Photodegradation of methylene blue on a carbon-doped TiO2 and on pure TiO2 was studied. The materials were prepared by solvothermal synthesis and by calcinations. N2 adsorption, XRD, SEM and TEM characterization was performed. Both nanomaterials exhibited mesoporous textures and the TiO2 frameworks consist mainly of anatase phase. SEM images showed spherical microparticles while the TEM images showed hierarchically nanostructured morphologies on both samples. C-TiO2 exhibited higher apparent first-order rate constants for the degradation of methylene blue than those obtained on pure TiO2. It could be concluded that under visible light, the photoactivity of carbon-doped TiO2 was clearly higher than that of a commercial TiO2 photocatalyst suggesting that the carbon part photo assist the TiO2 in the photodegradation of methylene blue.Graphical abstractView high quality image (50K)Research highlights▶ Synthesis of solvothermal C-TiO2 as a new kind of dyade structure. ▶ Photodegradation of methylene blue on C-TiO2 and on TiO2 was studied. ▶ C-TiO2 exhibits very strong photo activity in the visible range. ▶ Carbon photoassist the TiO2 in the photodegradation of methylene blue.