A high-yield synthesis of pure anatase titania nanorods has been achieved through a nonaqueous microwave-based approach. The residual organics on nanoparticles surfaces were completely removed under ozone flow at room temperature in air. The TiO₂ nanorods, with average lengths of 27.6 ± 5.8 nm and average diameters of 3.2 ± 0.4 nm, were characterized by powder X-Ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, selected area diffraction, BET surface area analysis and FT-IR spectroscopy. The photocatalytic performances of the as-synthesized TiO₂ nanorods and platinum loaded TiO₂ nanorods were implemented with respect to both commercial P25 and platinum loaded P25. Performance enhancements should be attributed to effects like differences in the adsorption capacity and in the separation efficiency of the photogenerated electrons-holes.