AbstractOptimized mesoporous photocatalyst endowed with high specific surface area and large pore size was synthesized by sol–gel method. These large pore mesoporous materials (33.39 nm) were conducive to the movement of larger molecules or groups in pore path and for effective use of active sites. The high specific surface area (S_BET, 99.23 m² g⁻¹) was beneficial to catalytic oxidation on the surface. Moreover, B and N co-doped anatase TiO₂ in the presence of Ti–O–B–N and O–Ti–B–N contributed to the pore structure optimization and enhanced photoresponse capacity with a narrow band gap and red shift of absorption. The obtained materials with floating characteristics based on expanded perlite (EP) showed favorable features for photocatalytic activity. The best RhB photodegration rate of B–N–TiO₂/EP (6 mg/g, 24 wt% TiO₂) reached 99.1% after 5 h in the visible region and 99.8% after 1 h in the UV region. The findings can provide insights to obtain floatable photocatalysts with simple preparation method, optimized mesoporous, co-doping agents, as well as good photocatalytic performance, coverable and reusability. B–N–TiO₂/EP has potential applications for practical environmental purification.