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TiO₂ and ZnO, two semiconductors with promising optical properties, are considered as potential candidates for solar and photocatalytic applications. Although chemical methods have been primarily used to enhance the optical properties of these oxides, the current authors recently reported enhanced photocatalytic performance of pure TiO₂ and ZnO by plastic straining due to the generation of high-pressure phases and oxygen vacancies. In this study, to improve the optical properties further, large fractions of ZnO/TiO₂ interphase boundaries are also introduced by application of high-pressure torsion (HPT) straining to a mixture of anatase-TiO₂ and wurtzite-ZnO powders. It was found that the amounts of oxygen vacancies and nanograined high-pressure TiO₂-II and rocksalt-ZnO phases increase with increasing plastic strain. Moreover, due to the plastic strain effect, the rutile-TiO₂ phase is formed at room …