The objective of this study is to analyze the effects of zirconium (Zr) and silver (Ag) doping on the photoactivity of titania (TiO2). Zr–Ag (ZA) co-doped TiO2 products were fabricated via sol–gel technique and their properties (structural and chemical) were characterized. The weight ratio of TiO2 was fixed, while weight ratios of Zr and Ag were varied from 2 to 4, 6 and 8 wt% while synthesized samples were calcined at 400 °C for 3 h. The XRD results demonstrated that the incorporation of metal doping agents failed to alter the host material's lattice structure, however, its crystallite size was reduced from 13.54 to 5.05 nm with increasing Zr4+ and Ag+ concentrations. FTIR spectroscopy was used to examine various functional groups. In the attained spectra, an ample absorption peak between 500 and 1000 cm−1 was recorded, which was ascribed to Ti–O–Ti linkage vibration mode present within TiO2. Surface …