The photodegradation of phenol was studied in the aqueous solutions over titania pillared zirconium phosphate and titanium phosphate under solar radiation and compared with that of the UV-radiation (6 W low pressure Hg vapor lamp). This reaction was studied by varying different parameters such as catalyst dose, initial phenol concentration, pH of solution and irradiation time. The degradation rate of phenol was favourable under neutral pH condition. The degradation process approximately obeyed first-order kinetics with apparent rate of degradation constant increasing with decreasing the initial phenol concentration. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.