylaminophenyl) porphyrin (TAPPI) and tetrakis(4-sulfonatophenyl) porphyrin cobalt(II) (CoTPPS), has been achieved by a simple mixing method. From the solid diffuse reflectance UV-vis spectrum of ZnO/TAPPI-CoTPPS, it can be observed that the Soret band of the porphyrin heteroaggregate of ZnO/TAPPI-CoTPPS is blue-shifted in comparison with that of the pure TAPPI-CoTPPS heteroaggregate while the Q bands are red-shifted, which demonstrates that there exists some interaction between the porphyrin heteroaggregate and ZnO. In addition, the photodegradation of rhodamine B (RhB) in water catalyzed by ZnO/TAPPI-CoTPPS was investigated at room temperature. Under visible light irradiation (lambda >= 420 nm), the photocatalytic activity of the ZnO/TAPPI-CoTPPS composite was higher than those of the porphyrin monomers modified ZnO composite and pure ZnO. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.