The present study was undertaken to evaluate the degradation performance of 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) using TiO2/WO3 and TiO2/SnO2 systems. A BET surface area analyzer, UV-vis spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) were employed to characterize the photocatalyst. The band edge wavelength increased to 475 run and gap energy decreased to 2.61 eV in the TiO2/WO3 system as compare to the single TiO2. Although the specific surfaces area of TiO2/WO3 decreases due to its larger size as compared to either TiO2 or WO3, the 4-CP degradation efficiency significantly increased as compared to single TiO2 or WO3 system at 435 nm wavelength. The TiO2/WO3 degradation of 4-CP at 369 nm was in fact inhibited. For TiO2/SnO2, the degradation efficiency also suffered at 369 nm, and only slightly increased compared to otherwise hardly 4-CP degraded in single TiO2 or SnO2 system. Since there is a significant accumulation of byproducts, the buildup of these intermediates on the catalyst surface may be responsible for their poor performance. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.