Visible-light photodegradation test revealed that B and Zr co-doping can raise the photocatalytic ability of the undoped TiO2 by a fold. XRD crystallography and Raman phonon spectroscopy measurements suggest that the Zr4+ ions replace the Ti4+ ions while the B3+ ions occupy the interstitial sites, expanding the unit cell volume and reducing crystallite size. The incorporation of interstitial boron dopants creates oxygen vacancies (Ov(center dot center dot)) and reduce Ti4+ to Ti3+ to form [Ov(center dot center dot)Ti(3+)](+), which traps the carriers and prolongs carrier lifetime. Moreover, Zr4+ ions replace Ti4+ ions and form impurity levels, which could improve visible light response. The co-doped samples are benefited from both B interstitials and Zr substitutes. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.