Highly photoactive anatase and rutile modifications of titania were prepared by annealing the product of thermal hydrolysis of titania peroxo-complexes under different atmosphere (hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen) at 950 A degrees C. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, electron spin resonance, scanning electron microscopy, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area and porosity measurement. The individual samples differ with phase composition (ratio of anatase and rutile) and color that determines the rate of reduction of TiO2 and is for reduced form of TiO2 characterized. The UV/Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy was employed to estimate band-gap energies. Annealed samples were deposited as a 300 mu m thick layer on a glass plate (10 cm x 15 cm) for assessment of the kinetics of a photocatalytic degradation of butane in a gas phase.