Silver ions doped ZnO nanocrystallites were synthesized from the precursor of Ag-doped Zn-5(CO3)(2)(OH)(6) applying hybrid induction and laser heating (HILH) techniques. The physical properties of prepared nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV-Vis methods. The results of the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) and phenol in aqueous suspensions showed that silver ions doping greatly improved the photocatalytic efficiency of ZnO nanocrystallites. This was attributed to the change of surface properties of metal ions doped semiconductor, such as O vacancies, crystal deficiencies, and increased specific surface area (SSA). Increasing the amount of silver ions resulted in increased lattice deficiency and hence enhanced the photocatalytic activity. The quantum confinement of silver ions doped ZnO nanocrystallites was also investigated in this study. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.