Ceramic granules with a photocatalytic coating and method of making

A method of making photocatalytic coated ceramic granules comprising base ceramic granules, each having an outer surface, and a photocatalytic coating disposed on the outer surface, the method comprising:

• providing a coatable composition containing an inorganic binder and a plurality of photocatalytic particles selected from the group consisting of:
• TiO2, ZnO, Ti(OH)4, doped derivatives thereof, and combinations thereof, wherein the plurality of photocatalytic particles comprise anatase TiO2, wherein the photocatalytic particles have a surface area per weight of the particles of no more than 25 square meters per gram (m2/g);
• applying the coatable composition to uncoated base ceramic granules to form intermediate coated granules;
• and
• heating the intermediate coated granules at a temperature of at least 700° C. to produce the photocatalytic coated ceramic granules having a Total Solar Reflectance (TSR) of at least 0.7, wherein the photocatalytic coated ceramic granules demonstrate a photocatalytic activity of greater than 10×105 in Relative TPA activity units after heating at a temperature of at least 700° C.