A novel binary-metal-oxide-coated hollow microspheres-titanium dioxide-zirconium dioxide-coated Au nanocatalyst was prepared via a facile hydrothermal synthesis method. SEM, TEM, EDX, FTIR, XRD, UV-vis and XPS analyses were employed to characterize the composition, structure, and morphology of ZrO2-TiO2 hollow spheres. The size of Au nanoparticles was found to be 3-5 nm in diameter before being immobilized on the aforementioned mesoporous ZrO2 TiO2 layer and used as catalysts in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol by NaBH4. Compared with TiOL2/Au and ZrOL2/Au, ZrO2-TiO2/Au NPs showed a higher catalytic activity because of due to mixed oxide synergistic effect. Besides, the sample gets the highest thermal stability and reactivity at 550 degrees C, after calcining the hollow ZT/Au NPs at 550 degrees C, 300 degrees C and room temperature, respectively. Finally, a possible reaction mechanism was also proposed to explain the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol over ZrO2-TiO2/Au catalyst. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.