Photocatalytic degradation of glyphosate in water by N-doped SnO2/TiO2 thin-film-coated glass fibers.

Photocatalytic degradation of glyphosate contaminated in water was investigated. The N-doped SnO2/TiO2 films were prepared via sol-gel method, and coated on glass fibers by dipping method. The effects of nitrogen doping on coating morphology, physical properties and glyphosate degradation rates were experimentally determined. Main variable was the concentration of nitrogen doping in range 0-40 mol%. Nitrogen doping results in shifting the absorption wavelengths and narrowing the band gap energy those lead to enhancement of photocatalytic performance. The near optimal 20N/SnO2/TiO2 composite thin film exhibited about two- and four-folds of glyphosate degradation rates compared to the undoped SnO2/TiO2 and TiO2 films when photocatalytic treatment were performed under UV and solar irradiations, respectively, due to its narrowest band gap energy (optical absorption wavelength shifting to visible light region) and smallest crystallite size influenced by N-doping.