The new photocatalysts based on commercially available titanium dioxide powders: Tytanpol A I I (Police, Poland), pure anatase and P-25 (Degussa, Germany) containing about 20% rutile were modified by carbon via ethanol carbonisation. Titanium dioxides were heated at different temperature from 150 to 400 degrees C for I h in an atmosphere of ethanol vapour. The photocatalytic activity of carbon-modified TiO2 was studied by oxidation of phenol in water under UV and artificial solar light irradiation. With increasing of carbon content in TiO2 photocatalysts; the activity for phenol decomposition under UV light was decreasing but that under visible light was stable. Turbidity of the slurry solution decreased with increasing of carbon content for all prepared photocatalysts because of the change of their surface character from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.