Three novel porphyrins, 5,10,15-tri-phenyl-20-[4-(3-phenoxy)-propoxy] phenyl porphyrin, 5,15-di-phenyl-10,20-di-[4-(3-phenoxy)-propoxy] phenyl porphyrin and 5-phenyl-10,15,20-tri[4-(3-phenoxy)-propoxy] phenyl porphyrin, and their corresponding copper(II) complexes were synthesized and characterized spectroscopically. The photocatalytic effects of TiO2 samples impregnated with copper(II) porphyrins was investigated by photodegradation of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) in aqueous solution under visible light. The photocatalysts were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis spectra and FT-IR spectra. The results indicated that CuPps were successfully loaded and interacted with the surface of TiO2 microsphere, which is crucial to enhance the activity of the catalytic composite under visible light. Crown Copyright (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.